Ballybofey


Ballybofey is a town located on the south bank of the River Finn, County Donegal, Ireland. Together with the smaller town of Stranorlar on the north side of the River Finn, the towns form the Twin Towns of Ballybofey-Stranorlar. Ballybofey-Stranorlar, a census town, had a population of 4,852 in the 2016.
The town grew rapidly in the 19th and 20th centuries. There are no schools or churches in the town of Ballybofey itself, with all these amenities lying either across the bridge in Stranorlar or outside the town limits. This is due to laws during plantation times when certain Catholic buildings were not allowed within a specified range of Protestant towns, in this case Stranorlar, though Stranorlar now has both a Roman Catholic and a Church of Ireland church.

History

A few miles west of Ballybofey, on the main road to Fintown, is the Glenmore Estate, located at Welchtown. The estate formerly included Glenmore Lodge, a country house that stood on the opposite, southern bank of the River Finn, near Glenmore Bridge. The house was originally built in the Georgian-style in the mid-to-late-18th-century. It was re-worked for Sir William Styles in the neo-Tudor-style in the early 20th-century. The house was demolished in the 1990s. The private estate is now known for its fishing and hunting.

Events

Ballybofey previously played host to an annual Twin Towns Festival. The last of these took place in August 2007.
The Balor Arts Centre is an arts and theatre complex, based in Ballybofey, with a 300-seat auditorium. Butt Drama Circle, which celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2009, is a local amateur drama group.

Sport

Ballybofey is home to Finn Park where League of Ireland side Finn Harps play their home games. Seán MacCumhaill Park is also located in Ballybofey, where the Donegal senior football team play most of their home games.

Transport

opened on 3 June 1895, but finally closed on 15 December 1947.

People