Baile an Daingin · Co. Wexford
A parish in the Blackstairs foothills with a church, a school, and a mountain at the back.
Ballindaggin is a small rural parish in north-west Wexford, in the foothills of the Blackstairs Mountains, about twelve kilometres from both Enniscorthy and Bunclody. The Irish name, Baile an Daingin, means townland of the stronghold - there was some kind of fortified site here once, though no above-ground remains survive. The parish today is a scatter of farmhouses, a church, a school, and a GAA pitch, all set against Mount Leinster on the western horizon.
The history runs the way it does in this corner of Wexford: ancient Gaelic territory, a Catholic parish revived in the 19th century, a 1798 rebellion that passed through and left its dates on the calendar. St Colman's Catholic Church was built in 1864 and is still the centre of the parish. Duffry Rovers GAA play out at Coolree. The mountain is the reason most outsiders come - drive up the back road as far as the public tar goes, then walk the last stretch to the transmitter on the summit. On a clear day you can see five counties. On the days that are not clear you are inside the cloud and you cannot see your boots.
