Ballindine is a village

Village

A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...

 in County Mayo

County Mayo

County Mayo is a county in Ireland. It is located in the West Region and is also part of the province of Connacht. It is named after the village of Mayo, which is now generally known as Mayo Abbey. Mayo County Council is the local authority for the county. The population of the county is 130,552...

, Ireland

Republic of Ireland

Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...

. It is located along the Western Railway Corridor

Western Railway Corridor

The Western Railway Corridor , or Conair Iarnróid an Iarthair , in Ireland is a recent term for a mostly disused railway line running through the West of Ireland...

, 6.5 km (4 ml) south of Claremorris

Claremorris

Claremorris , is a town in County Mayo in the west of Ireland, at the junction of the N17 and the N60 national routes. The population of Claremoris in the 2011 Census was 3,979....

. The N17 route passes through the village, carrying over 10,000 vehicles daily, and it connects to the R328 road

R328 road (Ireland)

The R328 road is a regional road in Counties Mayo and Galway in Ireland, connecting Ballindine on the N17 to Moylough on the N63.The official definition of the R328 from the Roads Act 1993 Order 2006 states:...

 on the south side of town. The village will be bypassed as part of the Claremorris-Tuam dual-carriageway which is in the early stages of planning.

Areas of interest

The remains of a possible fort are located in a field next to the National School. Folklore states that Ballindine got its name from this fort - "Baile an Daingin" meaning "Town of the Fortress" and that the souterrain

Souterrain

Souterrain is a name given by archaeologists to a type of underground structure associated mainly with the Atlantic Iron Age. These structures appear to have been brought northwards from Gaul during the late Iron Age. Regional names include earth houses, fogous and Pictish houses...

, just outside it, was connected underground to the ruins of the old church in Cloonmore about 2 km (2 ml) to the east and also to the ruins of the old church in Garryduff, 5 km (3 ml) west.

Ballindine is in the Roman Catholic parish of Kilvine. Church records are held at the South Mayo Family Research Centre in Ballinrobe

Ballinrobe

-Early history:Dating back to 1390, Ballinrobe is said to be the oldest town in South Mayo. The registry of the Dominican friary of Athenry mentions the monastery de Roba, an Augustinian friary whose recently restored ruins are one of the historical landmarks of the town today...

. Old school records dating to the 1800s are held in the present National School.

Local events

The village has had a monthly cattle and sheep fair since the 1960s and the Ballindine September fair was well known in West of Ireland. The July fair was also called 'The Gooseberry Fair' and Ballindine honoured this tradition with an annual 'Gooseberry Festival' up until 2002.

Western Alzheimers Foundation

The Western Alzheimer's

Alzheimer's disease

Alzheimer's disease also known in medical literature as Alzheimer disease is the most common form of dementia. There is no cure for the disease, which worsens as it progresses, and eventually leads to death...

 Foundation which promotes awareness of the disease is headquartered in Ballindine.

Sport

The Ballindine Gaelic footballers join with Irishtown

Irishtown, County Mayo

Irishtown is a village in County Mayo, Ireland, located on the southern county border with County Galway about halfway between Claremorris and Tuam on the R328 regional road...

 to form the Davitts team who play in red and black. Davitts is currently playing in Division 1B league and Intermediate Championship.

People

• Pat Rabbitte
  Pat Rabbitte
  Pat Rabbitte is an Irish Labour Party politician who has been Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources since March 2011...
  
  , former leader of the Labour Party
  Labour Party (Ireland)
  The Labour Party is a social-democratic political party in the Republic of Ireland. The Labour Party was founded in 1912 in Clonmel, County Tipperary, by James Connolly, James Larkin and William X. O'Brien as the political wing of the Irish Trade Union Congress. Unlike the other main Irish...
  
   was born in Woodstock, a townland near the village, and still owns a family home there.

Transport

• Ballindine railway station
  Ballindine railway station
  Ballindine railway station is a planned railway station intended to serve the village of Ballindine in County Mayo. The station was originally opened by the Waterford, Limerick and Western Railway in 1894 on the route between Limerick and Claremorris...
  
   was opened on 30 April 1894, and closed on 17 June 1963

See also

• List of towns and villages in Ireland