Ballingeary (, ) is a village in the

Shehy Mountains The Shehy Mountains (''Cnoic na Seithe'' in Irish, meaning ''"Hills of the animal hides"'') are a range of low mountains situated on the border between County Cork and County Kerry, in Ireland. Geography and geology The highest peak (also the ...

County Cork County Cork () is the largest and the southernmost Counties of Ireland, county of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, named after the city of Cork (city), Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. The village is located within the Muskerry ''

Gaeltacht A ( , , ) is a district of Ireland, either individually or collectively, where the Irish government recognises that the Irish language is the predominant vernacular, or language of the home. The districts were first officially recognised ...

'' (Irish-speaking area). According to the 2016 census, over 42% of the population speak Irish on a daily basis outside the education system. In 2022, Ballingeary had the highest proportion of Irish speakers among the population aged three years and over in Ireland, at 89%. It has an active Irish-language summer school, ''Coláiste na Mumhan'' (College of Munster), which was attended by

Thomas MacDonagh Thomas Stanislaus MacDonagh (; 1 February 1878 – 3 May 1916) was an Irish political activist, poet, playwright, educationalist and revolutionary leader. He was one of the seven leaders of the Easter Rising of 1916, a signatory of the Proclama ...

in the summer of 1906. It also hosts a yearly agricultural and horticultural show. Ballingeary is 19 km west of

Macroom Macroom (; ) is a market town in County Cork, Ireland, located in the valley of the River Sullane, halfway between Cork (city), Cork city and Killarney. Its population has grown and receded over the centuries as it went through periods of war, ...

, on the R584 road. The

River Lee The River Lee () is a river in Ireland. It rises in the Shehy Mountains on the western border of County Cork and flows eastwards through Cork, where it splits in two for a short distance, creating an island on which Cork's city centre is b ...

rises a few kilometres west of the village, at

Gougane Barra Gougane Barra () is a scenic valley and heritage site in the Shehy Mountains of County Cork, Ireland. It is near Ballingeary in the Muskerry ''Gaeltacht''. Gougane Barra is at the source of the River Lee and includes a lake with an oratory bu ...

Park.

References

External links

Ballingeary.com
Towns and villages in County Cork Gaeltacht places in County Cork Gaeltacht towns and villages {{Cork-geo-stub

See also

References

External links