Qualla: Ballymore https://qualla.com/ballymore-county-cork en-us © 2026 Bendyline Wed, 08 Jul 2026 02:40:11 GMT Qualla serial false Qualla support@bendyline.com yes https://qualla.com/_res/siteimages/rsslogo.png Qualla: Ballymore https://qualla.com/ballymore-county-cork Ballymore: Introduction https://qualla.com/ballymore-county-cork/ The road through Ballymore is the oldest on Great Island - the spine that carried 9th-century monks, Norman lords, and one barefoot girl who would later sprint to a world championship gold medal in the 5,000 metres. Sonia O'Sullivan trained at Ballymore Athletic Club from an early age, before she became the runner who lit up Gothenburg in 1995. The village she came from sits roughly in the middle of the island, four kilometres from Cobh and twenty-three from Cork city, surrounded by the kind of green that only the wet south coast of Ireland produces.

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]]> Sat, 23 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/g/c/4/p/ballymore-county-cork-wp/gc4p-ballymore-intro.mp3 0:06 1 full Ballymore: An Old Road, an Older Cemetery https://qualla.com/ballymore-county-cork/ Near Ballymore lies Templerobin, an ancient burial ground where one of three churches that may have stood on Great Island as early as the 9th century once rose. Records mention Templerobin in 1302 and again in 1652. By 1774 it was a ruin, and ruined it has stayed. The local libra...

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]]> Sat, 23 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/g/c/4/p/ballymore-county-cork-wp/gc4p-ballymore-an-old-road-an-older-cemetery.mp3 0:06 2 full Ballymore: The Barrys and the Long Memory https://qualla.com/ballymore-county-cork/ The Norman invasion of Ireland in the late 12th century reshaped Cork as thoroughly as it reshaped England. The Barry family - de Barra in Irish - were among the most powerful of those Norman incomers, and Great Island became one of their strongholds. Their castles still dot the ...

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]]> Sat, 23 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/g/c/4/p/ballymore-county-cork-wp/gc4p-ballymore-the-barrys-and-the-long-memory.mp3 0:06 3 full Ballymore: Two Townlands, One Village https://qualla.com/ballymore-county-cork/ Ballymore and Walterstown are technically two townlands, but in practice they're one village. The school sits on the Walterstown side; the small Roman Catholic church sits in Ballymore. The single pub, the Hi Chapperal, takes its name from the 1960s American Western television se...

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]]> Sat, 23 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/g/c/4/p/ballymore-county-cork-wp/gc4p-ballymore-two-townlands-one-village.mp3 0:06 4 full Ballymore: Where a Champion Started https://qualla.com/ballymore-county-cork/ Ballymore Athletic gave Sonia O'Sullivan her first track. The club still operates, and the lanes she once trained on now belong to other young runners hoping for some version of what she found. A local cycling club sponsors an annual race that loops the island's small roads. None...

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]]> Sat, 23 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/g/c/4/p/ballymore-county-cork-wp/gc4p-ballymore-where-a-champion-started.mp3 0:06 5 full