by Damian Mac Con Uladh - www.ballinasloe.org

The history of Ballinasloe is much older than the name of the town itself. Originally known as Dunlo, the town has been known by its present name since as early as the fifteenth century in Irish - Béal Átha na Slua or the "Mouth of the Ford of the Hosts" - however, gives a clear indication why the town developed. The ford of Ballinasloe over the River Suck was the crossing point for traffic approaching from Athlone and both Irish king and Norman baron found its fortification a necessary link in the defence of Connacht.

In pre-history, is area was reputedly occupied by the Delbhna Nuadat, the Magh Sen-Chineoil and the Fir Bolg. About the fourth century, a new people came and conquered the area, led by Maine Mór, the legendary founder of the Kelly Clan who ruled the kingdom of Hymany for centuries. Maine Mór's military feat over the Fir Bolg was greatly helped by Saint Grellan, who as a consequence became patron saint of Ballinasloe and the Kelly Clan.

The strategic importance of area was recognised by Turloch O'Connor, who in 1120 built a bridge over the River Suck. In 1124, a castle was added which was located where St Michael's Church now stands. When they arrived in the area, the Normans erected a castle at Suicín, now known as Creagh. The Norman influence was weak, however, and the O'Kelly family of Clonmacnoon dominated the area until the seventeenth century. They resided at Tuaim Sruthra, now the townland of Ashford. It is also possible that the O'Kellys built the castle, now known as Ballinasloe Castle and located on River Street.

Ballinasloe Bridge built 1120

The sixteenth-century Reformation signalled tremendous change in the area, as land and property belonging to the monasteries and the Church were confiscated and re-granted to Protestants and others who recognized Henry VIII of England as head of the Church. One of the major beneficiaries of this change in land ownership was Malachy Brabazon, who was given a large part of Creagh parish. Anthony's grandson, Malby, converted to Catholicism, fought with the Confederates in 1641 Rebellion and defended Ballinasloe against Ireton, Cromwell's son. The Brabazons lived at Ballinasloe Castle.

As a result of the 1641 Rebellion, which was a revolt of Catholic landowners against Protestants, most of the Catholic families in the area had their lands confiscated. The Tully family which owned a castle at Garbally lost this but kept property in Caltraleagh, Killure. Further confiscations were carried out during the time of Cromwell, which heralded the arrival in the area of a family descended from French Huguenot stock which would dominate Ballinasloe for over two hundred years - the Trench family, or the earls of Clancarty as they became known after the Act of Union in 1801. The first, Frederick Trench died in 1669 and his son, also Frederick, actively helped the forces of William of Orange at Aughrim against the army of James II. After the battle, he bought 200 acres around Ballinasloe for the princely sum of £70! The Trenchs continued to buy up property and married well. Richard Trench, MP for County Galway in "Grattan's" Parliament voted in favour of the Act of Union with the United Kingdom in 1800 and was rewarded with a peerage - the Earldom of Clancarty.

It is important to point out that until the eighteenth century at least, the town had developed mainly on the eastern side of the River Suck, which was then in County Roscommon. Present-day Bridge Street was then an island between two courses of the River Suck and this is where the Galway-Roscommon border ran. The Trench family laid out the basic outline of the town of Ballinasloe as it is known today. The town gradually spread out from the River into the County Galway side and in the townlands of Back, Carrowlumnagh, Caltrahard and Dunlo (now collectively known as Townparks), streets were laid out, the first being Main Street. Brackernagh was developed in the 1790s. By the 1820s, parts of Society and Dunlo Street had not been built. A number of hotels existed in the eighteenth century near the River, including Corbett's hotel, where Wolfe Tone stayed towards the end of the century, and Cuffe's near the bridge (now Caroline Keighrey's hair saloon). When Dean Swift passed through the town in the early part of the century he stayed at the Sign of the Cock and Hen, which is possibly Deane's house on Bridge Street.

Ballinasloe thrived in the nineteenth century under the Trenches, who by virtue of owning the land upon which it had taken place for years, developed the Ballinasloe October Fair into one of the greatest and most famous fairs of its kind in Ireland, Britain and the Continent. Strategically located on the crossing from West to East, Ballinasloe provided a convenient centre for sale of cattle from Connacht to Leinster. In other words, livestock raised in the West could be easily sold on to graziers from the East for fattening and export to the hungry markets of Britain and the Continent. Statistics on the number of cattle and sheep sold are testimony to the fair's size and development: in 1790, 7,782 cattle and 68,095 sheep changed hands; in 1856, the sales amounted to 20,000 head of cattle and 99,658 sheep. It is only since the early twentieth century that the fair has become exclusively associated with the horse.

In the early part of the nineteenth century, Ballinasloe could boast of extensive industries. In 1837 there were a flour mill and four oatmeal mills on the river and the corn trade had expanded due to the extension of the Grand Canal to the town in 1828. There were a large coach factory, one for farming implements, two breweries (one was known as Boyd's), tanyards, a large bacon-curing establishment and a felt hat manufactory. Extensive employment was also provided by the limestone quarry on Brackernagh, which was used to construct many of the fine nineteenth century buildings in the town such as Garbally (1819), St Brigid's Hospital (1833), the Workhouse (1839), St John's Church (1843), the Town Hall (1845), St Michael's Church (1858), the Railway Station. The arrival of the Grand Canal (1828) and the railway (1850) opened the town up to greater markets but also accelerated the demise of its local manufacturing industries.During the Famine or Great Hunger (1845-1850), Ballinasloe was the scene of much distress and suffering. The Workhouse, built originally to accommodate 1,000 paupers, had over 5,500 inmates in May 1849. Indeed, as the original Workhouse complex became overcrowded, 14 auxiliary workhouses were opened in buildings around the town, including the Town Hall and Boyd's Brewery. In May 1849, a cholera epidemic claimed the lives of over 2,500 Workhouse inhabitants as well as many townspeople in a period of a few weeks. In 1841 there were over ten thousand people in the parish, half of whom lived in the town. By 1861 the population had reduced to 7,205, of whom only 3,296 were in the rural area. Three hundred and two families disappeared in those twenty years, and the population of the town fell from 5,080 to 3,909.

In the 1870s, the tenant farmers began their struggle for land ownership. Their leader was the Fenian Matt Harris (1825-1890), MP for Galway East from 1885 to 1890. His Ballinasloe Tenants' Defence Association was established in 1876 - three years before the foundation of Michael Davitt's Land League, leading one commentator to write that Harris's organisation "perhaps, did more than any other to beget the Land League".

Land reform severely weakened the power of the Clancartys, who eventually were declared bankrupt in 1912. The First World War (1914-1918) took its toll on the town and about 100 men, mostly from the poorer sections of the Catholic and the younger generation of the Protestant communities, died on battlefields in France, Belgium, Greece, Turkey, Iraq and elsewhere. As a garrison town, there was little IRA activity in Ballinasloe during the War of Independence. The Urban District Council, however, did declare its allegiance to Dáil Éireann in 1920. In the ensuring Civil War, "irregular" IRA units were active in the area under the leadership of Jack Keogh.

In the 1936, the Dubarry factory opened in the town, creating employment for hundreds of townspeople. In the 1970s, AT Cross and Square D opened, complimenting a manufacturing base matched only in a few towns of similar size in the country. While these three flagship enterprises are no more, Ballinasloe is dealing with the challenges of the present and future as it has dealt with even more grave challenges over its long history.

(For a more detailed account of the history of Ballinasloe, please consult Fr. Kevin Egan's 1953 The Parish of Ballinasloe.)