Ballinderreen () is a village located on the N67 route between Kilcolgan and

Kinvara Kinvara or Kinvarra () is a sea port village in the southwest of County Galway, Ireland. It is located in the civil parish of Kinvarradoorus in the north of the barony of Kiltartan. Kinvarra is also an electoral division. Geography The vil ...

in south County Galway, in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

Location and name

Ballinderreen village is approximately 22 km south of

Galway City Galway ( ; ga, Gaillimh, ) is a city in the West of Ireland, in the province of Connacht, which is the county town of County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay, and is the sixth most populous city on ...

and is a part of the townland of Ballinderreen. Ballinderreen is both the name of the Catholic diocesan parish of Galway and the townland where the village is situated. It takes its name from oak trees in the village. The Irish name of the village, ''Baile an Doirín'', means "town of the little derry or little oakwood", suggesting the area may once have been more heavily forested with oak trees. It contains the early Christian settlement of Surney of Drumacoo. The parish of Ballinderreen covers a larger area, taking in part of the village of Kilcolgan on the N18 and borders

Clarinbridge Clarinbridge () is a village in south County Galway, Ireland. It is on the mouth of the Clarin River at the end of Dunbulcaun Bay, which is the easternmost part of Galway Bay. The placename is also spelled Clarenbridge. Notable people * Alexa ...

and

Ardrahan Ardrahan () is a village in County Galway, Ireland. History Richard de Burgo conquered Galway in 1236, and granted the land to Maurice Fitzgerald who built the castle whose ruins still stand today. The churchyard wall contains the remains ...

. Ballinderreen townland lies in the barony of Dunkellin (''Dún Coillín'' in Irish) and in the

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authorit ...

of Drumacoo (''Droim Mucú'').

Amenities

The village of Ballinderreen has a pub, a primary school, a church (Roman Catholic, St. Colman's), a creche, several sports pitches (mainly used for hurling and athletics), a nursing home, and a community centre. A small shopping centre including a fuel station, convenience store, hairdressers, and take away restaurant opened in 2009. Between 2000 and 2010 Ballinderreen saw the construction of new houses and several small residential developments. This has resulted in an increase in the village's population.

Geography

Ballinderreen is located close to

, to the neighbouring villages of

and

, is located on the shores of

Galway Bay Galway Bay ( Irish: ''Loch Lurgain'' or ''Cuan na Gaillimhe'') is a bay on the west coast of Ireland, between County Galway in the province of Connacht to the north and the Burren in County Clare in the province of Munster to the south; Galw ...

(the village itself is approximately 1.5 km from the shore). Nearby locations within the bay include Brandy Harbour and Dunbulcaun Bay to the north and Kinvara Bay to the west. Aran Pier, Mulroog Pier and Tarrea Pier shelter some private pleasure crafts on these shores. Public transport to the village includes two to three services per day passing through the village. Bus Éireann and CityLink operate services frequently through Kilcolgan, five minutes away, to Galway, Limerick, Cork and Shannon Airport. The Ballinderreen area itself has sometimes referred to by locals as the "mini-Burren" due to its turlough and

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

pavement. A lake with extensive reed beds is present about 1 km west of the village.

Education

Residents of Ballinderreen typically send their children to the national school in the village, which is one of the oldest national schools in the country, having been built in 1857. Other primary schools in the area include the Irish Language ''Gaelscoil de hÍde'' in nearby Oranmore and

Educate Together Educate Together () is an educational charity in Ireland which is the patron body to "equality-based, co-educational, child centred, and democratically run" schools. It was founded in 1984 to act as the patron body for the new multidenomination ...

in Kilcolgan. Secondary schools in Kinvara (Seamount College) and Gort (Gort Community School) cater for the older children.

Music

A community of local musicians and singers known as ''Ceoltóirí an Doirín'' has formed a nonprofit organisation aimed at providing facilities for learning and playing traditional Irish music in Ballindereen. This group organise lessons and instrument rental to encourage traditional music and have recorded examples of local musicians and produced several musical events in the area. The tradition of Mummers is also alive in the Ballinderreen area with regular visits by Wrenboys () frequent on St. Stephen's Day (26 December) and Mummers calling door to door at Halloween.

Sport

Ballinderreen hurling club was founded in 1884, and has had relatively little success in terms of silverware at the older age level but did win the minor B in 1987. The club plays at the senior level. It won the Galway Intermediate hurling championship in 2017, beating Meelick Eyrecourt by 1-14 to 0-13 in the final. Players from the club have included Noel Lane, Joe McDonagh, and Mick Gill. The Ballinderreen GAA colours are two vertical stripes of green and white. Other sporting activities in the area include a golf society, a camogie club which caters for teams from U'8 up to Junior, and a variety of water sports, including boating, canoeing and swimming at the local pier at Killeenaran.

External links

Ballinderreen Community Website

References

{{Roman Catholic Diocese of Galway, Kilmacduagh and Kilfenora Towns and villages in County Galway