Ballinaglera, Baile na gCleireach, Co. Leitrim

Baile na gCleireach · Co. Leitrim

A hillside parish above the northeast shore of Lough Allen - town of the clergy by name, a walker's and pilgrim's place by nature.

Ballinaglera is a small upland parish on the northeast side of Lough Allen, strung along the R207 between Drumshanbo and Dowra in the wild northwest corner of Leitrim. The name is Baile na gCleireach, the town of the clergy, and it is one of those Irish places where the name is the history: a monastery stood here in the early Christian centuries, and the saint who founded it is still buried, well and church in the same parish.

The land does most of the talking. Sliabh an Iarainn, the Iron Mountain, climbs to 585 metres behind the village, and Lough Allen spreads out below, the first of the great Shannon lakes. The Leitrim Way long-distance trail runs along the shore through the parish, and the Kingfisher cycle route passes through too. This is hill-walking and angling country, not a place of shops and footpaths.

Be honest with yourself about the scale. There is a pub and shop in the village - Mulveys - a church, a GAA club, and very little else. Come for the walking, the heritage you have to go looking for, and the long views over the lough. The nearest fuller bases are Drumshanbo to the south and Dowra to the north, both small in their own right. Ballinaglera is a parish you walk and read, not one you shop and dine.

Pubs

1and counting

Walk score

Leitrim Way and the climb up Sliabh an Iarainn start at the door

Founded

Early monastic foundation linked to St Hugh (Beo-Aodh), 6th century; present church 1842

Coords

54.1555 N, 8.0085 W

01 / 07

At a glance.

Three things every local will eventually mention. Read these and you've already understood more than most day-trippers do.

01 The name

Baile na gCleireach - the town of the clergy.

The name remembers a 6th-century monastery founded by St Hugh, known as Beo-Aodh, 'Lively Hugh', for the energy of his missionary work. He is said to have founded a community in the townland of Cleighranbeg. The parish has carried his name and his story for fourteen centuries.

Stories & lore → 02 The lough

On the R207, above the northeast shore of Lough Allen.

The village sits on the hill side of the lough with Sliabh an Iarainn, the Iron Mountain, rising behind it to 585 metres. The Leitrim Way runs along the shore through here. This is upland Leitrim - open, wet, and quiet.

Walks & outings → 03 The heritage

A holy well, a sweathouse, a court cairn and ring forts.

St Hugh's Well at Cleighranbeg, the rare survival of a stone sweathouse beside it, a Giant's Grave court cairn and scattered ring forts mark this as a place lived in and prayed in for a very long time. Most of it is found rather than signposted.

Stories & lore →

02 / 07

The pubs.

None of these are themed Irish pubs, because they don't need to be. A few that earn the trip:

Mulveys Bar

The pub-and-shop that holds the parish together

Village pub & shop

The pub in Ballinaglera, standing beside the church in the village. A combined bar and shop of the kind that does several jobs for a rural parish at once. Took the Leitrim Observer's Best Pint of Guinness award in 2010 and runner-up for Pub of the Year the same year. Hosts live music, community nights and a trad weekend. If you are walking the Leitrim Way, this is your one stop.

03 / 07

Stories & lore.

The reason to come back. The things every local will eventually tell you about, usually after the second pint.

Beo-Aodh, founder of the monastery

St Hugh, the lively saint

Tradition holds that St Hugh - Beo-Aodh, 'Lively Hugh', a name earned by the energy of his missionary work - founded a monastery in the townland of Cleighranbeg in the early Christian period. He is remembered as a bishop associated with Ardcarne near Boyle in Roscommon, and is said to have died in the 6th century. The monastery is long gone, but it gave the parish its name, Baile na gCleireach, the town of the clergy. His feast was kept on the 8th of March, when in older times large crowds gathered at his well.

St Hugh's Well, Cleighranbeg

The well and the sweathouse

St Hugh's Well, Tobar Bheo-Aoidh, sits in the townland of Cleighranbeg on the line of the Leitrim Way between Drumshanbo and the village. Beside it stands a stone sweathouse - a small corbelled hut that was heated with a turf fire, then entered to sweat out aches and ailments, a folk sauna that survived in the Irish uplands into living memory. The pairing of holy well and sweathouse in one spot is unusual and worth the short detour off the trail. Bring boots; the ground is wet.

St Hugh's Church, 1842

The church beside the pub

The present St Hugh's Church was built in 1842, replacing an older low thatched chapel that had stood nearby. The graveyard around it has been the main parochial burial ground ever since. The arrangement in the village is a very Irish one - the church and Mulveys pub stand side by side, the two institutions that hold a rural parish together. The wider parish reaches from Newbridge across to Doobally Church on the Cavan side.

Sliabh an Iarainn, 585 m

Iron Mountain

Sliabh an Iarainn, the Iron Mountain, rises behind the village. The name records the iron that was once worked from its slopes; this whole stretch of upland Leitrim, from here south toward Drumshanbo and Arigna, was mining and smelting country. Today the mountain is a hill-walk rather than a workplace, a moorland climb with sweeping views over Lough Allen and the surrounding hills. The village holds an Iron Mountain Festival that takes its name from it.

04 / 07

Things to do outside.

Wear waterproofs. Bring a sandwich. Tell someone where you're going if it's the mountain.

Leitrim Way (Ballinagleragh section) The Ballinagleragh stage of the 56 km Leitrim Way runs along the scenic northeast shore of Lough Allen, linking Drumshanbo to the south with Dowra to the north. Rated moderate. St Hugh's Well and sweathouse lie on or near the route. Open, exposed walking - check the forecast.

11 kmdistance

~2h 45mtime

Sliabh an Iarainn (Iron Mountain) The climb to the 585 m summit of the Iron Mountain behind the village. Forest track giving way to open moorland and rough grass, with long views over Lough Allen and the Leitrim hills from the top. Boots and a map; the upland is boggy and the weather turns fast.

~10 kmdistance

3-4 hourstime

Heritage wander - well, sweathouse, court cairn The parish carries a holy well, a rare stone sweathouse, a Giant's Grave court cairn and several ring forts. Few are signposted. Treat it as a found landscape rather than a marked trail - ask locally, and respect that some sites sit on private farmland.

Short, variabledistance

1-2 hourstime

05 / 07

When to go.

There is no bad time. There are different times.

Spring

Mar-May

St Hugh's feast falls on the 8th of March. The hills green up and the Leitrim Way dries out a little. Long light over Lough Allen on a clear evening.

◉ Go

Summer

Jun-Aug

The best window for the Iron Mountain climb and the lake-shore walking. Longest days, most settled weather, and the Iron Mountain Festival brings life to the village.

◉ Go

Autumn

Sep-Oct

Quiet, colour on the hill slopes, and good walking before the wet sets in. Carry layers - it is exposed upland.

◉ Go

Winter

Nov-Feb

Short days and hard weather off Lough Allen and the mountain. The high walking is for the experienced and well-equipped only. The pub keeps going.

◐ Mind yourself

06 / 07

What to skip.

Honestly? Don't bother.

If a local was sitting beside you, this is the bit where they'd lean in.

Arriving expecting a tourist village

Ballinaglera is a working hill parish, not a visitor town. One pub-and-shop, a church, a GAA pitch. The reward is landscape and heritage, not amenities. Base in Drumshanbo or Dowra if you need more.

Looking for signposted heritage

The well, sweathouse, court cairn and ring forts are real but mostly unmarked, and some are on private land. This is a found landscape - ask locally and tread lightly. Do not expect interpretive boards and car parks.

The high mountain in bad weather

Sliabh an Iarainn is open, boggy moorland with fast-changing conditions. In low cloud or winter it is a serious undertaking. The lake-shore Leitrim Way is the safer option on a poor day.

Getting there.

By car

Essential. Ballinaglera is on the R207 above the northeast shore of Lough Allen, roughly 10 km from Drumshanbo and a short run south of Dowra. Carrick-on-Shannon, the county town, is about 30 minutes south.

By bus

Very limited. Local Link Sligo Leitrim Roscommon runs occasional rural services in the area; check timetables in advance. There is no regular scheduled service through the village.