Ballymascanlan (), otherwise Ballymascanlon, is a small village and townland in

County Louth County Louth ( ; ga, An Lú) is a coastal county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Ireland, within the province of Leinster. Louth is bordered by the counties of Meath to the south, Monaghan to the west, Armagh to the north and Down to the ...

, Ireland, situated 4 km north-east of Dundalk on the Cooley Peninsula, on the road to Carlingford.

Locale

The townland runs down to the coast, and is bounded by the Flurry River, running south and reaching the sea at its edge, and a late tributary running east.

History

The name Ballymascanlan means "town of the son of Scanlan": a reference to Scanlan, son of Fingin, chief of the Uí Méith, who died in 672. The Uí Méith were rulers in the kingdom of Oriel until the Anglo-Norman period. An Uí Méith is credited with having defeated the

Danes Danes ( da, danskere, ) are a North Germanic ethnic group and nationality native to Denmark and a modern nation identified with the country of Denmark. This connection may be ancestral, legal, historical, or cultural. Danes generally regard t ...

Dundalk Bay Dundalk Bay ( ga, Cuan Dhún Dealgan) is a large (33 km2), exposed estuary on the east coast of Ireland. The inner bay is shallow, sandy and intertidal, though it slopes into a deeper area 2 km from the transitional water boundar ...

in 833. The village of Omeath on

Carlingford Lough Carlingford Lough (, Ulster Scots: ''Carlinford Loch'') is a glacial fjord or sea inlet in northeastern Ireland, forming part of the border between Northern Ireland to the north and the Republic of Ireland to the south. On its northern shore i ...

also takes name from this group. In 1185, during the Norman-English period, the district of Ballymascanlan as far north as Carrickarnon was donated by Hugh de Lacy to the

Cistercian The Cistercians, () officially the Order of Cistercians ( la, (Sacer) Ordo Cisterciensis, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint ...

Abbey of Mellifont Mellifont Abbey ( ga, An Mhainistir Mhór, literally 'the Big Monastery'), was a Cistercian abbey located close to Drogheda in County Louth, Ireland. It was the first abbey of the order to be built in Ireland. In 1152, it hosted the Synod of Ke ...

. Following the dissolution of the monasteries by

King Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disag ...

the lordship of Ballymascanlan was granted to Sir Edward Moore, ancestor of the

Marquess of Drogheda A marquess (; french: marquis ), es, marqués, pt, marquês. is a nobleman of high hereditary rank in various European peerages and in those of some of their former colonies. The German language equivalent is Markgraf (margrave). A woman wi ...

. Sir

Garret Moore, 1st Viscount Moore Garret Moore, 1st Viscount Moore PC (I) (1564 – 9 November 1627) was an Anglo-Irish politician and peer. Birth and origins Garret was a son of Sir Edward Moore of Mellifont and his wife Elizabeth Clifford. His father was a knight and owner of ...

inherited the title and estates in 1600 and was a friend of Hugh O'Neill, the Earl of Tyrone, who was a frequent visitor to Mellifont and Ballymascanlon. The associated 'Lands of Ballymascanlon' were transferred from Armagh to Louth ''circa'' 1630. It remained in the hands of the Moore family until the middle of the 18th century. In 1688 the brothers Malcolm and Archibald Mcneill, officers of William III landed in Dundalk and defeated the Celtic Scanlons in the Battle of Ballymascanlon.

Amenities

Ballymascanlan House Hotel is an extended Victorian house on grounds remaining from an estate dating back centuries. The hotel has a leisure centre and swimming pool which allow paid public access, and the grounds include a golf course.

Monuments

On the grounds of the hotel, though strictly speaking in the next townland to the north, Proleek, are a ruined wedge tomb and a portal dolmen.Oxford, UK, 2006: Halpin and Newman, Ireland: An Oxford Archaeological Guide to Sites from Earliest Times to AD 1600, p.329 The dolmen, known as "The Giant's Load," has a 40 tonne capstone and three supporting stones.

References

Towns and villages in County Louth Townlands of County Louth {{Louth-geo-stub

Locale

History

Amenities

Monuments

See also

References