Ballyvaughan
Encyclopedia
Ballyvaughan or Ballyvaghan is a small harbour village in County Clare
, Ireland
. It is located on the south shores of Galway Bay
, in the northwest corner of The Burren
, an area of great rocky expanse, considered by many to be a unique landscape.
Ballyvaughan is a busy village with many pubs, restaurants, shops, B&Bs and other amenities including the new pier and slipway, constructed in 2006, which has opened up the area to boating, fishing, scuba diving and other maritime activities. Ballyvaughan is also home to the Burren College of Art
. Ballyvaughan has been tagged Ireland's 'Gold Coast' as a result of the huge boom in property prices in the area. Demand for holiday homes had seen the average house price in the town rise from €45,000 in 1995 to a top of €480,000 in 2005.
Ballyvaughan is the home town of bassist and guitarist Daithí Ó Drónaí
and the writer Sarah Poyntz
.
(IRA) unit of approximately 25 men successfully ambushed a party of 10 Royal Marines
and their sergeant in the village near the old post office. The IRA unit captured some weapons and withdrew. Privates Chandler and Bolton were mortally wounded and Privates Lavin and Currell wounded.
County Clare
-History:There was a Neolithic civilisation in the Clare area — the name of the peoples is unknown, but the Prehistoric peoples left evidence behind in the form of ancient dolmen; single-chamber megalithic tombs, usually consisting of three or more upright stones...
, 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 on the south shores of Galway Bay
Galway Bay
Galway Bay is a large bay on the west coast of Ireland, between County Galway in the province of Connacht to the north and the Burren in County Clare in the province of Munster to the south. Galway city is located on the northeast side of the bay. It is about long and from to in breadth...
, in the northwest corner of The Burren
The Burren
The Burren is a karst-landscape region or alvar in northwest County Clare, in Ireland. It is one of the largest karst landscapes in Europe. The region measures approximately 250 square kilometres and is enclosed roughly within the circle made by the villages Ballyvaughan, Kinvara, Tubber, Corofin,...
, an area of great rocky expanse, considered by many to be a unique landscape.
Ballyvaughan is a busy village with many pubs, restaurants, shops, B&Bs and other amenities including the new pier and slipway, constructed in 2006, which has opened up the area to boating, fishing, scuba diving and other maritime activities. Ballyvaughan is also home to the Burren College of Art
Burren College of Art
Burren College of Art is an internationally recognized Irish non-profit independent art college specialising in undergraduate and graduate Fine Art education, located in Ballyvaughan, County Clare, Ireland. The Master of Fine Art programme is accredited by the National University of Ireland, Galway...
. Ballyvaughan has been tagged Ireland's 'Gold Coast' as a result of the huge boom in property prices in the area. Demand for holiday homes had seen the average house price in the town rise from €45,000 in 1995 to a top of €480,000 in 2005.
Ballyvaughan is the home town of bassist and guitarist Daithí Ó Drónaí
Daithí Ó Drónaí
Daithí Ó Drónaí English Droney is an Irish bassist and fiddler, perhaps best known for playing original music on the electronic synthesised fiddle...
and the writer Sarah Poyntz
Sarah Poyntz
Sarah Poyntz is an Irish journalist and author. She is best known for her contributions over 24 years to Country Diary describing The Burren, some of which were subsequently published in book form....
.
History
In May 1921, an Irish Republican ArmyIrish Republican Army
The Irish Republican Army was an Irish republican revolutionary military organisation. It was descended from the Irish Volunteers, an organisation established on 25 November 1913 that staged the Easter Rising in April 1916...
(IRA) unit of approximately 25 men successfully ambushed a party of 10 Royal Marines
Royal Marines
The Corps of Her Majesty's Royal Marines, commonly just referred to as the Royal Marines , are the marine corps and amphibious infantry of the United Kingdom and, along with the Royal Navy and Royal Fleet Auxiliary, form the Naval Service...
and their sergeant in the village near the old post office. The IRA unit captured some weapons and withdrew. Privates Chandler and Bolton were mortally wounded and Privates Lavin and Currell wounded.
Places of interest
- Each year botanists and naturalistNatural historyNatural history is the scientific research of plants or animals, leaning more towards observational rather than experimental methods of study, and encompasses more research published in magazines than in academic journals. Grouped among the natural sciences, natural history is the systematic study...
s roam this karstKARSTKilometer-square Area Radio Synthesis Telescope is a Chinese telescope project to which FAST is a forerunner. KARST is a set of large spherical reflectors on karst landforms, which are bowlshaped limestone sinkholes named after the Kras region in Slovenia and Northern Italy. It will consist of...
landscape in search of Arctic, Alpine and Mediterranean plants that grow in profusion over the limestone pavementLimestone pavementA limestone pavement is a natural karst landform consisting of a flat, incised surface of exposed limestone that resembles an artificial pavement. The term is mainly used in the UK where many of these landforms have developed distinctive surface patterning resembling block of paving...
s. The Burren is renowned for its archaeologyArchaeologyArchaeology, or archeology , is the study of human society, primarily through the recovery and analysis of the material culture and environmental data that they have left behind, which includes artifacts, architecture, biofacts and cultural landscapes...
. Ballyvaughan is in proximity to numerous megalithic tombs such as Poulnabrone dolmenPoulnabrone dolmenPoulnabrone Dolmen is a portal tomb in the Burren, County Clare, Ireland, dating back to the Neolithic period, probably between 4200 BC to 2900 BC. It is situated 8km south of Ballyvaughan in the parish of Carran, 9.6km north-west of Kilnaboy...
, situated 8 kilometres (5 mi) south of Ballyvaughan, celtic ring forts such as Caherconnell Stone FortCaherconnell Stone FortCaherconnell Stone Fort is an ancient and exceptionally well preserved Celtic Ring Fort in Ireland, situated in the Burren, about 1 km south of the Poulnabrone dolmen...
, medieval churches and castles. - Close to Ballyvaughan is Aillwee CaveAillwee CaveAillwee Cave is the most famous of the many thousands of ancient caves beneath the karst-landscape of the Burren in northwest County Clare, Ireland. The name Aillwee is derived from the Irish which means yellow cliff....
, a show cave over 1 kilometre (0.621372736649807 mi) long. Other accessible caves for the more serious enthusiasts are Poll na Gollum, Faunarooska, and the Cullaun series.
See also
- List of towns and villages in Ireland
- Burren GoldBurren GoldBurren Gold is a Gouda style cheese made from unpasteurised cows milk. The cheese is made at the Ailwee Cave in Ballyvaughan in Co. Clare by Ben Johnson, and the rounds are waxed by hand...
cheese