Welcome to Ballybay

Latest News

  • POP UP SHOP TO AID CANCER SOCIETY

    On the weekend of 23rd and 24th October Double Dees pop up shop will be selling nearly new quality ladies, mens and children’s clothes in aid of the Ballybay Cancer Society. The shop will be located at 16 Main Street, Ballybay and your support would be very much appreciated.

  • POLLINATORS PLANTED

    Ballybay Tidy towns Committee have put in a new flower bed at the Peace Bridge leading from Loch Mor Avenue to the Lake walk. This new bed is full of plants to attract insects and bees and has been designated as a pollinator area. Additional work is planned and will hopefully be carried out soon.

  • MASS CELEBRATED ONLINE FOR THE NEXT 3 WEEKS

    In view of the decision by Government to move the country to level 3 from 7th October for 3 weeks, the celebration of all masses is now restricted to online only. Thanks to the recently installed webcam at St. Patrick’s, Ballybay the following seven masses are available using the following link: https://www.churchservices.tv/tullycorbet
    Monday, St. Patrick’s, 7-30pm
    Tuesday, St. Patrick’s, 9-30am
    Wednesday, St. Patrick’s, 9-30am
    Thursday, St. Patrick’s, 9-30am
    Friday, St. Patrick’s, 7-30pm
    Saturday, St. Patrick’s, Vigil 6-30pm
    Sunday, St. Patrick’s, 12-15pm
    There will be no Sunday masses in Ballintra and Tullycorbet for the next 3 weeks. St. Patrick’s will remain open for private prayer and confessions will be heard on Saturdays at 12noon.

  • ARE YOU A DUFFY – WANT A FREE DNA TEST

    A US based group who are studying genealogical migration of Duffy families from Ireland directly to the USA or to the USA via the UK are offering free DNA tests. Their aim is to try and link cousins across the ocean with people in their ancestral homeland and pinpoint were their ancestors emigrated from. Given the vast number of Duffy’s in County Monaghan and advances in DNA testing it is now possible to trace a man’s Y-DNA, which is passed from father to son. It is also possible to determine if people have a common ancestor.
    If you are interested in participating in the DUFFY STUDY you can email Tom Duffy at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call 001-802-309-8116.

  • SHAVE AND DYE RAISES €4000

    The recent shave and dye by Ballybay Community Creche employees Tracey Connolly and Jason Mc Andrews has raised the fantastic total of €4001-46c. This has been split between the Creche and the Ballybay Cancer Society. Jason and Tracey would like to thank most sincerely everyone who donated to their event.

  • SCISSORS WIN BEST KEPT PREMISES

    Congratulations to Patricia Gormley, Scissors Hairdressers who was the winner of the Tidy Towns Best kept premises. The prize was sponsored by Gerry Mc Elory who also made the presentation to Patricia.

  • DIASPORA SAY “HELLO”

    Ballybay and its People facebook page was hopping last weekend thanks to former native Emmet Mc Aviney who now lives in Kilkenny. Emmet put the following on the page – “Hi all. After a few recent “Hello From” posts, how about we all post “Hello From” where we are to see how far the diaspora from Ballybay has spread? I’ll go 1st 😃 If we can post them in the Ballybay And It’s People page then everyone can see. Thx”.
    Within 24 hours the page had 150 comments from 21 counties in Ireland and 14 countries wordlwide. Ballybay people could be found in several US States, Wales, England, New Zealand, Australia, Scotland, Germany, Luxembourg, Cyprus, Norway, Sweden, France, Thailand and Canada. Many of the respondents had nice messages especially good wish ones for the Pearse Brothers team in last weeks County Final. For a small town its people are well travelled.

  • HONDA 50 RUN

    The Ballybay Honda 50 Run in aid of Ballybay Cancer Society will take place on Sunday 27th September. Registration will take place from 10am at Cuan Mhuire and the 50mile run/spin will commence at 12noon. Light refreshments will be served before and after. Entry fee is just €20. Further information is available from Gerry at 0861616434.

  • CCE TAKE PART IN CULTURE NIGHT

    Congratulations to Tullycorbett CCE who took part in last Friday night’s Culture Night. Presented by Francis Mc Mahon the local musicians played live at the Iontas Centre, Castleblayney from 8pm until 9pm. their performance was broadcast live and shared to Pittsburgh’s Irish diaspora via the Ireland Institute of Pittsburgh.

Welcome to the Ballybay website, a site lo provide both locals and visitors with current and update information about the town of Ballybay and the local community, including local directories, sport and tourism and coverage of all local events.

Ballybay is strategically located in the centre of County Monaghan, being less than twenty kilometres from all the main towns within the county. The town has become much more accessible with the improvement of transport links through the opening of the Castleblayney By-pass.

The town traditionally acted as a market town which served a large rural hinterland. In the 1800s the linen industry was the main form of employment in the area based on the abundance of flax grown locally. Subsequently the town developed an increasing dependence on the agricultural sector with the mart being the central focal feature which brought farmers and rural dwellers to the town. Following the downturn in the agricultural sector, Ballybay suffered a loss of trade that affected all sectors in the town. The town has been in decline for approximately 30 years, a fact clearly reflected in the number of derelict properties sited along the Main Street.

The town is dominated by Lough Major located to the east of the town centre. The Dromore River also forms an important part of the town’s physical structure and it is these water features and local drumlins that have helped to dictate how the town has developed and evolved over the years.

So if you're not lucky enough to live here already, come and visit and explore the selections that Ballybay has to offer!