Ballybeg
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ballybeg is a generic name given to small Irish towns, similar in meaning and context to Smallville in the Superman universe. The name comes from the Gaelic words Baile Beag which literally means Little Town. The term originated in France (bailie being the Old French term for a bailiff, see Bailiwick). The playwright Brian Friel has set many of his works, such as Philadelphia, Here I Come, in the mythical County Donegal town of Ballybeg. Friel's Ballybeg has often been compared to the village of Glenties, close to where the playwright lives. Ballybeg in Clarecastle, Co. Clare is the homeplace of the large Geoghegan family presiding in the area. The road going into Ballybeg is called by locals who know the family as "Geoghegan lane".
Ballybeg may also refer to:
- Ballybeg, the name of a working class suburb of Waterford, Ireland
- Ballybeg, a small village in County Wicklow, Ireland
- Ballybeg, a townland in County Down, Northern Ireland
- Ballybeg, a utopian, hospitable townland in County Carlow, Ireland
- Ballybeg, small road between Portglenone Port Chluain Eoghain, meaning landing place of Glenone and Ahoghill Achadh Eochaille meaning "field of the yew wood"