Where is Ballyloughlin?

[Irvina]

Hi Ailbhe,

As far as I know my g grandfather and family left Ballyloughlin in very late 1800s but then came back again in 1940s.   In the period in between I think there were various people renting the farm.  One of the main ones was someone called Wrench(?)  who lived on a neighbouring farm and rented Ballyloughlin to keep horses.  I think he was big in to horses and showing in the RDS.    Maybe this is the period your grandfather was around. 

[ailbhe]

Hi Irvina,  I don't know what house in Ballyloughlin my father was born in. His God parents were Darcy's and there are Darcy's in the 1911 census also living in Ballyloughlin.  My grandfather Samuel was a carpenter and moved from Ballyloughlin to Tinahealy where he worked on the Colattin estate. 

[Irvina]

Hi Ailbhe
I wonder are we talking about two different Ballyloughlins?  Ours is in County Wicklow?   Would yours be in County Wexford?

[ailbhe]

Hi Irvina, I did not know there are two Ballyloughlins. Yes mine is in Wexford in Monaseed. Where in Wicklow is yours? Maura

[aghadowey]

This is the Wicklow board so presumably it's the Ballyloughlin there that pertains to the query.

[Irvina]

Hi Ailbhe,
We're  in County Wicklow between Kilcoole and Newcastle.

[ailbhe]

Thanks Irvina, I am going to pay a visit to 'my' Ballyloughlin over the weekend to have a look around.

[Jaego2]

I am a fiddle player and I was doing some research on a song called "The Humours of Ballyloughlin" (awesome song btw) which is a 4 part double-jig.  My teacher and I thought maybe Ballyloughlin might have been in Northern Ireland because the song has a Scottish lilt to it.  I was surprised to see it was so close to Dublin, but Dublin was heavily "planted" by Scots like Northern Ireland was, if I remember my Irish history (I am American; most Americans have trouble remember our own short history!) 

Anyway, I thought that you folks from Ballyloughlin might want to know there is a fiddle tune named after it.  It is a great rollicking tune.  I like to think that a tune like this could have only come from happy people.  Here is a great clip (old; from the 1970's) from Youtube of the tune played on guitar: 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QzE439U5iMI&feature=related

And another of Eileen Ivers on fiddle in her great eclectic Celtic-world fusion style:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8xOHQCRPDoM

[Erato]

Hi Jaego2 -

Thanks for the music!  My brother is a musician and guitar maker in Ireland [not in Ballyloughlin, though].  I don’t know if he knows the song.  I’ll send it on to him.

Erato