placenamesBallybay
Béal Átha Beithe
Lewis recorded substantial seasonal labour in the bogs supplying local manufacturers.
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
- Béal Átha Beithe · Irish · main form · validated name
- Ballybay · English · main form
Place & story
Three months cutting and preparing turf
Ballybay’s manufacturing works relied on peat as well as on flax and waterpower. In 1837 Samuel Lewis reported that many manufacturers employed between sixty and one hundred people for three months each year to dig and prepare turf. Extensive bogs supplied both the works and local households. The numbers describe labour engaged by manufacturers for fuel preparation, rather than the workforce of one named mill or the total industrial employment of the parish. [2]
Geographic information
Sources & further reading
- Logainm.ie — Ballybay. Place names and geographic record, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
- Ballibay: A Topographical Dictionary of Ireland (1837) · Samuel Lewis
Name record retrieved 2026-10-25 · Source record modified 2025-01-10. How this page was prepared.