Overview
For a few days every October, Ballinasloe roughly doubles in size. The October Horse Fair – reputedly the oldest horse fair in Europe – has been trading horses on the Fair Green since the 1700s, and its 300th anniversary in 2022 drew around 85,000 people to a town that normally holds a few thousand. The rest of the year it’s a quieter east Galway market town on the River Suck, where Galway meets Roscommon. The Irish name, Béal Átha na Sluaighe, means ‘the mouth of the ford of the crowds’ – a fair description of a place that has been a river crossing since long before the planned Georgian grid the Trench family laid out in the late 1700s.
History & heritage
The settlement’s roots run deep: Bronze Age burial sites, crannogs, and ringforts are scattered across the surrounding land. The 12th-century Norman castle ruins, built to guard the river ford, mark the medieval town; Richard Mór de Burgh formally established it in the early 13th century, and traces of the outer wall survive.
There’s a quieter, more recent layer too. Once the Dublin–Galway rail line reached the town, travelling entertainers followed, and by late 1913 the Town Hall was running winter seasons of picture shows and variety acts – the first regular cinema many locals had seen.
If you’ve an afternoon for old stones, the best of them are just outside the centre:
- Clonfert Cathedral – a 12th-century church with an intricate Romanesque doorway from around 1200. Entry is free; pick up the key locally.
- Kilconnell Franciscan Friary – a well-preserved 15th-century site with flamboyant tombs and a wooden statue of Our Lady, about 13 km (a 15-minute drive) from town.
- Clontuskert Augustinian Friary – 15th-century ruins notable for a finely carved west doorway and medieval tombs.
- Garbally Demesne Icehouse – an underground ice-store from around 1800, reached by a footpath from Garbally College.
Festivals, markets & culture
The headline event is the Ballinasloe Horse Fair in October, reckoned the oldest horse fair in Europe and running since the 18th century. Over its run the Fair Green fills with livestock trading, a dog show, fireworks and a funfair. If you want to see it at its rawest, the horse-trading on the green is the thing, not the funfair – come early in the day, before the crowds thicken.
Music runs through the town’s calendar. The Larry Reynolds’ Weekend in September honours East Galway traditional music, and the Dinny Delaney Festival focuses on uilleann pipes with concerts and masterclasses. The Town Hall Theatre programmes professional theatre, comedy, pantomime and community productions through the year.
For a quieter visit, the indoor country market runs on Friday mornings, with local produce, baked goods and crafts. Time a visit for the end of the week and you can pair it with a tour at Ahascragh Distillery nearby – billed as Ireland’s first zero-emission distillery, with tours and tastings.
Outdoor activities & river access
The River Suck shapes most of the town’s outdoor life. Marina Point provides a public marina with around 30 berths, slip-hire and fuel. The calm stretches of the Suck suit beginner kayaking and canoeing, and anglers work the riverbank and the nearby River Shiven for pike, bream and tench.
Longer routes start here too:
- The Hymany Way – an off-road section of the Ireland Way that follows the Shannon through Meelick, Clonfert, and Aughrim. Sources disagree on its length (Wikipedia gives 50 km, others closer to 100), but it passes Meelick Church – claimed to be the oldest church in Ireland still in regular use – and the Romanesque doorway at Clonfert.
- Flowerhill Equestrian Centre – guided horseback tours of the surrounding countryside.
- Ballinasloe Golf Club – an 18-hole parkland course, par 72, founded in 1894 and one of Connacht’s oldest, with a driving range, practice nets and a clubhouse bar.
Practical information
Getting there – The M6 bypasses the town, roughly 90 minutes from Dublin and 45 from Galway City. Irish Rail runs roughly hourly on the Dublin–Galway line, stopping at Ballinasloe; Bus Éireann and Citylink both serve the town on the Galway–Dublin route.
Parking – Public car parks sit on Main Street and at the Marina, with on-street parking around the centre.
Staying in Ballinasloe – There’s a range of hotels and family-run B&Bs in and around the town. The one firm piece of advice: if you’re coming for the October fair, book well ahead, because the town fills fast.
If you only have a Friday afternoon – Skip the fair-day crush and come on a market day: the country market in the morning, a tour at Ahascragh, then a trad session in one of the Society Street pubs after.