placenamesBallyshrule
Baile Sruthail
Ballyshrule’s river crossing preserves evidence of milling, while Killeen’s church records a difficult building campaign.
The name
These Irish name elements are associated with this record in the Logainm glossary.
An element’s translation is a clue, rather than a complete explanation of the name. Its form and meaning depend on local history and the full Irish name.
Recorded forms
- Baile Sruthail · Irish · main form · validated name
- Ballyshrule · English · main form
Place & story
A bridge over river and mill race
Ballyshrule Bridge crosses the Kilcrow River in six limestone arches. The NIAH dates it to about 1840, while noting older and later work within the structure. Three arches carry the road over the river; the other three cross a mill race on its western side, linking the bridge to a small milling complex. Different arch shapes, dressed stone and rubble masonry reveal its construction history. A pointed cutwater on the upstream side helped divide the flow around a central pier. [2]
A church interrupted by the Big Wind
The Sacred Heart Church at Killeen South serves the Ballyshrule area. Its parish history records that the Kelly family of Kellys Mills gave the site to the Reverend James Fahy in 1835. Construction suffered when the Big Wind of 1839 carried away part of the roof. The church opened for worship in 1841. [3]
Additions and inherited furnishings
The church acquired an entrance porch in 1910 and a replacement roof in 1921. In July 1972 an altar from the old Tynagh church was installed at Killeen, transferring a furnishing between the parish’s two centres of worship. Another reroofing campaign was completed in 2014. [3]
Geographic information
- Place type
- Population centre
- County
- Galway
- Barony
- Longford
- Civil parish
- Lickmolassy
- Within
- Ballyshrule
- Coordinates
- 53.09521, -8.31351 (approximate)
- Logainm ID
- 1413452 ↗
Sources & further reading
- Logainm.ie — Ballyshrule. Place names and geographic record, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
- Ballyshrule Bridge, NIAH 30412606 · National Inventory of Architectural Heritage
- History: Sacred Heart Church, Killeen · Parish of Tynagh and Killeen
Name record retrieved 2026-10-25 · Source record modified 2021-03-11. How this page was prepared.