Ballyheigue

Ballyheigue (/ˌbæliˈhaɪɡ/ BAL-ee-HYEG), officially Ballyheige (Irish: Baile Uí Thaidhg, meaning 'town(land) of Tadhg'),^[2] is a coastal town and civil parish in County Kerry, Ireland. It is 18 km (11 mi) northwest of Tralee along the R551 road. It is a scenic locale which forms part of the Wild Atlantic Way and has several miles of beaches that connect to Banna Strand to the south, and Kerry Head to the north. Local events include the "Half on the Head" (Kerryhead) half marathon in June^[3] and an annual summer festival in July.^[4]

Ballyheigue Baile Uí Thaidhg
Town
Ballyheigue as viewed from the nearby beach
Ballyheigue Location in Ireland
Coordinates: 52°23′21″N 9°50′00″W
Country	Ireland
Province	Munster
County	County Kerry
Area
• Total	45 km2 (17 sq mi)
Population  (2022)[1]	546
Time zone	UTC+0 (WET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-1 (IST (WEST))
Irish Grid Reference	Q782211

Evidence of ancient settlement in the area includes multiple ringfort, souterrain, holy well, Bullaun stone and fulacht fiadh sites in Ballyheige, Buncurrig, Dirtane and other surrounding townlands.^[5] Ballyheigue Castle, a ruined Tudor Gothic Revival style country house, was built in 1809 on the site of an earlier house.^[6]

The local Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) club is Ballyheigue GAA.^[7]

Ballyheigue Strand

Ballyheigue Castle

Notable people

• Richard Cantillon, economic theorist and coiner of the term entrepreneur.^[8]
• Don O'Neill, fashion designer.^[9]

See also

• List of towns and villages in Ireland

Further reading

• The Story of Ballyheigue, by Bryan MacMahon, published by Oidhreacht, Ballyheigue, County Kerry, May 1994 ISBN 0-9517658-2-5
• The Crosbie Papers, including manuscripts relating to the Danish Silver Raid, in documents of the Estate of John Viscount Crosbie, NLI MS 5033, National Library of Ireland, Kildare Street, Dublin.
• New Light on The Golden Lion and the Danish Silver Robbery at Ballyheigue, by B. Mac Mahon, published in the Journal of the Kerry Archaeological and Historical Society. Vol: 24 pp:113-149, 1991. Abstract: This article examines the robbery in 1731 of six chests of silver, part of the cargo of the 'Golden Lion' which was driven ashore at Ballyheigue during the previous year.
• The Lively Ghosts of Ireland, by Hans Holzer, Wolfe Publishing Ltd., London, 1967, 1968, reprinted 1970. See Chapter on Ballyheigue, page 32, recalling earlier article in 1962 by Patrick Denis O'Donnell in Ireland of the Welcomes.