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Town in County Mayo, Ireland
Photo: RyanIRL, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Ballina is a town in County Mayo in the west of Ireland, on the banks of the River Moy near its estuary. Known in Irish as Béal an Átha, "mouth of the ford", it's a small market town, with a population in 2022 of 10,500. There's not much to see here but it has a good range of accommodation and other amenities. So Ballina is the main base for sights in the north end of Mayo, around the villages of Killala, Ballycastle, Foxford and Crossmolina.
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Field system dating to 3500 BC, when the region was warmer and forested. Stones were cleared from the fields into walls, and the land was tilled with ox-drawn wooden ploughs with stone culters. There wasn't a village centre, but a scattering of round-house dwellings with herb and vegetable gardens and their own fields. At some point the climate became colder and wetter (which forest clearance may have exacerbated), the area became boggy and the fields were abandoned. They became engulfed by bog until the 1970s discovery of the extensive walls. The site is on the coast above 100 m cliffs. The visitor centre is a pyramid, presumably to indicate that it was built much later than the field walls.
Small museum and heritage centre.
Good central restaurant, in warm weather the vine-clad courtyard is the place to be.
Great bistro on the east riverbank. The bar is in three sections: a small front in trad style, a middle bar for conversation and a large back bar with dance floor, so they often host functions.
Trad pub, little altered since the 1950s, relaxing place for a quiet pint.
Smart clean place in town centre.
Clean friendly hostel open all year.
Loft Bar
Pub with rooms, some noise, but value for money.
Mid-range hotel on the riverbank in town centre. Friendly place, some facilities tired, limited parking.
Good mid-range place with leisure facilities and ample parking.
Smart modern hotel with spa and a good restaurant.
Well-run caravan and camping park open Mar-Oct.
Stylish hotel in a mock-Jacobean mansion built 1830. With fine dining.
Comfy smart hotel with leisure centre and spa.
Upscale hotel on a 19th-century estate.
Splendid country house hotel in Georgian mansion beneath Mount Nephin, open Apr-Oct. In 2026 it only offers group bookings for exclusive use.
Stylish country house on the coast. It's been a coastguard station and a convent, and now makes an alternative base for the north of the county.
Knock Airport (NOC) is 60 km southwest. Its limited flights are from the UK: you might prefer to fly into Dublin and hire a car.
Read in the guideYou need your own wheels, the sights of most interest are out in the countryside with a sparse bus service.
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Charlestown · International · NOC
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