Balbriggan
Encyclopedia
Balbriggan is a town in the northern part of the administrative county of Fingal
, within County Dublin
, Ireland
. The 2006 census population was 15,559 for Balbriggan and its environs.
Many locals however have traditionally felt that Baile Brigín means "Town of the Little Hills", due to the relatively low hills that surround the town. This translation is not well founded as it appears to be derived from a phonetic deconstruction of a suggested spelling. (3/9)
It seems more likely that the town’s name is derived from the word Brecan, as the area was known in pre- Norse invasion times as Breaga, populated by a tribe or clan known as the Bregii and the aforementioned River Bracken.
, other than there may always have been a small settlement of fishermen, weavers and some sort of agricultural trade post.
Balbriggan owes its rise from a small fishing village to a place of manufacturing and commercial importance to the late Baron Hamilton
, who, in 1780, introduced cotton manufacture, for which he erected factories.
-eve, 1329, between John de Bermingham, Earl of Louth
, (who had been elevated to the 'palatine dignity' of the county), and Richard, Lord of Malahide, and several of their kinsmen, against local rival families, the Verduns, Gernons, and Savages, who were opposed to the elevation of the earl; and in which the former, with 60 of their English followers, were killed.
based in the nearby Gormanston military barracks on 20 September 1920 was one of the more infamous acts of the Irish War of Independence
. This event, known as the "Sack of Balbriggan", resulted in the destruction of 54 houses and a hosiery factory, and the looting of four public houses. The attack received much international attention due to Balbriggan's position close to foreign news correspondents in Dublin. A subsequent delegation from the United States
pledged to rebuild thirty homes in the village and a local factory. Other deaths followed during the war, most noticeably those of Séamus Lawless and Sean Gibbons who were bayoneted to death by the British forces on 21 September 1920. A plaque on Bridge Street in the town commemorates their murder.
–Dublin main line of the Irish rail network
. Commuter rail services serve Balbriggan railway station
, which opened on 25 May 1844 and closed for goods traffic on 2 December 1974. It is estimated that about 2,200 commuters use the station every working day. The town is also located next to the M1 motorway (the section known as the Balbriggan Bypass), which was completed in 1998. Prior to this, the main Dublin-Belfast road went through the centre of the town, with major traffic congestion on a daily basis.
Balbriggan is the most northerly town in Fingal
(although the village of Balscadden
lies further north within the county), and is situated very close to Drogheda
.
Balbriggan experienced a population boom in the early part of the 2000s as a result of the demand for housing within the wider Dublin region. The population has increased as a result, with hundreds of new homes being built.
The town is coastal and has a famous sandy beach. It was a holiday destination for people from Dublin city and is the location of a Sunshine Home which aims to provide a holiday to underprivileged children from Dublin.
Fingal Adult Education Service offers numerous adult education courses both full and part time.
There are two large secondary schools in the town: Loreto Balbriggan and Balbriggan Community College. Ardgillan Community College opened in 2010.
There is a further Post Primary level school to open in 2014 in Clogheder Balbriggan, which has been designated as a Gael Coláiste
.
Balbriggan has a number of primary schools, including:
has located a passport
production facility in Balbriggan. There is also a proposal to relocate the Drogheda International Seaport to the Bremore Port
area to the north of the town.
Local development bodies expect that the proposed Bremore Port and orbital motorway projects as well as the existing M1 motorway and Belfast - Dublin railway are major draws to prospective companies with large logistical sectors hoping to expand or set up in the Fingal area.
Balbriggan Town Hall serves as home to Balbriggan Town Council
.
movies - 'he put his balbriggans on' and both Queen Victoria and the Czarina of Russia also wore "Balbriggans". Wavin
has been manufacturing plastic pipes, contributing to the provision of running water in many Irish rural homes, in their purpose-built facility since 1962.
Balbriggan's strong textile connections also include the linen & cotton manufacturing of Charles Gallen & Company, who in 1870, purchased the existing weaving mill and associated facilities built by Baron Hamilton. The firm became famous as the finest linen weavers in Ireland and had custom all over the world. They were also suppliers of linens to the Vatican, Embassies of Ireland and the US, and fine hotels worldwide. The business continues today from another location as the old mill in the town centre has been redeveloped.
Over the Easter 2008 weekend precast engineering company Techrete relocated their production facility from Howth
to Stephenstown Industrial Park with their head office set to follow.
O'Dwyers GAA
is the local Gaelic Athletic Association
club. It was founded in 1918 and currently fields juvenile hurling and football teams from U-7 to U-18. There are two adult male football teams that play in AFL3, AFL10, a Junior Hurling team (AHL5) and a Junior B Camogie team.
Formerly known as Clonard Celtic (founded 1982), this club amalgamated with another club in the town, Balscadden Blues, in the 1990s. Balbriggan F.C. now fields numerous under age teams from under 8's right up to under 18's. The 3 senior teams currently play in the Leinster Senior League and work has now been completed on their new clubhouse located in Bremore, Balbriggan.
GlebeNorth Fc
Established in 1945, this club is the most successful in the town. Several past players have received international honours; both Anthony Guildea and Michael Reid were capped for Ireland at junior level. Market Green, the club's ground opened a new clubhouse on 31 May 1998The club has 2 Senior teams playing in the Leinster Senior League http://www.leinsterseniorleague.com/ and 16 schoolboy/girl teams playing in the NDSL League's http://www.ndsl.ie/.The main pitch and clubhouse are located at market green, the club also has a fully floodlight main pitch,also a fully floodlight all weather pitch.
Established in late 1999, this club is the newest and probably the smallest in the town. Players hail from Balbriggan, Stamullen, Naul, Drogheda, Skerries, Rush, Lusk and Swords. Currently it consists of a women's (since 2002) and a men's senior team only. The Ring Commons Sports Centre is the club's homeground.
Balbriggan Rugby Club was originally founded in 1925. They currently field two adult teams who play in the Leinster League, Div.3 and Leinster North East Area League (Mc Gee Cup). They also field several underage teams from U7's through to U18's and U20's. The Club started the 2007/2008 Season playing at the new Club Grounds Balrothery
, Co. Dublin nextdoor to North County Cricket Club. The Club plans further major developments which will see the building of a clubhouse, swimming pool, gyms and training areas. On Fri. 14th Nov. 2008 the 500 Lux Flood Lighting system was turned on for the first time on the main pitch, soon to be followed by the second pitch. The third full size sand based all weather pitch will be ready and lit for the start of the 2009/10 season next September.
The Circket Clubs home ground is in the 'Town Park', beside the Catholic Church
Fingal
Fingal is a county in Ireland. It is one of three smaller counties into which County Dublin was divided in 1994. With its county seat located in Swords, it has a population of 239,992 according to the 2006 census...
, within County Dublin
County Dublin
County Dublin is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Dublin Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the city of Dublin which is the capital of Ireland. County Dublin was one of the first of the parts of Ireland to be shired by King John of England following the...
, 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,...
. The 2006 census population was 15,559 for Balbriggan and its environs.
Name
According to P.W. Joyce the name arises from "Baile Breacain" [sic] which literally means "Brecan's Town". Brecan is a common medieval first name and there are several other Brackenstowns in Ireland. There is also a possible link to the local Bracken River, in which case the name could derive from breicín "little trout".Many locals however have traditionally felt that Baile Brigín means "Town of the Little Hills", due to the relatively low hills that surround the town. This translation is not well founded as it appears to be derived from a phonetic deconstruction of a suggested spelling. (3/9)
It seems more likely that the town’s name is derived from the word Brecan, as the area was known in pre- Norse invasion times as Breaga, populated by a tribe or clan known as the Bregii and the aforementioned River Bracken.
History
There is no consensus about the "foundation" of the townTown
A town is a human settlement larger than a village but smaller than a city. The size a settlement must be in order to be called a "town" varies considerably in different parts of the world, so that, for example, many American "small towns" seem to British people to be no more than villages, while...
, other than there may always have been a small settlement of fishermen, weavers and some sort of agricultural trade post.
18th century
An 18th century traveler described Balbriggan as " ..a small village situated in a small glin ("glen") where the sea forms a little harbour - it is reckoned safe and is sheltered by a good pier. The village is resorted to in Summer time by several genteel people for the benefit of bathing."Balbriggan owes its rise from a small fishing village to a place of manufacturing and commercial importance to the late Baron Hamilton
Baron Hamilton
Baron Hamilton may refer to several peerage titles.*Baron Hamilton of Strabane in the County of Tyrone *Baron Hamilton of Glenawly *Baron Hamilton of Stackallen in the County of Meath...
, who, in 1780, introduced cotton manufacture, for which he erected factories.
19th century
Lewis's Topographical Directory of Ireland, from 1837, refers to Balbriggan as follows:
A sea-port, market, and post-village, and a chapelry, in the parish and barony of Balrothery, county of Dublin, and province of LeinsterLeinsterLeinster is one of the Provinces of Ireland situated in the east of Ireland. It comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Mide, Osraige and Leinster. Following the Norman invasion of Ireland, the historic fifths of Leinster and Mide gradually merged, mainly due to the impact of the Pale, which straddled...
, 15 miles (N. by E.) from Dublin; containing 3016 inhabitants.
The inhabitants are partly employed in the fishery, but principally in the manufacture of cotton; there are two large factories, the machinery of which is worked by steam-engines and water-wheels of the aggregate power of 84 horses, giving motion to 7500 spindles, and spinning upon the average about 7400 lb (3,356.58 kg). of cotton yarn per week. More than 300 persons are employed in these factories, to which are attached blue dye-works ; and in the village and neighborhood are 942 hand-looms employed in the weaving department. The principal articles made at present are checks, jeans, calicoes, and fustians. The village is also celebrated for the manufacture of the finest cotton stockings, which has been carried on successfully since its first establishment about 40 years since; there are 60 frames employed in this trade, and the average produce is about 60 dozen per week. There are on the quay a large corn store belonging to Messrs. Frost & Co., of Chester, and some extensive salt-works; and in the village is a tanyard.
The fishery, since the withdrawing of the bounty, has very much diminished: there are at present only 10 wherries or small fishing boats belonging to the port. The village carries on a tolerably brisk coasting trade: in 1833, 134 coal vessels, of the aggregate burden of 11,566 tons, and 29 coasting vessels of 1795 tons, entered inwards, and 17 coasters of 1034 tons cleared outwards, from and to ports in Great Britain. The harbor is rendered safe for vessels of 150 tons' burden by an excellent pier, completed in 1763, principally by Baron Hamilton, aided by a parliamentary grant, and is a place of refuge for vessels of that burden at 3/4 tide. A jetty or pier, 420 feet (128 metres) long from the N. W. part of the harbor, with a curve of 105 feet (32 metres) in a western direction, forming an inner harbor in which at high tide is 14 feet (4 metres) of water, and affording complete shelter from all winds, was commenced in 1826 and completed in 1829, at an expense of £2912 - 7s - 9d, of which the late Fishery Board gave £1569, the Marquess of LansdowneMarquess of LansdowneMarquess of Lansdowne, in the County of Somerset, is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain held by the head of the Petty-Fitzmaurice family. This branch of the family descends from the Hon...
£100, and the remainder was subscribed by the late Rev. Geo. Hamilton, proprietor of the village. At the end of the old pier there is a lighthouse.
The Drogheda or Grand Northern Trunk railway from Dublin, for which an act has been obtained, is intended to pass along the shore close to the village and to the east of the church. The market is on Monday, and is abundantly supplied with corn, of which great quantities are sent to Dublin and to LiverpoolLiverpoolLiverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
; and there is a market for provisions on Saturday. Fairs are held on the 29th of April and September, chiefly for cattle. A market-house was erected in 1811, partly by subscription and partly at the expense of the Hamilton family. The village is the head-quarters of the constabulary police force of the county; and near it is a martello tower with a coast guard station, which is one of the nine stations within the district of Swords. Petty sessions for the north-east division of the county are held here every alternate Tuesday.
The chapelry of St. George, Balbriggan, was founded by the late Rev. G. Hamilton, of Hampton Hall, who in 1813 granted some land and settled an endowment, under the 11th and 12th of Geo. III., for the establishment of a perpetual curacy; and an augmentation of £25 per annum has been recently granted by the Ecclesiastical CommissionersEcclesiastical CommissionersEcclesiastical Commissioners were, in England and Wales, a body corporate, whose full title is Ecclesiastical and Church Estates Commissioners for England. The commissioners were authorized to determine the distribution of revenues of the Church of England, and they made extensive changes in how...
from Primate Boulter's fund. In 1816 a chapel was completed, at an expense of £3018 - 2s - 2d, of which £1400 was given by the late Board of First FruitsBoard of First FruitsThe Board of First Fruits was an institution of the Church of Ireland that was established in 1711 by Anne, Queen of Great Britain in order to build and improve churches and glebe houses in Ireland. This was funded from taxes collected on clerical incomes which were in turn funded by tithes...
, £478- 15s - 2d., was raised by voluntary subscriptions of the inhabitants, and £1139-7s., was given by the founder and his family. This chapel, which was a handsome edifice with a square embattled tower, and contained monuments to the memory of R. Hamilton, Esq., and the Rev. G. Hamilton, was burned by accident in 1835, and the congregation assemble for divine service in a school-room until it shall be restored, for which purpose the Ecclesiastical Commissioners have lately granted £480. The living is in the patronage of G. A. Hamilton, Esq.
There is a chapelChapelA chapel is a building used by Christians as a place of fellowship and worship. It may be part of a larger structure or complex, such as a church, college, hospital, palace, prison or funeral home, located on board a military or commercial ship, or it may be an entirely free-standing building,...
belonging to the R.C. Union or district of BalrotheryBalrotheryBalrothery is a village located in Fingal, Ireland. The name Balrothery comes from the Irish Baile an Ridire or Baile Ruaderai.The village is located about 2 km south of Balbriggan on the old N1 Dublin Belfast road....
and Balbriggan, also a place of worship for Wesleyan MethodistsMethodist Church of Great BritainThe Methodist Church of Great Britain is the largest Wesleyan Methodist body in the United Kingdom, with congregations across Great Britain . It is the United Kingdom's fourth largest Christian denomination, with around 300,000 members and 6,000 churches...
. A parochial schoolParochial schoolA parochial school is a school that provides religious education in addition to conventional education. In a narrower sense, a parochial school is a Christian grammar school or high school which is part of, and run by, a parish.-United Kingdom:...
and dispensaryDispensaryA dispensary is an office in a school, hospital or other organization that dispenses medications and medical supplies. In a traditional dispensary set-up a pharmacist dispenses medication as per prescription or order form....
are in the village.
Medieval battle
According to Ware, a medieval annalist, a battle took place there on WhitsunWhitsun
Whitsun is the name used in the UK for the Christian festival of Pentecost, the seventh Sunday after Easter, which commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon Christ's disciples...
-eve, 1329, between John de Bermingham, Earl of Louth
Baron Athenry
The title of Baron Athenry is one of the oldest titles in the Peerage of Ireland, but the date of its creation is thoroughly uncertain; each of the first four Berminghams listed below is claimed by some writers to be Lord Athenry, but the evidence is disputed...
, (who had been elevated to the 'palatine dignity' of the county), and Richard, Lord of Malahide, and several of their kinsmen, against local rival families, the Verduns, Gernons, and Savages, who were opposed to the elevation of the earl; and in which the former, with 60 of their English followers, were killed.
Sack of Balbriggan
The assault on the village's population by the British Black and TansBlack and Tans
The Black and Tans was one of two newly recruited bodies, composed largely of British World War I veterans, employed by the Royal Irish Constabulary as Temporary Constables from 1920 to 1921 to suppress revolution in Ireland...
based in the nearby Gormanston military barracks on 20 September 1920 was one of the more infamous acts of the Irish War of Independence
Irish War of Independence
The Irish War of Independence , Anglo-Irish War, Black and Tan War, or Tan War was a guerrilla war mounted by the Irish Republican Army against the British government and its forces in Ireland. It began in January 1919, following the Irish Republic's declaration of independence. Both sides agreed...
. This event, known as the "Sack of Balbriggan", resulted in the destruction of 54 houses and a hosiery factory, and the looting of four public houses. The attack received much international attention due to Balbriggan's position close to foreign news correspondents in Dublin. A subsequent delegation from the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
pledged to rebuild thirty homes in the village and a local factory. Other deaths followed during the war, most noticeably those of Séamus Lawless and Sean Gibbons who were bayoneted to death by the British forces on 21 September 1920. A plaque on Bridge Street in the town commemorates their murder.
Location and transport
Balbriggan is 32 km north of Dublin city, on the BelfastBelfast
Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
–Dublin main line of the Irish rail network
Rail transport in Ireland
Rail services in Ireland are provided by Iarnród Éireann in the Republic of Ireland and by Northern Ireland Railways in Northern Ireland.Most routes in the Republic radiate from Dublin...
. Commuter rail services serve Balbriggan railway station
Balbriggan railway station
Balbriggan railway station serves Balbriggan in County Dublin. It is the northern limit of the Dublin suburban rail network and of the short hop zone.The station opened on 25 May 1844 and closed for goods traffic on 2 December 1974...
, which opened on 25 May 1844 and closed for goods traffic on 2 December 1974. It is estimated that about 2,200 commuters use the station every working day. The town is also located next to the M1 motorway (the section known as the Balbriggan Bypass), which was completed in 1998. Prior to this, the main Dublin-Belfast road went through the centre of the town, with major traffic congestion on a daily basis.
Balbriggan is the most northerly town in Fingal
Fingal
Fingal is a county in Ireland. It is one of three smaller counties into which County Dublin was divided in 1994. With its county seat located in Swords, it has a population of 239,992 according to the 2006 census...
(although the village of Balscadden
Balscadden
Balscadden is a townland in the civil parish of the same name just north of Balbriggan in Fingal, Ireland. The townland has a population of under 700 people, and the area is completely rural in character, although close to the expansion of Balbriggan....
lies further north within the county), and is situated very close to Drogheda
Drogheda
Drogheda is an industrial and port town in County Louth on the east coast of Ireland, 56 km north of Dublin. It is the last bridging point on the River Boyne before it enters the Irish Sea....
.
Amenities
The River Bracken, also known as the Matt River, which flows through the town, once formed a lake known locally at "The Canal" or "Head"(of water). The water was sluiced through a canal and tunnels down to the Lower Mill where it turned a waterwheel to drive the cotton manufacturing machinery. The retaining wall of the reservoir collapsed in the 1960s and the area was reclaimed through land-fill in the early 1980s to create a public park.The town is coastal and has a famous sandy beach. It was a holiday destination for people from Dublin city and is the location of a Sunshine Home which aims to provide a holiday to underprivileged children from Dublin.
Demographics
Fourteen per cent of the town's population is non-ethnic Irish, 7 per cent being of African origin.Education facilities
Adult and Further Education- Fingal Adult Education Service Fingal Adult Education Service
Fingal Adult Education Service offers numerous adult education courses both full and part time.
There are two large secondary schools in the town: Loreto Balbriggan and Balbriggan Community College. Ardgillan Community College opened in 2010.
There is a further Post Primary level school to open in 2014 in Clogheder Balbriggan, which has been designated as a Gael Coláiste
Gaelscoil
A gaelscoil is an Irish-medium primary school in Ireland, of a sort found outside the traditionally Irish-speaking regions, especially in urban areas....
.
Balbriggan has a number of primary schools, including:
- Gaelscoil Bhaile BrigínGaelscoil Bhaile BrigínGaelscoil Bhaile Brigín is an Irish language primary education school that opened its doors in September 2006 in the Balbriggan area. The Balbriggan Gaelscoil committee was formed in the spring of 2005 with the task of raising funds, registering prospective pupils and applying to the Department of...
, an Irish-language school for 4-12 year olds, opened in 2006. - Two Educate TogetherEducate TogetherEducate Together is an organisation in the Republic of Ireland which sets up and runs multidenominational, coeducational schools. It was founded in 1984 as a result of the Dalkey School Project to found a multidenominational primary school....
primary schools. - St. Peters and Pauls Primary School
- St. Theresa's Primary School
- St. Molaga's Primary School web address http://homepage.eircom.net/~stmolaga/
Economy
The Department of Foreign AffairsDepartment of Foreign Affairs (Ireland)
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is a department of the Government of Ireland that is responsible for promoting the interests of Ireland in the European Union and the wider world...
has located a passport
Passport
A passport is a document, issued by a national government, which certifies, for the purpose of international travel, the identity and nationality of its holder. The elements of identity are name, date of birth, sex, and place of birth....
production facility in Balbriggan. There is also a proposal to relocate the Drogheda International Seaport to the Bremore Port
Bremore Port
Bremore Port is a proposed new deepwater port at Bremore, near Balbriggan, Ireland. It is being developed to provide an east coast deepwater port for Ireland to supplement the Drogheda and Dublin Port...
area to the north of the town.
Local development bodies expect that the proposed Bremore Port and orbital motorway projects as well as the existing M1 motorway and Belfast - Dublin railway are major draws to prospective companies with large logistical sectors hoping to expand or set up in the Fingal area.
Balbriggan Town Hall serves as home to Balbriggan Town Council
Balbriggan Town Council
Balbriggan Town Council is the unit of local government responsible for the governance of the town of Balbriggan, in the county of Fingal in Ireland.-History:...
.
Manufacturing
Balbriggan was also the location of the 19th-century Smith's Stocking Mill, which made stockings as well as men's "Long-Johns" called Balbriggans. These are often mentioned in John WayneJohn Wayne
Marion Mitchell Morrison , better known by his stage name John Wayne, was an American film actor, director and producer. He epitomized rugged masculinity and became an enduring American icon. He is famous for his distinctive calm voice, walk, and height...
movies - 'he put his balbriggans on' and both Queen Victoria and the Czarina of Russia also wore "Balbriggans". Wavin
Wavin
Wavin N.V. is a Dutch manufacturer of pipes . Wavin is the leading supplier of plastic pipe systems and solutions in Europe. The company was officially founded on 5 August 1955, its name deriving from WAter and VINyl chloride...
has been manufacturing plastic pipes, contributing to the provision of running water in many Irish rural homes, in their purpose-built facility since 1962.
Balbriggan's strong textile connections also include the linen & cotton manufacturing of Charles Gallen & Company, who in 1870, purchased the existing weaving mill and associated facilities built by Baron Hamilton. The firm became famous as the finest linen weavers in Ireland and had custom all over the world. They were also suppliers of linens to the Vatican, Embassies of Ireland and the US, and fine hotels worldwide. The business continues today from another location as the old mill in the town centre has been redeveloped.
Over the Easter 2008 weekend precast engineering company Techrete relocated their production facility from Howth
Howth
Howth is an area in Fingal County near Dublin city in Ireland. Originally just a small fishing village, Howth with its surrounding rural district is now a busy suburb of Dublin, with a mix of dense residential development and wild hillside, all on the peninsula of Howth Head. The only...
to Stephenstown Industrial Park with their head office set to follow.
Gaelic games
*O'Dwyers GAAO'Dwyers GAA
O'Dwyers GAA
O'Dwyers GAA is a Gaelic Athletic Association club based at Hamlet Lane, Balbriggan, County Dublin, Ireland, serving the communities of Balbriggan, Balrothery, Balscadden and surrounding areas. Its main grounds are at Bremore Park, but it also has grounds at Bells Field, Balbriggan At present the...
is the local Gaelic Athletic Association
Gaelic Athletic Association
The Gaelic Athletic Association is an amateur Irish and international cultural and sporting organisation focused primarily on promoting Gaelic games, which include the traditional Irish sports of hurling, camogie, Gaelic football, handball and rounders...
club. It was founded in 1918 and currently fields juvenile hurling and football teams from U-7 to U-18. There are two adult male football teams that play in AFL3, AFL10, a Junior Hurling team (AHL5) and a Junior B Camogie team.
Soccer
Balbriggan has four soccer clubs:- Balbriggan Football Club
Formerly known as Clonard Celtic (founded 1982), this club amalgamated with another club in the town, Balscadden Blues, in the 1990s. Balbriggan F.C. now fields numerous under age teams from under 8's right up to under 18's. The 3 senior teams currently play in the Leinster Senior League and work has now been completed on their new clubhouse located in Bremore, Balbriggan.
- Glebe North Football Club
GlebeNorth Fc
Established in 1945, this club is the most successful in the town. Several past players have received international honours; both Anthony Guildea and Michael Reid were capped for Ireland at junior level. Market Green, the club's ground opened a new clubhouse on 31 May 1998The club has 2 Senior teams playing in the Leinster Senior League http://www.leinsterseniorleague.com/ and 16 schoolboy/girl teams playing in the NDSL League's http://www.ndsl.ie/.The main pitch and clubhouse are located at market green, the club also has a fully floodlight main pitch,also a fully floodlight all weather pitch.
- Hyde Park Football Club.
- Ringcommon Wanderers Football Club
Established in late 1999, this club is the newest and probably the smallest in the town. Players hail from Balbriggan, Stamullen, Naul, Drogheda, Skerries, Rush, Lusk and Swords. Currently it consists of a women's (since 2002) and a men's senior team only. The Ring Commons Sports Centre is the club's homeground.
Ring Commons sports facilities
The last-named soccer club use the Ring Commons sports facilities, which include two soccer pitches, floodlit soccer training areas, an 18 hole Pitch and Putt course, and a rugby pitch, with plans underway to open a further number of full size soccer pitches. The clubhouse includes a large meeting hall, as well as offices, kitchen, changing rooms, toilets, showers and a fully licenced bar.Rugby
Balbriggan Rugby Club was originally founded in 1925. They currently field two adult teams who play in the Leinster League, Div.3 and Leinster North East Area League (Mc Gee Cup). They also field several underage teams from U7's through to U18's and U20's. The Club started the 2007/2008 Season playing at the new Club Grounds Balrothery
Balrothery
Balrothery is a village located in Fingal, Ireland. The name Balrothery comes from the Irish Baile an Ridire or Baile Ruaderai.The village is located about 2 km south of Balbriggan on the old N1 Dublin Belfast road....
, Co. Dublin nextdoor to North County Cricket Club. The Club plans further major developments which will see the building of a clubhouse, swimming pool, gyms and training areas. On Fri. 14th Nov. 2008 the 500 Lux Flood Lighting system was turned on for the first time on the main pitch, soon to be followed by the second pitch. The third full size sand based all weather pitch will be ready and lit for the start of the 2009/10 season next September.
Cricket
- Balbriggan Cricket Club
The Circket Clubs home ground is in the 'Town Park', beside the Catholic Church
Golf
Balbriggan Golf Club (Balbriggan Golf Club) is an 18-hole parkland golf course, about 30 km north of Dublin city, established in 1945, and redeveloped 2007-2009.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...
External links
- Balbriggan.info Balbriggan Community Website
- Balbriggan.net
- Balbriggan Summerfest
- Balbriggan Town Council