Lanesborough–Ballyleague (), more commonly known simply as Lanesborough, is a town in the midlands of

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...

. Lanesborough is on the

County Longford County Longford ( gle, Contae an Longfoirt) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Leinster. It is named after the town of Longford. Longford County Council is the local authority for the county. The population of the county was 46,634 ...

(east) side and Ballyleague on the

County Roscommon "Steadfast Irish heart" , image_map = Island of Ireland location map Roscommon.svg , subdivision_type = Sovereign state, Country , subdivision_name = Republic of Ireland, Ireland , subdivision_type1 = Provinces of I ...

(west) side of the

River Shannon The River Shannon ( ga, Abhainn na Sionainne, ', '), at in length, is the longest river in the British Isles. It drains the Shannon River Basin, which has an area of , – approximately one fifth of the area of the island of Ireland. The Sha ...

. They are located at the northern tip of

Lough Ree Lough Ree () is a lake in the midlands of Ireland, the second of the three major lakes on the River Shannon. Lough Ree is the second largest lake on the Shannon after Lough Derg. The other two major lakes are Lough Allen to the north, and L ...

on the N63 national secondary road at its junction with the R371 (at Ballyleague) and R392 (at Lanesborough). The town of Longford is 16 km north-east on the N63, the town of

Roscommon Roscommon (; ) is the county town and the largest town in County Roscommon in Ireland. It is roughly in the centre of Ireland, near the meeting of the N60, N61 and N63 roads. The name Roscommon is derived from Coman mac Faelchon who buil ...

is 15 km south-west on the N63, the town of Ballymahon is 20 km south-east on the R392 and the town of Strokestown is 15 km north-west on the R371.

Geography

The river Shannon divides the two towns. As a result, the two towns are in two separate provinces (

Leinster Leinster ( ; ga, Laighin or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, situated in the southeast and east of Ireland. The province comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Meath, Leinster and Osraige. Following the 12th-century Norman invasion of ...

on the east and

Connacht Connacht ( ; ga, Connachta or ), is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the west of Ireland. Until the ninth century it consisted of several independent major Gaelic kingdoms ( Uí Fiachrach, Uí Briúin, Uí Maine, Conmhaícne, and ...

on the west); two separate counties (Longford on the east and Roscommon on the west); two separate Roman Catholic Dioceses ( Ardagh and Clonmacnoise on the east and Elphin on the west) ; and two separate Roman Catholic parishes (Rathcline on the east and, Kilgefin which consists of Ballyleague, Ballagh and Curraghroe on the west). The original name of the town, Athliag, means Ford of Stones – derived from the flagstones placed across the river to assist the crossing. The first real bridge was built around 1000AD by Malachy, High King of Meath, and the King of Connacht – built to link in the middle in their joint effort to defend against the

Vikings Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...

. The first more permanent bridge was built in 1140 by

Turlough O'Connor Toirdhealbhach Mór Ua Conchobhair (old spelling: Tairrdelbach Mór Ua Conchobair; 1088 – 1156) anglicised Turlough Mór O'Conor, was King of Connacht (1106–1156) and High King of Ireland (ca. 1120–1156). Family background and early life ...

High King of Ireland High King of Ireland ( ga, Ardrí na hÉireann ) was a royal title in Gaelic Ireland held by those who had, or who are claimed to have had, lordship over all of Ireland. The title was held by historical kings and later sometimes assigned an ...

. A further bridge was built in 1667 and survived till 1690 when it was destroyed by Colonel O'Reilly to stop the

Williamite A Williamite was a follower of King William III of England (r. 1689–1702) who deposed King James II and VII in the Glorious Revolution. William, the Stadtholder of the Dutch Republic, replaced James with the support of English Whigs. O ...

army under General Kirk. Steamer belonging to Bernard Forbes, 8th Earl of Granard, passing through Lanesborough Bridge in 1900

In 1701 a ferry carrying 46 people to the fair capsized and 35 drowned. Parliament was petitioned for a new bridge, and a stone bridge was erected in 1706, 300' long, 15' wide with 9 arches. It was demolished to provide a new bridge in 1844 which contained a swivel arch to allow large boats to pass through. This was removed in the 1960s and replaced by a concrete span in 1971.

Amenities

The Lanesborough–Ballyleague area is known for its sports fishing, and angling tourists coming to fish for bream, tench, rudd and pike on the Shannon. The Lough Ree Angling hub was set up in 2015 and has hosted the World Predator Boat Fishing championships and several other international angling events since then. The largest recorded pike ever caught in Ireland was caught in Lanesborough and weighed in at 62.5 lbs. The annual

Regatta Boat racing is a sport in which boats, or other types of watercraft, race on water. Boat racing powered by oars is recorded as having occurred in ancient Egypt, and it is likely that people have engaged in races involving boats and other wat ...

and the horse fair are important to the local economy. Lanesborough–Ballyleague is also a stop-over point for pleasure boats on the

navigation system.

is just to the south and stretches almost 30 km to

Athlone Athlone (; ) is a town on the border of County Roscommon and County Westmeath, Ireland. It is located on the River Shannon near the southern shore of Lough Ree. It is the second most populous town in the Midlands Region with a population of ...

: while upstream the Shannon meanders 40 km to

Carrick on Shannon Carrick-on-Shannon () is the county town of County Leitrim in Ireland. It is the largest town in the county of Leitrim. A smaller part of the town lies in County Roscommon. The population of the town was 4,062 in 2016. It is situated on a strat ...

and beyond to the Shannon-Erne Waterway.

Sport

The two towns have separate

Gaelic Athletic Association The Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA; ga, Cumann Lúthchleas Gael ; CLG) is an Irish international amateur sporting and cultural organisation, focused primarily on promoting indigenous Gaelic games and pastimes, which include the traditional ...

football teams: Rathcline and St Faithleachs. Lanesborough also has an Annual Triathlon which consists of a 750 m swim, 22 km cycling and 5 km run. It is organised by Lanesboro Triathlon Club.

Sailing

It is recorded that a Town Regatta took place in 1927. This regatta provided races for yachts and dinghies including Dublin Bay Water Wags. Trophies won in this regatta still exist. The annual regatta was reinstated in the 2000s and racing takes place for the traditional Shannon-One-Design dinghies over a weekend every September. This regatta does not include the rowing races which were traditionally a feature of regattas at the towns (such as Athlone or Carrick-on-Shannon) on the River Shannon.

Economy

The

Electricity Supply Board The Electricity Supply Board (ESB; ga, Bord Soláthair an Leictreachais) is a state owned (95%; the rest are owned by employees) electricity company operating in the Republic of Ireland. While historically a monopoly, the ESB now operates as a ...

and

Bord na Móna Bord na Móna (; English: "The Peat Board"), is a semi-state company in Ireland, created in 1946 by the Turf Development Act 1946. The company began developing the peatlands of Ireland with the aim to provide economic benefit for Irish Midland ...

are among the largest employers in the area. In 2016, the "Taste of the Lakelands Food Festival" brought a crowd of 6000 visitors to the town with the intent to bring a new focus on food tourism and food production in the area.

Twin town

* Lanesborough, Massachusetts, United States

Public transport

The town is served by three

Bus Éireann Bus Éireann (; "Irish Bus") is a state-owned bus and coach operator providing services throughout Ireland, with the exception of Dublin and the Greater Dublin Area, where bus services are provided by sister company Dublin Bus. It is a subsidi ...

routes. Route 425 (

Longford Longford () is the county town of County Longford in Ireland. It has a population of 10,008 according to the 2016 census. It is the biggest town in the county and about one third of the county's population lives there. Longford lies at the mee ...

Galway Galway ( ; ga, Gaillimh, ) is a City status in Ireland, city in the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht, which is the county town of County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lo ...

) provides a daily (except Sunday) service each way to/from

via

. Route 467 provides two additional journeys each way to/from

on Wednesday, and route 65 provides a journey each way to/from

and Cavan on Fridays and Sundays.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lanesborough-Ballyleague Towns and villages in County Longford Power stations in the Republic of Ireland Populated places on the River Shannon