Ballynacargy 4.09

Ballynacargy, or Ballinacarrigy, is a small village in County Westmeath, Ireland on the Royal Canal and the R393 regional road. The last official commercial navigation of the canal took place in 1955.Public transportBus Éireann route 448 provides a link to Mullingar on Fridays only departing at 10.15 and returning from Mullingar at 13.30. The nearest railway station is Mullingar railway station approximately 15 kilometres distant. Until the evening of 24 August 2013 Bus Éireann route 118 (Dublin-Mullingar-Longford) served Ballynacargy on Saturdays only allowing passengers to travel into Longford for a few hours.HistoryThe village primarily owes its existence to the Royal Canal which opened in 1817. The origins of the village go back much further. The first recorded reference to it dates from 1537 after the dissolution of the nearby monastery at Tristernagh Abbey. Attached to the monastery was a leper hospital, a rarity by that time. It is thought that the village initially grew with the decline of Kilbixy, an important town in County Meath 500 years ago.