Ballyjamesduff
Encyclopedia
Ballyjamesduff is a medium-sized town with a population of 2,240 in County Cavan
in Ireland
, located on the R194
regional road
. Formerly a market town and winner of the 1966 and 1967 Irish Tidy Towns Competition
, Ballyjamesduff is now one of the fastest growing towns in the region due to its proximity to the proposed M3 motorway and the Greater Dublin area for commuting.
newspaper, 1 in 12 men are single. This is the 9th highest rate of single men in the country.
where it was known as "The Mountnugent Frolics". The rights to the show were bought by the Ballyjamesduff Frolics Club in 1943, and the show was moved to Ballyjamesduff. In 1957, due to confusion, the event was renamed from "The Mountnugent Frolics" to "The Ballyjamesduff Frolics". One year, Terry Waite
famously made a cameo appearance.
The show uses special sound recording equipment to measure crowd cheering levels during the entire run of the Frolics. The act that receives the highest cheer wins the "Silver Spuckle Award". This is an award named after Monsignor Sylvester Spuckle, who was a patron of the show. It is made of solid silver and is worth €4,000. A cash award of €1,000 is also given to the winner.
In 2000, a comedy routine featured one of the townsfolk dressed as Chairman Mao Zedong
, with his eyes pinned with sellotape, working in a Chinese restaurant. His faux-Chinese voiced jokes about the local Town Diner restaurant led to the restaurant suing the organizers of the show for libel. The lawsuit was later settled out of court with the organisers being ordered to pay the restaurant a settlement.
In 2003, to celebrate the show's 60 years, the list of the highest cheered acts was revealed. The winners were "The Duodenums", a three-piece group playing a version of "Dueling Banjos
" on their tracheas. This was a parody of a scene from the film National Lampoon's Animal House, where a character did the same with the William Tell Overture
.
The 2007 Frolics was named the 'Non Stop Frolics' and ran from 16-25 November. It was alleged in local paper The Cavan Echo that one comedy sketch would attract controversy due to a perceived anti-Polish
theme. It turned out that the sketch played in the show was in fact about a Chinese man who disliked nail
and shoe polish
.
, parked the horse and cart outside the railway station and took the train to Dublin. Legend has it that the horse ran all across Ireland looking for Paddy, until Paddy Reilly was said to have returned. Paddy Reilly is now supposedly buried in St Joseph's graveyard, in the town of Ballyjamesduff.
County Cavan
County Cavan is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Border Region and is also located in the province of Ulster. It is named after the town of Cavan. Cavan County Council is the local authority for the county...
in 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,...
, located on the R194
R194 road
The R194 road is a regional road in Ireland linking Longford in County Longford to Virginia in County Cavan to Moynalty in County Meath.The road is long.-References:* – Department of Transport...
regional road
Regional road
A regional road in Ireland is a class of road not forming a major route , but nevertheless forming a link in the national route network. There are over 11,600 kilometres of regional roads. Regional roads are numbered with three digit route numbers, prefixed by "R" A regional road in Ireland is a...
. Formerly a market town and winner of the 1966 and 1967 Irish Tidy Towns Competition
Irish Tidy Towns Competition
Tidy Towns is an annual competition, first held in 1958, organised by the Irish Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government in order to honour the tidiest and most attractive cities, towns and villages in the Republic of Ireland...
, Ballyjamesduff is now one of the fastest growing towns in the region due to its proximity to the proposed M3 motorway and the Greater Dublin area for commuting.
Demographics
Between census years 2002 and 2006 the population of Ballyjamesduff rose by 59.9% (ref. data from Central Statistics Office). A major factor in the increase has been immigration from outside Ireland. The 2006 census results showed that more than 25% of people in the town were from overseas.Transport
Bus Éireann Route 187 serves Ballyjamesduff from Monday to Saturday. It provides transport to the neighbouring towns and villages of Oldcastle, Mountnugent, Virginia and Kells. There are four journeys both to and from Ballyjamesduff each weekday. The first journey of the day departs the town (for Kells) at 07:30. Subject to road safety the bus will stop to pick up and set down passengers at any safe point along the route.Mayor
According to the Sunday WorldSunday World
The Sunday World is an Irish newspaper published by Sunday Newspapers Limited, a division of Independent News and Media. It is the largest selling "popular" newspaper in the Republic of Ireland and is also sold in Northern Ireland .-Origins:The Sunday World was Ireland's first tabloid newspaper...
newspaper, 1 in 12 men are single. This is the 9th highest rate of single men in the country.
Notable places in Ballyjamesduff
- The Tannery has been in Ballyjamesduff for 309 years. In 1983, it was destroyed in a fire, but was rebuilt near a local petrol pump station a year later. The ashes of the old tannery were ceremoniously converted into 2½ bricks, one of which was subsequently stolen. These bricks formed the cornerstone of the new building.
- Ballyjamesduff was once noted for having the largest pub to person ratio in Ireland. There was approximately 1 pub for every 34 persons in the town.
- The Market House, built in 1815 to commemorate the military achievements at Waterloo of the Duke of Wellington, was designed by Arthur McClean a Cavan-born architect who also designed the Anglican church in Virginia, County CavanVirginia, County CavanVirginia is a small town of 3,939 inhabitants in County Cavan, Ireland. It was founded at Aghanure during the Plantation of Ulster and was named Virginia after Queen Elizabeth I of England....
. McClean left Ireland around 1825 and settled in Brockville, Ontario, Canada where he built a number of Anglican churches.
- St Joseph's Town Hall was built in 1959 and was opened officially in 1968 by showband act Big Tom and The MainlinersBig Tom and The MainlinersBig Tom and The Mainliners are a Country and Irish Showband from the Castleblayney area of County Monaghan, Ireland.-1966-1975:Originally named as "The Mighty Mainliners Showband", the band achieved fame after appearing on RTÉ Television's Showband Show broadcast on 21 May 1966 performing Gentle...
. There was nearly a riot in the hall in 1978 when the Sex PistolsSex PistolsThe Sex Pistols were an English punk rock band that formed in London in 1975. They were responsible for initiating the punk movement in the United Kingdom and inspiring many later punk and alternative rock musicians...
were advertised as playing a concert, but ultimately failed to show. It later transpired that they were never aware of the gig in the first place.
"The Frolics"
Ballyjamesduff annually holds "The Frolics", an eight-night showcase of music and "comedy". The show was originally held in the nearby town MountnugentMountnugent
Mountnugent, historically known as Dalysbridge , is a village in southern County Cavan, in the province of Ulster, Ireland. It is located on the R194 regional road on the River Inny near Lough Sheelin.-Facilities:...
where it was known as "The Mountnugent Frolics". The rights to the show were bought by the Ballyjamesduff Frolics Club in 1943, and the show was moved to Ballyjamesduff. In 1957, due to confusion, the event was renamed from "The Mountnugent Frolics" to "The Ballyjamesduff Frolics". One year, Terry Waite
Terry Waite
Terry Waite CBE is an English humanitarian and author.Waite was Archbishop of Canterbury Robert Runcie's Assistant for Anglican Communion Affairs in the 1980s. As an envoy for the Church of England, he travelled to Lebanon to try to secure the release of four hostages including journalist John...
famously made a cameo appearance.
The show uses special sound recording equipment to measure crowd cheering levels during the entire run of the Frolics. The act that receives the highest cheer wins the "Silver Spuckle Award". This is an award named after Monsignor Sylvester Spuckle, who was a patron of the show. It is made of solid silver and is worth €4,000. A cash award of €1,000 is also given to the winner.
In 2000, a comedy routine featured one of the townsfolk dressed as Chairman Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong, also transliterated as Mao Tse-tung , and commonly referred to as Chairman Mao , was a Chinese Communist revolutionary, guerrilla warfare strategist, Marxist political philosopher, and leader of the Chinese Revolution...
, with his eyes pinned with sellotape, working in a Chinese restaurant. His faux-Chinese voiced jokes about the local Town Diner restaurant led to the restaurant suing the organizers of the show for libel. The lawsuit was later settled out of court with the organisers being ordered to pay the restaurant a settlement.
In 2003, to celebrate the show's 60 years, the list of the highest cheered acts was revealed. The winners were "The Duodenums", a three-piece group playing a version of "Dueling Banjos
Dueling Banjos
"Dueling Banjos" is an instrumental composition by Arthur "Guitar Boogie" Smith. The song was composed in 1955 by Smith as a banjo instrumental he called "Feudin' Banjos", which contained riffs from "Yankee Doodle". Smith recorded it playing a four-string plectrum banjo and accompanied by...
" on their tracheas. This was a parody of a scene from the film National Lampoon's Animal House, where a character did the same with the William Tell Overture
William Tell Overture
The William Tell Overture is the instrumental introduction to the opera Guillaume Tell by Gioachino Rossini. William Tell premiered in 1829 and was the last of Rossini's 39 operas, after which he went into semi-retirement, although he continued to compose cantatas, sacred music and secular vocal...
.
The 2007 Frolics was named the 'Non Stop Frolics' and ran from 16-25 November. It was alleged in local paper The Cavan Echo that one comedy sketch would attract controversy due to a perceived anti-Polish
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
theme. It turned out that the sketch played in the show was in fact about a Chinese man who disliked nail
Nail polish
Nail polish, or nail varnish, is a lacquer applied to human fingernails or toenails to decorate and/or protect the nail plate.-History:...
and shoe polish
Shoe polish
Shoe polish , usually a waxy paste or a cream, is a consumer product used to polish, shine, waterproof, and restore the appearance of leather shoes or boots, thereby extending the footwear's life...
.
In song
It is famous for being in the Percy French song "Come back Paddy Reilly to Ballyjamesduff", which was written about a man from the area who acted as Jarvy (coach driver) for French and decided to emigrate to Scotland. It is said that he drove his horse and cart to Carrick-on-ShannonCarrick-on-Shannon
Carrick-on-Shannon is the county town of County Leitrim in Ireland. It is also the smallest main county town in the country . It is situated on a strategic crossing point of the River Shannon and is the largest town in the county. The population of the town was 3,163 in 2006. It is in the barony...
, parked the horse and cart outside the railway station and took the train to Dublin. Legend has it that the horse ran all across Ireland looking for Paddy, until Paddy Reilly was said to have returned. Paddy Reilly is now supposedly buried in St Joseph's graveyard, in the town of Ballyjamesduff.
The Pork Festival
This was an annual town festival started in 1994.http://www.cavanlive.com/_news/eventsarticle.asp?NID=78623&NCID=8 It celebrates all things pig-like. This is largely due to a nearby pork-rendering factory regularly supplying a large amount of pork for use in the town festival. The festival is one which celebrates the commercial value of the pig to the town. Highlights of the festival included:- Kosher Kraziness: A Kosher food eating contest.
- The Pig Run: Similar to the Running of the Bulls, but with boars instead of bulls.
- The Swine & Cheese party: A more cultural Pork and Cheese tasting party.
- Grills Gone Wild: A pig and pig-farmer beauty pageant. It was largely a joke version of most beauty pageants. It took its name from the popular Girls Gone WildGirls Gone WildThe Girls Gone Wild franchise, created by Joe Francis, is a video series by the production company Mantra Films, Inc., which is headquartered in Santa Monica, California.-Content:...
series.
- The Olympigs: A day of track and field events for pig farmers. The main event of the Olympigs was the 10-legged race, where each contestant raced with a pig attached to each leg. This was often a source of controversy, with protests taking place each year from animal rights protesters. However, the festival committee always maintained that no pigs (apart from ones eaten) were harmed during the festival.
- The Speaking in Pig Latin Debate Competition: A competition where people must speak as long as they can in Pig LatinPig LatinPig Latin is a language game of alterations played in English. To form the Pig Latin form of an English word the first consonant is moved to the end of the word and an ay is affixed . The object is to conceal the meaning of the words from others not familiar with the rules...
. The current record is over 9 hours, held by a local teacher.
- Pig Racing: Pigs are raced with knitted jockeys attached to their backs.
Famous people associated with Ballyjamesduff
- Percy French poet, songwriter and noted Board of Works Inspector of Drains with Cavan County Council.
- John WesleyJohn WesleyJohn Wesley was a Church of England cleric and Christian theologian. Wesley is largely credited, along with his brother Charles Wesley, as founding the Methodist movement which began when he took to open-air preaching in a similar manner to George Whitefield...
preacher, theologian and founder of the worldwide Methodist Church, preached in Ballyjamesduff and built a church here during the 18th century. - Pete BriquettePete BriquettePete Briquette is the stage name of Patrick Cusack . His pseudonym refers to the fact that he hails from the Irish countryside; peat briquettes are a type of refined turf burned in fires instead of coal.-Boomtown Rats:He was the bass guitarist, backing vocalist, occasional songwriter, and sometime...
of the Boomtown Rats came from Ballyjamesduff. His real name is Patrick Cusack. - Marcus DalyMarcus DalyMarcus Daly redirects here, see also Marcus Daly Marcus Daly was an Irish-born American businessman known as one of the three "Copper Kings" of Butte, Montana, United States.- Early life:...
, known as "the Montana Copper King", was born in 1841 near Ballyjamesduff. He died in 1900 in New York.
See also
- List of towns and villages in Ireland
- Market Houses in IrelandMarket Houses in the Republic of IrelandMarket houses are a notable feature of many Irish towns with varying styles of architecture, size and ornamentation making for a most interesting feature of the streetscape. Originally there were three, four or even five bays on the ground floor which were an open arcade. An upper floor was...