placenamesBallyreagh
An Baile Riabhach
Early twentieth-century reports record the effort to improve Ballyreagh’s Presbyterian church and concern over the loss of an important rural postal service.
The name
These Irish name elements are associated with this record in the Logainm glossary.
An element’s translation is a clue, rather than a complete explanation of the name. Its form and meaning depend on local history and the full Irish name.
Recorded forms
- An Baile Riabhach · Irish · main form · non-validated name
- Ballyreagh · English · main form
Place & story
The church reopens
Ballyreagh Presbyterian Church reopened after substantial renovation in August 1914. The Witness reported that the Moderator of the General Assembly, James Bingham, preached at both services before large congregations. Isaac Sloan, clerk of Dungannon Presbytery, was the local minister. A new pulpit and heating apparatus formed part of the improvements, bringing practical changes to a building at the centre of congregational life. [2]
Subscriptions and social gatherings
The church works cost £500. Half came through voluntary subscriptions from the congregation, while district collections raised another £117 and social gatherings contributed £30. A debt remained, partly because of the new heating system, and the Moderator appealed for further help. The contemporary figures show how a rural congregation combined its own subscriptions with wider local fundraising to support a major building project. [2]
A postal service under threat
In March 1916, Coote raised Ballyreagh’s post office in Parliament. He argued that replacing it with a pillar box would inconvenience seventeen surrounding townlands and sixty-eight pensioners. Although the Dungannon mail car passed through Ballyreagh, customers would have to travel several miles for parcels and heavier letters. The assistant postmaster-general, Pike Pease, promised an inquiry; the answer records that commitment rather than a decision to preserve the office. [3]
Geographic information
- Place type
- Population centre
- County
- Tyrone
- Barony
- Dungannon Lower
- Civil parish
- Carnteel
- Within
- Inishmagh
- Within
- Mullaghbane
- Coordinates
- 54.47522, -6.99721 (approximate)
- Logainm ID
- 122026 ↗
Sources & further reading
- Logainm.ie — Ballyreagh. Place names and geographic record, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
- Ballyreagh Presbyterian Church: The Witness,21 August1914 · The Witness, contemporary report; transcription by Eddie’s Extracts
- Ballyreagh Post Office,14 March1916 · UK Parliament, Hansard
Name record retrieved 2026-10-25 · Source record modified 2015-01-20. How this page was prepared.