An introduction to The Neighbourhood of Ballinteer published by BARA local history study group in 2017
The following is a note from Sean Magee summarising the work carried out by our local history group to research and publish an extremely interesting and detailed book describing the transition of Ballinteer from Rural to Suburban. Unfortunately the book is no longer available to purchase, but is available to borrow from local libraries.
In May 2012 I gave a talk to BARA on local history. There was a great interest in the subject and it was decided to form a group of interest member to research the history of Ballinteer. As a result, every Sunday morning that summer, a small number of us walked the area in the neighbourhood of Ballinteer and noted areas of interest. Amongst the early members were Christy Byrne, Noel Doyle, Joe Fleming, Tony Lynch, John Cogan, Dermot Kavanagh, Sean Roche, Nick Ryan, Deirdre Stack, Vera O’Connell and myself. Peadar Curran joined a short time later and was to play an important part.
Members of the group made contact and interviewed members of the community who had local knowledge and we collected valuable information from them. We consulted widely. About 50 people were involved. Of particular interest were people from Old Ballinteer who lived in cottages and worked on the named houses and who knew the neighbourhood before the modern housing development took place in the 1960s. Ballinteer Gardens were built in 1932 by the Irish Sailors’ and Soldiers’ Land Trust (ISSLT) for soldiers who fought in the Great War and were promised housing. As a result Mary O’Keeffe built shops nearby. The County Council then built labourers cottages called Ballinteer Park. Joe Fleming lived in Glensouthwell with his family from the 1930s and was able to give us a picture of life in the country at that time. The named houses in Ballinteer were of particular interest. The people who lived in the big houses were researched. Ballintyre gave a clue to the origin the name Ballinteer. We traced it back to about 1300 when a farmer called John O’Tyre lived there.
The land was owned by two landlords; Fitzwilliam of Merrion and the Connoly’s of Rathfarnham Castle with the boundary running between them through the neighbourhood. The area was in turn divided into townlands, the smallest administrative division.
The development of the new community in Ballinteer was recorded by the group. New housing estates were built by Gallagher and McInerney, and others and formed the core of the new community – Wickhem, Ludford, originally called Lisadell 1 & 2, Meadowbrook, Lynwood, Woodpark, Broadford, originally called Elm Park, etc. There were no facilities in the area and the demands of the community for schools, sports facilities, clubs, pubs and shopping had to be met. The DFRC with a swimming pool was established in the 1970s. St. John’s GAA, Dundrum Soccer Club and Ballinteer Rovers catered for football and hurling. Three Rock rovers Hockey Club moved to the Grange Road from the city.
St. Attracta and Our Lady’s Ballinteer primary schools and Ballinteer Community School were built to educate the growing number of children. Scoil Nathi was built in 1989. Wesley College moved from the city to Wilton Park, a 50 acres farm acquired by the Methodist, in Ballinteer in 1967. Superquinn built a large shopping centre on Ballinteer Avenue, which was a great asset to the community. Two public houses were also built, The Beavors, which had a small theatre attached, and later renamed Ballinteer House, and Madigan’s Coach House. Marlay Park on the Grange Road was opened to the public in 1970 and was a great facility to have.
Finally to Peadar Curran goes the credit for arranging the printing and publishing the book.
Sean Magee
The table of contents (below) gives some idea of the amount of work that went in to the production of this 393 page book as well as the areas covered.
The BARA F&T Band
This is an article about BARA’s F&T band that was written by Bobby O Grady and appeared in the Three Rock Panaroma in 2020.
“While rambling up to Marlay Park one morning, I heard some music coming from the Boardroom of Ballinteer St. Johns GAA Club. Being rather curious I ventured into the club and listened for a while. Later I entered the BSJ Boardroom to meet and hear the F&T band in practise.
The F&T band (Folk & Trad) band was set up in 2011 by the then Secretary Mick Wren from members of the Ballinteer Active Retirement Association (BARA). In the early years they played mainly trad music and the original name was Ceoltoiri BARA. They play twice a year for the BARA members and also a few charity slots. It was felt early on that trad music on its own was not the popular choice of the BARA audience. The repertoire was expanded therefore to include Folk music, ballads and some popular pop music also.
Last year Frank White was appointed leader of the group. They meet weekly for a practise session in the Club. Their program from their recent Gig in BARA included Ballads, American Folk, Irish Jigs, Reels & Polkas, Country and Western, Irish Marches, O Carolan Planxtys, A few school songs as Gaeilge, Irish Old time Waltzes. USA and English pop hits. Last year the band played Simpsons Hospital, The Celtic Royal Hotel Caernarfon on tour, Marley Nursing Home, St. John’s GAA, The Rose Hotel Tralee on tour, and of course a few gigs for their own BARA members”.
Group Picture: From left Derek McCullagh (Whistle & Mouth Organ), Frank White (Guitar), Michael Sheerin (Bouzouki and Banjo), Kevin Slattery (Guitar), Ted McCarthy (Whistle), and Mick Wren (Accordion, Banjo and Whistle)