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
Baile an Róba· Irish · main form · validated name
Ballinrobe· English · main form
Place & story
A friary beside the Robe
Lewis's 1837 account places Ballinrobe's Augustinian friary before 1337, when it appeared in the register of the Dominican house at Athenry. The town developed on the Robe and the road between Hollymount and Cong. In 1831 its principal street and two diverging streets contained 441 houses, nearly all roofed with slate. The friary ruins stood beside the river within the grounds of Robe Villa.[2]
Corn, cattle and cavalry
Ballinrobe's nineteenth-century economy combined agricultural trade with processing. Lewis recorded a working flour mill, brewery, maltings and tannery; wheat and potatoes passed through the market. Monday was market day, while fairs chiefly handled sheep and cattle. The courthouse also accommodated the market, bringing civic business and commerce under one roof. Cavalry and infantry barracks added another substantial presence: the cavalry establishment alone included stabling for eighty-four horses.[2]
People & connections
John King's bronze figure
A bronze statue by Rick Lewis was unveiled at the Cornmarket in September 2010 to honour John King, born at nearby Currabee. King's naval service brought him two Medals of Honor. The US Navy records his bravery during boiler accidents aboard Vicksburg on 29 May 1901 and Salem on 13 September 1909. He returned to active service during the First World War after an earlier discharge. A destroyer was subsequently named John King in his honour; Ballinrobe's memorial brings that emigrant history back into the town's streets.[3][4]
Both counts use the 2016 settlement boundary, allowing like-for-like comparison. CSO supplies the 2022 count on this older boundary for comparison only. The official 2022 Built Up Area has different boundaries.
View population figures
Ballinrobe — Census 2016 settlement footprint — census population
These are the historical areas published in the 2006 census report. Boundaries may differ between censuses and from modern settlements. Legal towns, environs and suburbs are shown separately; none has been combined into a modern settlement total.
View population figures
Ballinrobe, Mayo — Census town, CSO 2006 report — census population
These are the historical areas published in the 1996 census report. Boundaries may differ between censuses and from modern settlements. Legal towns, environs and suburbs are shown separately; none has been combined into a modern settlement total.
View population figures
Ballinrobe, Mayo — Census town, CSO 1996 report — census population
Figures cover the historical town area printed in the 1986 report. Boundaries may have changed between censuses. Legal town, environs and suburb totals remain separate and differ from modern settlement boundaries.
View population figures
Ballinrobe, Mayo — Census town, CSO 1986 report — census population
These figures use different area definitions. Read the boundary note before comparing them.
Ballinrobe, Mayo
Published census settlement populations
2,786people · 2016
Settlement boundaries changed during this period. Differences may reflect boundary changes as well as population change. Where a 2011 legal-town-and-environs count is shown, it has not been recalculated onto the 2016 settlement boundary.
placenames
