Ballon, County Carlow


Ballon is a village in County Carlow, Ireland. It is located on the N80 road near Carlow.

Local amenities

The village has two pubs, Joe Doyle's and Kavanagh's Lounge, both on the Main Street in the centre of the village. A Chinese take-away is situated in Chaple Street and Jimmy's Take Away is in Main Street. There are service stations at either end of the village. Nolan's stonecutter and monumental works are also situated on the main street.
Also on the Main Street is "Siopa Glas", a community shop staffed by volunteers who sell donated items. Recycling is the theme at Siopa Glas. The shop won the EPA National Award for Recycling and Waste Minimisation in 2014. The money is channelled back into the village, school garden and to local charities.
There is a primary school and community hall on the main street, as well as Ballon National School. Beside the community hall, there is a Credit Union. A playschool/kindergarten/creche is also situated near there. Ballon participates in the Tidy Towns competition. The Ballon Improvement Group also work with the local school especially in the Organic Vegetable Garden and the Wild Habitat project.
The village community centre was renovated during 2013 at a cost of €656,000. There is also a grotto opposite the church.
At the eastern side of the parish is the Altamont Gardens

Transport

Bus

Traditionally the village was poorly served by public transport. Since April 2015 the village is served by Bus Éireann route 132 several times a day to Dublin via Tullow and Tallaght. In the other direction the route serves Kildavin and Bunclody. A number of Ring a Link and Wexford Local Link buses also serve the village.

Rail

Both Carlow railway station and Muine Bheag railway station are approximately 18 kilometres distant.

Sports

Gaelic games

Ballon is home to Ballon GAA club which competes in the Carlow Intermediate Football Championship.
It is also home to Burren Rangers which caters for boys and girls from under-6 to under-21.

Soccer

Ballon is home to Burrin Celtic who play in the Carlow & District Football League. A Championship side F.C. Carlow also played at Burrin Celtic's home ground, The Valley on Fenagh Road.

Ballon Hill

Although only approximately above sea level, Ballon Hill provides views of the extensive lowlands of the region. Geologically the hill is of granite covered by limestone.