National Runner Up

(Population Category 500 – 1,500)

At a glittering gala event attended by over 500 people, 102 community groups and all county councils, Ballinamuck, through the efforts of the 225th Commemoration Committee, were announced National Runner Up in the IPB Pride of Place Awards 2024 in our category. The IPB Pride of Place, organised by Cooperation Ireland is an all-island competition that acknowledges and celebrates the work that communities are doing all over the island of Ireland.

This is an historic and fantastic achievement that recognises the ongoing work of all the voluntary committees that make Ballinamuck a living, thriving, vibrant community and (now recognised!) as one of the best small communities in Ireland!

The Battle of Ballinamuk 225th Commemoration Committee said:

“This is a fantastic achievement and recognition for the enormous contribution that the people of Ballinamuck and our neighbouring parishes of North Longford and South Leitrim made during our commemoration weekend and in the making of The Battle of Ballinamuck Documentary.

We would like to sincerely thank all the various committees in Ballinamuck for all their help and support without whom we would not have been able to achieve what we did.

We would also like to say a special word of thanks to Longford County Council for nominating us for this award and for all their support since we set out on this journey in the spring of last year.

We have all helped ensure that the people of 1798 will never be forgotten and that is the greatest award of all.”

Read on to find out what it was all about!!!

Pride of Place 2024

Ballinamuck is a small community of nearly 500 people. However, being a small community does not diminish the pride and strength of it. There are over 10 community groups catering to a wide range of interest but all with the one ambition of making sure that Ballinamuck is the best small community in Ireland.

Background

Ballinamuck has a wealth of history, the most significant event being the Battle of Ballinamuck that took place on the 8th September 1798. It was recognised, in 2023, that to commemorate the 225th Anniversary was more than one of the community groups could do alone. Paddy Howe, the Chairperson of Ballinamuck Enterprise Group (who operate the 1798 Visitors Centre) called a meeting of all the community groups and so began the united effort to ensure that Ballinamuck commemorated the 225th Anniversary of the Battle and celebrated our community in a way that involved community groups, individuals and businesses.

225th Committee

The people of Ballinamuck responded to the call and representatives from all community groups and local businesses attended the first meeting in March 2023. From there, the ambition grew and what was initially planned to be a small commemoration developed into a three day commemoration and celebration of community.

The 225 Committee, as it became known, worked tirelessly – drawing on their knowledge of individuals skills and talents to maximise the resources available. All community groups had representatives on the Committee and this was enhanced by local business people. Sub-Committees were established to oversee specific elements, led by members of the 225.

Oversight

The 225 Committee had the ultimate oversight of all the activities that occured over the three days. They co-ordinated the funding, health and safety, logisitics and invovlement of local agencies such as Longford County Council, the French Embassy, and the involvement of neighbouring communities such as Cloone, Co. Leitrim (where in 1798 the French and Irish Forces camped the night before the Battle.

Four Days of Activities

From the 7th – 10th September, 2023 Ballinamuck hosted thousands of visitors attending a range of activities including:

Fireworks Display; Historic Walk from Cloone to Ballinamuck; Battle Re-Eneactment; Guided Tours of the Battle sites; a Living History Campsite; Traditional music; Food stalls; Historical lectures; Art projects; Football matches; Blacksmith forge exhibition; Poetry & storytelling; Dance workshops and more.

Highlights

While there were many memorable moments there are some stand out highlights.

School Arts Display

All the local national schools – St. Patricks NS, Ballinamuck; St. Mary’s NS, Drumlish; Fatima NS, Cloone and Sacred Heart Primary School, Granard in collaboration with Longford Library Services worked on art displays depicting their interpretation of the history of Ballinamuck. These were displayed in the ’98 Memorial Hall before the official launch by Minister of Arts, Toursim and the Gaeltacht, Heather Humphries, T.D.

Fireworks Display

On Friday 7th September, all in attendance will remember the remarkable Firework Display that lit the skies of Ballinamuck. Starting on Shanmullagh Hill and then moving down to the site of the Battle re-enactment young people and adults alike were awed by what was one the the largest Firework Displays ever seen in Longford.

Battle of Ballinamuck Re-Enactment

On the morning of Saturday, 8th September there was a walk from Keeldra Lake to the battlesite in Ballinamuck, tracing the route the French and Irish soldiers took on that day 200 years ago. There was a huge turnout of people from all over Ballinamuck and surrounding areas dressed in costumes of the time who walked in Humbert’s footsteps.

Hundreds of people from Ballinamuck and surrounding parishes and counties put themselves forward to be Pikemen (and women!) for the re-enactment of the Battle. Nights of training, ably overseen by Glynn McKenna, ensured that all were able to use a pike safely. They were joined by professional re-enactors and on Saturday, 8th September the Battle of Ballinamuck was fought once more. The Crown Forces still won. The sight of hundreds of Pikemen marching from the ’98 Bar to the ’98 Memorial Hall was incredibly impressive. Even more impressive was how parish rivalries were put to one side and people from Ballinamuck, Drumlish, Dromard, Killoe, Newtownforbes, Mohill, Cloone and many, many other areas marched together commemorating our ancestors that died in 1798.

In view of the amassed Pikemen, a plaque in memory of General Humbert was unveiled by the French Ambassador, His Excellency, Vincent Gueren.

Living History

Visitors to Ballinamuck got to experience the living historic campsite of the re-enactors, see pikes being forged in Fury’s Forge as they were in 1798 and participate in guided tours of the significant sites of the Battle of Ballinamuck.

Family Fun Day

Ther were craft stalls, dance workshops, pike making demonstrations, a Tug-of-War, French Boules and a football match, 1798 rules, between ‘Ballinamuck Kickers’ and the ‘Mullahoran Dreadnoughts’.As Ballinamuck hosts a number of Ukrainian refugees, experiencing war in a sad parallel with the experience of 1798 there were a number of events celebrating Ukrainian culture and heritage including Dance Workshops, crafts workshops, food stalls and a performance by the Longford Ukrainian Choir.

Recap Video

It is impossible to describe the scale and atmosphere of the four days so why not have a look at our Recap Video of the 225th Commemoration of the Battle of Ballinamuck

Legacy

Art – Sculpture

Many of those involved and attending the events commemorating the 225th Anniversary were either involved or remembered the 200th Commemoration in 1998. It was always to the forefront of the planning that what was done in 2023 would be referred to by the future 250th Committee. This future 250th Committee will be made up of many of those children that took part in the Art Display, attended the fireworks and watched the re-enactment. Instilling lasting memories for those children and involving them was a focus of the 225 Committee.

Young people worked with Kevin Flood to conceptualise and design a sculpture that will be developed over the coming years and will, eventually, take pride of place at Gaigue Cross.

Concept for the 225th Commemoration Sculpture

Ballinamuck – documentary

The 225th Commemoration Committee worked with Longford based Harp Media to create a documentary telling the story of the 1798 Rebellion and the Battle of Ballinamuck where combined Irish and French forces made a brave stand against the Crown Forces. The documentary outlines the impact that both the Rebellion and the Battle has on Irish history.

The documentary is produced by Harp Media – an award-winning, Longford based multi-discipline film production company (Lakelands, 2022). The documentary includes interviews with prominent historians such as Professor Kevin Wheelan, Dr. Ida Milne, Dr. Mel Farrell and Paddy Cullivan, together with large scale recreations of the battle itself. Many of those featured in the recreations and members of our community.

Ballinamuck premiered in the Backstage Theatre, Longford on Friday, 30th August to a full house. It is hoped the this documentary will tell our story for years to come.

The Battle of Ballinamuck, for many, is an interesting footnote in history. But for those living in Ballinamuck, the Battle encapsulates our spirit – resilience in the face of adversity.

Judging Wednesday, 28th August

There was a huge turnout for the judging on the 28th August. There was a presentation on our village, our history, our community, the 225th Commemoration and the legacy. There was a photographic display, a video showing the events of the Commemoration, a tour of the historic and significant sites and a sneak preview of ‘Ballinamuck’, a new documentary produced by Harp Media.