A short history of Ballylynn

According to legend the land around it was presented to a Scottish giant by Finn McCool, and Cuchulain once ate twenty four oxen at a single sitting somewhere nearby.

Near the town can be seen the earthworks of a Celtic fort, but the earliest documentary evidence of the town is a 17th century plan of an unidentified town which might be Ballylynn. It shows two straight streets with houses on either side, meeting at a crossroads; at the end of one street are a house and bawn, and nearby is a corn mill. The remains of what could have been the bawn, in roughly the same position as shown on the map, can be seen in the grounds of Castle Lynn. John Lynn, who was responsible for the improvements to the Town in 1770, observed that the present streets were generally of 'sufficient width', but that 'much would be gained' if they were widened at the crossing. This proposal led to the present long rectangular market place in the centre of the town.