Ballysadare

The Ballysadare River, together with its tributaries the Unshin, the Owenmore and the Owenbeg, drain a large catchment area, including Lough Arrow and Templehouse Lake, into beautiful Ballysadare Bay. This network of waterways is an irresistible lure for salmon, and they travel vast distances year after year to this very spot. And this unshakable seasonal loyalty is the basis of a excellent and ancient angling legacy. Salmon fishing takes place mainly in the pools at the bottom of the Ballysadare Falls and in the stretch immediately above the falls. The river gets a small run of spring salmon from April and a big run of grilse, which peaks in June and early July. The river above the falls is now being developed for salmon fishing.

Ballysadare village lies just 7 kilometres from Sligo town Centre. Built on the Ballysadare river, the area experienced rapid growth during the ‘Celtic Tiger’ boom when several new housing developments were constructed. The village was once choked with heavy traffic before the N4 Sligo-Collooney dual-carriageway was completed in January 1998. The N59 Ballina-Sligo road still winds through the village. Ballysadare railway station is located on the Dublin-Sligo railway line and the Western Rail Corridor but is currently closed to passengers.

Nearby is Lough Arrow, with its many inlets and its encircling hills. And nearby too is beautiful Lough Gill, and the Isle of Innisfree which was immortalised in the Yeats’ poem.

I will arise and go now, and go to Innisfree,
And a small cabin build there, of clay and wattles made:
Nine bean-rows will I have there, a hive for the honey-bee,
And live alone in the bee-loud glade….
from ” The Lake Isle of Innisfree ”

The area boasts one of the greatest concentrations of megalithic tombs in all of Europe in Sligo. Carrowmore is one of oldest Stone-Age burial sites in Europe with some hundred tombs, passage graves, dolmens and stone circles. On the summit of Knocknarea Mountain is a huge flat-topped cairn called Maeve’s Cairn. Queen Maeve was the Iron Age Queen of Connaught.

How to get to Ballysadare

By bus, or car. Ballysadare lies just off the N4 which links Sligo Town to Dublin. It does have a train station, but this has not been open for rail services for some years.

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Ballysadare is surrounded by beautiful coastal towns. Don't miss Sligo and Rosses Point if you are travelling north, and don't miss Enniscrone, and Ballina, if travelling south.

Where to stay in Ballysadare

Ballysadare in Sligo has a good choice of accommodation including hotels, self-catering holiday homes, guesthouses and B&B's.

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Things to do in Ballysadare Bay.

The Ballysadare Falls are a favourite among Ireland’s daring community of White Water Canoeists. The rapids start at the bridge in Ballysadare town and continue all the way to the sea about 2km later. The Ballysodare rapids vary with level and all can be seen from road. One thing to look out for is two small waves above the main drop on the stepped side. In flood, they have the power to flip a boat, but more likely just mess your line up. The main drop has two sides. The left has a straight drop thats 5m-7m (20ftish) high depending on tide and is shallow on low tide. The right is the more exciting line with a stepped drop that looks great in high water. The stopper at the bottom just flushed us out but I don’t know if thats always the case and I’ve heard of shopping trolleys being visible in low water. The river flows into a tidal lagoon so tides can have an affect on the hydraulics at the base of the main falls. A sizeable hydrolic can form at the base of the falls in high water.But generally the speed you generate running the drop ‘usually’ carries people through without incident. The bottom of the river right line has a cave river right, against the wall. I’ve never encountered any problems with the cave (and it’s trolls!), but apparently it is something to be aware of.