On 4 November 1920 a column of Black and Tans and Auxiliaries – around a hundred of them – drove into Ballinalee to burn it in reprisal, and left without managing to. Seán Mac Eoin, the local blacksmith, had positioned the North Longford Flying Column around the village and held it. It is the reason this village of a few hundred people is worth a detour.
Seán Mac Eoin, known as the Blacksmith of Ballinalee, led the North Longford Flying Column during the War of Independence. The house he ran the defence from, Rose Cottage, has been converted into a heritage centre. It’s the main thing to see here, and the forest trail and lakes are a pleasant way to fill the hour around it. The Clonfin Memorial, which marks a different action, is a separate stop on the road towards Granard.
Rose Cottage
The cottage tells the story of the battle and of Mac Eoin, the blacksmith who went on to a career in national politics. It sits on Longford’s Rebel Trail, a heritage route the county put together linking sites from the 1798 Rebellion through the War of Independence – Ballinamuck and Granard among them. It was a community-driven project supported by the Town and Village Renewal Scheme.
Longford County Council describes Rose Cottage and its conversion to a heritage centre. It’s run by the community, and published opening arrangements are thin on the ground, so check them on that page before you build a day around it, particularly off-season. Don’t expect a large visitor centre.
The Clonfin Memorial marks the ambush of 2 February 1921. It is a separate public stop on the R194 towards Granard. Keep the road clear and follow local signs.
The forest trail and the lakes
The Ballinalee Forest Trail is a short loop of about 1.1 km through mixed woodland. It’s a 20-minute leg-stretch rather than a destination, fine before or after a visit to Rose Cottage and not worth a journey on its own. Check the Longford forest trail page for current conditions and any rules for dogs before you go.
South of the village, Currygrane Lough and Gurteen Lough give you open water and quiet banks. Surveys have flagged possible crannóg sites – prehistoric lake dwellings – on Currygrane, and both lakes hold fish and draw wintering wildfowl. The River Camlin, a Shannon tributary, runs through the village. Anglers on the lakes or the river need a National Fisheries Licence from Inland Fisheries Ireland. Stay on public ground and ask locally before crossing farmland to reach the water.
Just outside the village are the remains of Old Clonbroney, a monastic site traditionally tied to St Patrick and reputed to have held one of Ireland’s earliest convents, founded around 440 AD. There isn’t much to see – stone fragments in quiet ground – but it’s a long history.
Getting there
Ballinalee sits on the Granard–Longford road, about 12 km by road from Longford town. Local bus services link the village with Granard and Longford, but times change, so check the TFI journey planner before you travel. The nearest train is Longford station on the Dublin–Sligo line, roughly 12 km away. Look for signed parking near the sites and don’t block the road.
Within a short drive: Granard and its Norman motte, the 1798 battlefield at Ballinamuck, and the preserved Iron Age bog road at Corlea Trackway near Keenagh.