Ballinamore Bridge Heritage

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Ballinamore Bridge Heritage Group, Co. Galway. Researching and documenting local community history.

09/11/2026

‘Little Angels’

There are circa 1500 recorded children’s burial grounds in Ireland. Country Galway has the highest concentration with 481 recorded. These burial grounds also known as Cillíní are historic unconsecrated burial sites. They were primarily but not exclusively used for unbaptised and still born babies. The practice is believed to date back to the post medieval period and continued in some area up to the 1960’s. It is true to say that some people alive today have a sibling buried in one of these burial grounds. It is important to note that it was not just children who were buried there. Su***de victims, ship wreck victims, vagrants, criminals and many others were also buried there. There was also economic factors, some families could not afford a ‘traditional’ burial so they opted for the Cillín. The locations were deliberately chosen such as old derelict Church sites and Ring forts , some of which were once consecrated grounds. It was a way of getting around the rules and practices of the day.
Contrary to some popular opinion, great respect was given to the burials. Little coffins were hand made and shrouds were placed over the bodies. Many graves were marked using a small standing stone or encircled with little pebbles.
A recent archaeological excavation undertaken by the National Roads Authority in conjunction with Mayo County Council due to a roadway being built in Ballinlough uncovered a children’s burial ground. They found nails that were used in the coffins and the pens from the shrouds. In all 248 bodies were excavated, 55 of them were adults . They were later reinterred at the local cemetery and a plaque dedicated to them erected as a mark of respect.
The example in the video clip is of Kilclough Newbridge, Co .Galway. Take note of the whitethorn bush on the right , never to be cut down. Great work has been undertaken to transform the site. Well done to everyone involved.
Let us know you thoughts, and please let us know the locations of other children’s burial grounds in the surrounding area , of which there are many.

Video Clip : Tommy Crehan

08/11/2026

‘ Hard working Men’

This photograph dates back to 1907 and is of a group of hard working men from our area who worked in Cloonavihony Forrest, know locally as Curley wood. At that time the wood was a mix of mature larch and oak trees. In 1905, all of this fine timber was purchased by a Scottish timber company named Holloway Bros. They set up a sawmill beside the wood which created much needed employment that lasted a number of years. It was a time when money was scarce and that generation did much with little. The local men were tasked with felling the trees , probably with the old two man cross-cut hand saw’s, iron wedges and sledges. After the tree was cut down, they were hauled to the sawmill , where they were ‘squared out’ as it was called, leaving long square logs of valuable commercial timber. They were then loaded manually onto horse and carts, one or two per cart and taken to Woodlawn Railway station. The timber was then loaded on to railway wagons where it was brought to Belfast and shipped to Glasgow in Scotland.
This photograph is testament to the hardworking men from our local area that came before us.

07/11/2026

‘A bold choice’

In 1973 a brutalist - Style concrete observation structure known as the Moylurg viewing tower was erected on the footprint of Rockingham House at Lough Key Forrest park County Roscommon. This region was originally known as Moylurg and ruled by the McDermott clan (12th to 17th) century. After this time period, the land was confiscated from the McDermott’s under the Cromwellian settlement and granted to the English King family. In circa 1809-10, Rockingham house was built by Sir Robert King (vicount Lorton) . It was designed by renowned architect, John Nash, with the surrounding grounds lay out designed by Landscape architect John Sutherland. In 1957 the house was devastated by a major fire and subsequently sold to the Land Commission. It was demolished in 1971 and some of the rubble ended up in the adjoining lake. During very hot weather when the water level drops, parts of the internal grand staircase and other stone work is visible. A reminder of the opulence and grandeur that once was, but is no more.
The construction of the Moylurg viewing tower on the foot print of the mansion remains controversial to this very day and has caused much debate.
What are your opinions on it.

Video Clip: Tommy Crehan.

07/11/2026

‘Team Effort’

St. Brendan’s Team, Galway under 16 football champions 1983

07/11/2026

‘ Top class photo’

A great photo of students from Ballaghlea NS, late 1980’s . So many familiar faces , class mates, fellow students and teachers caught in a snap shot of time. Ballaghlea NS was always a high achieving school, renowned for a very high standard of education dating back to 1896. Many fine teachers taught there throughout the years and continues to the present day with Annmarie Farrell at the helm. Sadly some of the faces in this photograph have passed away, all too young. I remember well the day it was taken.

Photo : Tommy Crehan

07/11/2026

‘From Hollywood to Newbridge’

Sean Joseph McClory was born in Dublin on the 8th of March 1924 to Mary Anne Margaret Ball and Hugh Patrick McClory. He was raised for most of his youth in County Galway where he attended the St. Ignatius Jesuit college. During his childhood he studied acting at An Táibhadgreac. He went on to study medicine at University College Galway . But his passion for acting led him to join the Abbey Theatre in the 1940’s. It was here that he was discovered by RKO pictures producer Jack Votion and moved to Hollywood. Perhaps it is true to say that he was a man of many parts and took on supporting rolls in films such as The Quiet Man and to many more to mention. He also had guest parts on Bonanza to Columbo and nearly every other series of this era. He passed away of a heart attack on the 10th of December 2003 in Hollywoods Hills, California. But that is not the end of the story, Ireland and Newbridge, a place with international appeal for the great and the good was always in his heart. And so it is that in the old graveyard in Killian Newbridge, lies the body of a Hollywood great. The old graveyard has been used as burial place for our area for well over a millennium . The late Jimmy Lohan from Cloonkeen once told me that while cutting grass and weeds there he discovered a stone with the date of 1014 on it . This is the same year as the battle of Clontarf to put it in to context. But it dates back much earlier than that as an important historical site.

Photo: Hugh Lohan

06/11/2026

‘ A sound resting place’

Nestled, almost hidden in the Monivea woods is the resting place of Robert Percy Ffrench and his daughter Kathleen. This Mausoleum is a funeral chapel built in 1896 with Wicklow granite stone. It took four years to complete. The Ffrench’s lived in Monivea Co. Galway from the early seventeenth century and were local landlords with vast estates including a 55,000 acres on the Volga in Simbrisk , Russia.
Inside the Gothic style ornate doorway is a life size effigy of Robert Percy Ffrench carved from Carrera marble. The back walls stained glass windows are positioned so that the morning sun shines on the effigy. The windows were made by Meyers of Munich. Further stained glass windows depict the shields of the twelve tribes of Galway.

Video clip : Tommy Crehan

06/11/2026

‘ A bit of a mystery’

This stone with unique markings is located along the R363 road leading to Ballyforan from Ballygar. Very little seems to be known about it. What was its original function and what exactly do its marking and decoration actually mean. It is unlikely that its current location is its original one. The question is where did it come from. It must have been of high importance but for what purpose was it used. If you examine the accompanying image, it is clear that the bottom half of the stone is in its original state with no carvings or lettering and was buried under ground.
Has anyone any information on this apparent mystery stone ?.

Photo: Tommy Crehan

23/10/2026

GALWAY 1926 CENSUS – REVEALING OUR PAST 📜

NEW DATE

Our June evening with Martin Curley had to be postponed, and we're happy to say it's back on.

After the great turnout for Martin's last talk, Using DNA to Reconnect the Lost Branches of the Family Tree, Ballinamore Bridge Heritage Group is delighted to welcome him back.

The release of the 1926 Census of Ireland gives us a real look at the lives of our ancestors and communities a hundred years ago. Martin will take us through the stories, facts and discoveries in these records. Mount Talbot - A Journey Through the AgesAthleague Fuerty Heritage Group Ballinasloe and District Heritage SocietyGalway County Heritage Office Skehana and District Heritage Group Ballygar Banter Galway Heritage

📅 Sunday 15 November
🕡 6.30pm
📍 Hughes Bar

All welcome.

11/10/2026

Working alongside AsIAm autism charity, Ballygar is beginning the process of becoming an autism friendly town.

If interested in joining in on the process, initial meeting is Wednesday the 14th of October, details of meeting attached below. All welcome!

Address

Ballinamore Bridge

Website

https://www.ballinamorebridgehistory.com/

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