Also Nearby
History
Sports
From the 1940’s to early 1990’s the Annual Ballyglass Sports and Aeridheacht was a looked-forward-to event in many communities throughout Ireland. The Ballyglass Sports was held in The Turlough as far back as 1944.
In 1951, Ballyglass Sports Club was created and holding the Sports and Aeridheacht became an official annual event. Ballyglass Sports also became one of the most well known, successful, best organised Sports and Aeridheacht in all of Connaught and further afield.
According to local fokelore “Ballyglass Sports was said to have started when the late Dick Langan came out of his shop and handed a 10/= note to a number of local young men—who were possibly playing “pitch and toss” or handball against the gable wall—and told them to organise a sports.” The 44th annual sports, held on 23 August 1995, was the last sports held until its revival in 2010.
Ballyglass FC was founded in 1975 by two local men Michael Keaveney, RIP, and Tommy Joe Walsh. The Club has gone from strength to strength over the years with various voluntary committees ensuring that the facilities today are second to none in the county and indeed the country!
The club boasts of two pitches – a floodlit training pitch and a playing pitch, an astro turf pitch, a clubhouse with changing rooms, meeting room and function room, a storage shed and ample car parking.The official opening of the new grounds took place in 1989 by the then President of Ireland Mary Robinson.
In 2009 the Club dedicated its pitch to one of its founder members – Michael Keaveney Park – the unveiling of the plaque was performed by President of the FAI David Blood.The club caters for boys and girls from Under 6 to Under 18 – and have senior men and ladies teams. The Club has achieved many honours over the years – its most notable being the signing of Ryan Connolly with Derby County. The Club runs a weekly lotto which is the main means of income for the Club.
Historical Sites
There are many historical sites interest in the area including:
- a bronze age burial mound in Curlisduane,
- Three Turloughs – the main one situtated in Carrowhall – steeped in natural history
- Rosslee graveyard
- Towerhill House
- Hedgeschool sites
- Ring forts
- Congested District Board houses
- Old Garda Barracks and Jail
- RIC Barracks and Courthouse
- Animal Pound
- Bianconi Coaches Stops
- Market Square
- Old IRA Monument
- Castlelucas Castle
- Mountpleasant House
- Summerhill House
Getting to Ballyglass
- By Rail: Castlebar is on the main Dublin-Westport route, Castlebar is 8 miles from Ballyglass. For timetables and more information, visit Irish Rail.
- By Car:
- from Dublin,
- from Galway,
- from Sligo,
- By Bus: Castlebar, Ballinrobe and Claremorris are served by a number of Bus Eireann routes. For timetables and more information, visit Bus Eireann.
- By Air: You can fly to Knock Airport (IWAK) from a number of UK and European locations. Visit the Ireland West Airport Knock website for schedules and carriers.
Education
Mountpleasant National School provides children from the area with their primary school education. Pupils then move to nearby secondary schools – Balla, Claremorris, Castlebar, Ballinrobe or Tourmakeady.
The Community Childcare Service caters for children from 4 months to 12 years and includes:
- Full day care for babies, waddlers and toddlers
- Pre-school and play-school
- Afterschool
- Breakfast club
The service operates the Early Childhood Care and Education Scheme (ECCE), the Childcare Subvention Scheme (CCS) and the Childcare Education and Training Scheme (CETS).
Sport
- Boys and girls, men and women, from Ballyglass and surrounding areas, play soccer with Ballyglass Football & Social Club.
- There is a flood lit astro turf pitch at the soccer grounds which can be booked for hourly sessions, and can also be booked for kiddies parties
- Ballintubber GAA Club and Mayo Gaels GAA Club are the nearby clubs where players from Ballyglass play their Gaelic football
- There is a tennis court situated at the rear of the community centre which is available for use by the general public free of charge.