Ballyda (Irish: Baile Dháith)[1] is a small townland in the civil parish of Danesfort in County Kilkenny, Ireland. The townland has an area of approximately 1.4 square kilometres (0.5 sq mi),[2] and had a population of 70 people as of the 2011 census.[3]
Ballyda
Baile Dháith | |
|---|---|
Townland | |
.jpg) Tilled field in Ballyda townland | |
  Ballyda Location in Ireland | |
| Coordinates: 52°34′40″N 7°15′34″W / 52.577784°N 7.259345°W | |
| Country | Ireland |
| Province | Leinster |
| County | County Kilkenny |
| Time zone | UTC+0 (WET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-1 (IST (WEST)) |
Built heritage
edit
Evidence of ancient settlement within Ballyda townland includes a number of ring ditch and enclosure sites.[4]
There is also a holy well site in the townland.[5] This well, known as Lady's Well (Irish: Tobar Mhuire),[6] is included in the Record of Monuments and Places as record number "KK023-075----".[5] As of the late 20th century, a pattern was still celebrated at this well on 15 August each year, to mark the Feast of the Assumption of Mary.[6] Several folkloric tales about Lady's Well are recorded in the Dúchas.ie "Schools' Collection". These include a number of stories which refer to apparitions of the Virgin Mary at the well.[7][8][9] Several stories reflect common themes in the folklore of holy wells generally,[10] such as that water collected from the well will not boil or that stones in the well are spotted with blood.[7][9][11] The origin of the blood at Lady's Well is given as coming from a priest who was killed there by soldiers while saying mass.[12] In one account, the leaves of nearby hawthorn bushes are also covered in spots of blood.[9] One account tells of a woman whose eyes were cured after bathing her eyes in the well's water.[7][13]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Baile Dháith / Ballyda". logainm.ie. Irish Placenames Database. Retrieved 1 November 2020.
- ^ "Ballyda Townland, Co. Kilkenny". townlands.ie. Retrieved 1 November 2020.
- ^ "CD158 - Kilkenny Population by Private Households, Occupied and Vacancy Rate by Townlands, CensusYear and Statistic". Census 2011. Central Statistics Office. April 2011. Retrieved 1 November 2020 – via data.gov.ie.
Ballyda, Danesfort, Co. Kilkenny [..] 70
- ^ Recorded Monuments Protected under Section 12 of the National Monuments (Amendment) Act, 1994 - County Kilkenny. Dublin: National Monuments and Historic Properties Service. 1996.
- ^ a b "KK023-075---- : Ritual site - holy well : BALLYDA". Historic Environment Viewer. Retrieved 8 August 2024.
According to the OS Letters (1839), 'There is a holy well called Lady's Well in the Townland of Ballyda, much venerated still and frequented on the 15th of August
- ^ a b O'Kelly, Owen (1985). The Place-Names of County Kilkenny (PDF). p. 180 – via kilkennyarchaeologicalsociety.ie.
Ballyda [..] Tobar Mhuire, Our Lady's Well, still frequented on the 15th of August for devotional purposes is west of a large rath
- ^ a b c "Holy Wells". duchas.ie. Retrieved 19 June 2024.
- ^ "Holy Wells". duchas.ie. Retrieved 19 June 2024.
- ^ a b c "Our Holy Wells". duchas.ie. Retrieved 19 June 2024.
- ^ Ó Dálaigh, Pádraigh (2018). The Holy Wells of County Kilkenny in terms of documentary coverage, location, ritual practice and onomastic concept, vol. I (Thesis). p. 109, 110.
It was believed locally, for example, that the water of certain wells could not be boiled for domestic purposes [..] red-stained stones situated at or beside holy wells were often believed to be the blood stains of martyr-like clerical persons
- ^ "Holy Wells". duchas.ie. Retrieved 19 June 2024.
- ^ "A Story of the Penal Days". duchas.ie. Retrieved 19 June 2024.
- ^ "Penal Days". duchas.ie. Retrieved 19 June 2024.
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