Ballynahinch, County Galway

Ballynahinch Baile na hInse
Village
Area view in 1910s; Ballynahinch castle at base of Benlettery, one of the Twelve Bens
Ballynahinch Location in Ireland
Coordinates: 53°27′35″N9°51′49″W / 53.45972°N 9.86361°W / 53.45972; -9.86361
Country	Ireland
County	County Galway
Time zone	UTC+0 (WET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-1 (IST (WEST))

Ballynahinch or Ballinahinch (Irish : Baile na hInse) ^[1] is a village in County Galway in the west of Ireland. It is situated close to Recess, on the road from Recess to Roundstone. It also lies on the route of the former railway line from Galway city to Clifden (the "Capital of Connemara"). The name comes from the Irish Baile na hInse meaning settlement of the island. ^[1]

Ballynahinch Castle, built in 1684 for the Martyn family, is located there. In the early 1900s it was the summer residence of Ranjitsinhji, the Maharaja of Nawanagar, and former test cricketer with the English Cricket Team.

Transport

Ballynahinch railway station opened on 1 November 1895, and was closed on 29 April 1935. ^[2]

Connemara Greenway

As part of the Wild Atlantic Way development, a 76km Greenway ^[3] (path used exclusively by pedestrians, cyclists and non-motorised vehicles ^[4] ) is under construction between Galway City and Clifden. The Greenway is being built on the disused railway line between Galway and Clifden. Once completed, the trail will form part of the EuroVelo 1 long distance cycling route from Norway to Portugal. Currently, 6km of the trail has been completed and is open to the public at Ballynahinch. Picnic benches and parking are available at the Connemara Greenway car park ^[3] .

See also

• List of towns and villages in Ireland

References

1. "Baile na hInse/Ballynahinch". Placenames Database of Ireland (logainm.ie). Retrieved 9 October 2021.
2. "Ballynahinch station" (PDF). Railscot - Irish Railways. Archived (PDF) from the original on 26 September 2007. Retrieved 11 September 2007.
3. "Connemara Greenway 2025 | Galway to Connemara cycling route". Galway Tourism. Retrieved 19 November 2025.
4. "Greenways Ireland, your 2023 Guide to Greenways in Ireland". Greenways Ireland. Retrieved 19 November 2025.