placenamesBallindoon
Baile an Dúin
Ballindoon’s Dominican priory overlooks Lough Arrow, preserving late medieval architecture, later burials and traditions associated with Saint Dominic.
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 an Dúin · Irish · main form · validated name
- Ballindoon · English · main form
Place & story
Saint Mary’s above Lough Arrow
Saint Mary's Dominican priory was built in 1507, according to Sligo County Library's account, which names Thomas O'Farrell as its builder. The church occupies a ledge above Lough Arrow. Its surviving nave, chancel and tower were joined by a later transept. William Frederick Wakeman recorded the interior on 26 October 1878, creating a dated view against which later changes can be compared. [2]
A lawyer and a Gaelic scribe
Two memorials connect the priory with intellectual life after its medieval foundation. The library identifies the gravestone of Terence McDonagh, a Catholic lawyer who died in 1717, and the grave slab of David Duignean, a professional Gaelic scribe who died around 1696. McDonagh's stone was absent from Wakeman's drawing, showing that the arrangement of memorials changed after his visit. [2]
Saint Dominic’s Stone and well
The library also records Saint Dominic's Stone, a font on a rise north of the priory, with a tradition that it could cure warts. A separate holy well lay to the south-east. Gatherings were reputedly held there on Saint Dominic's Day, 4 August, during the nineteenth century. These are recorded devotional beliefs and practices associated with the site. [2]
Conservation and uncertain ownership
In 2021 Sligo County Council discussed the need to stabilise Ballindoon Abbey and maintain access. Officials reported that ownership remained unclear: the graveyard did not appear among those vested in burial boards by the nineteenth-century Church Temporalities Commissioners. Councillors agreed to seek clarification so that a conservation report could guide future work. The discussion records a practical difficulty in caring for the surviving monument. [3]
Geographic information
Sources & further reading
- Logainm.ie — Ballindoon. Place names and geographic record, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
- Ballindoon: the Wakeman drawings and priory · Sligo County Library, Ask About Ireland
- Councilminutes2021:item15,ownershipofBallindoonAbbey · Sligo County Council
- Ballindoon Priory remains beside Lough Arrow, County Sligo illustration: based on a Ballindoon Priory in front of Lough Arrow by Andreas F. Borchert. AI-assisted watercolour and ink adaptation; cream paper margins added, incidental clutter omitted and fine details simplified. Licence: CC BY-SA 4.0.
Name record retrieved 2026-10-25 · Source record modified 2025-01-10. How this page was prepared.