placenamesBallon
Balana
Michael Dawson’s retrospective reporting records three community landmarks in the village’s later twentieth-century history.
The name
A reliable full-name meaning has not been established here. The recorded Irish and English forms are given without an unsupported translation.
Recorded forms
- Balana · Irish · main form · non-validated name
- Ballon · English · main form
Place & story
The community centre opens
President Cearbhall Ó Dálaigh opened Ballon’s community centre in July 1976. Michael Dawson’s account names Simon Kearney as chairman of the committee behind the project. The Myshall Pipe Band accompanied the presidential welcome, and the opening celebrations included a cabaret followed by a showband dance. [2]
A record of voluntary work
In 1987 Ballon’s Irish Countrywomen’s Association guild won the national Guild Book of the Year competition. Its entry documented the year’s activities, including a Social Employment Scheme restoring the old cemetery. Dawson records a £1,000 prize and the presentation to guild president Marian Nolan. [2]
Keeping pieces of a landmark
The village’s Bull Tree was felled in June 1988 after dying from Dutch elm disease. Dawson recalls spectators taking pieces home as souvenirs. A committee arranged its removal and planned a replacement. This records a particular community response to losing a familiar landmark, rather than a recurring annual custom. [2]
Geographic information
Sources & further reading
- Logainm.ie — Ballon. Place names and geographic record, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
- Remembering50Years of Reporting:1976,1987 and1988 entries · Michael Dawson, Ballon Village
Name record retrieved 2026-10-25 · Source record modified 2025-01-10. How this page was prepared.