placenamesBallynamult
Béal na Molt
Ballynamult, often written Ballinamult, has a history that includes military accommodation and revolutionary activity in the surrounding Waterford countryside. Its name also appears in the traditional piping repertoire, where a tune has travelled through successive modern recordings.
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
- Béal na Molt · Irish · main form · validated name
- Ballynamult · English · main form
- Ballinamult · English · main form · local name
Place & story
An infantry barracks in 1837
Samuel Lewis’s county account identifies Ballinamult as one of Waterford’s two locations with infantry barracks, alongside Dungarvan. This places military accommodation here well before the War of Independence. His stated accommodation total covers the two locations together, so it cannot be used as the size of the Ballinamult garrison alone. [2]
John Whelan’s account of the barracks
John Whelan of nearby Knockboy described local operations in his Bureau of Military History witness statement. He recalled unsuccessful attempts to intercept police patrols from Ballinamult and said soldiers subsequently joined the police in the barracks. In another incident during 1920, he and a companion stopped two policemen travelling by bicycle. They hoped to capture firearms, but the policemen were unarmed and their bicycles were taken instead. Whelan’s retrospective account records the mixture of planned operations and inconclusive encounters in the district. [3]
The Humour of Ballinamult
The title The Humour of Ballinamult survives in the piping repertoire. Na Píobairí Uilleann’s catalogue lists it on Jerry O’Sullivan’s recording O’Sullivan Meets O’Farrell. Piper Joey Abarta also recorded it on his 2023 album King of the Blind, explaining that he learned it from O’Sullivan’s recording and knew it under other names as well. This is evidence of the title’s continuing musical life, rather than proof of a particular local composer or occasion of composition. [4] [5]
Geographic information
- Place type
- Population centre
- County
- Waterford
- Barony
- Decies-without-Drum
- Civil parish
- Seskinan
- Coordinates
- 52.21459, -7.73662 (approximate)
- Logainm ID
- 1414597 ↗
Sources & further reading
- Logainm.ie — Ballynamult. Place names and geographic record, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
- Waterford towns and administration: A Topographical Dictionary of Ireland, 1837 · Samuel Lewis
- John Whelan, Knockboy, Ballinamult: witness statement WS 1303, page 4 · John Whelan / Bureau of Military History, Military Archives
- O’Sullivan Meets O’Farrell: track catalogue · Na Píobairí Uilleann
- The Bells of Liscarroll / The Humour of Ballinamult: performer’s notes, 2023 · Joey Abarta
Name record retrieved 2026-10-25 · Source record modified 2012-02-16. How this page was prepared.