Ballyteerim clachan is located in the parish of Culfeightrin in Glendun. The clachan straddles the two townlands of Ballyteerim and Altgore. There is some confusion over the exact boundaries of these townlands. The local residents regard the stream which runs through the cluster as the boundary. However, the official boundary is an imaginary line on a map which lies a short distance to the south-west of the stream. The confusion is compounded by the fact that the whole clachan is referred to locally as simply Ballyteerim. This often creates difficulties when looking for historical information relating to the clachan.
Nonetheless Ballyteerim is a very good example of a clachan. There is a large group of houses clustered together and the lands belonging to the owners are scattered all over the townland. A further complication arises with the similarity in the names. Within the townlands of Ballyteerim and Altagore, the 1860 valuation lists five O’Haras, three McNeills, and two McBrides along with several Lafertys and O Dreans and other families. Not all of these families lived within the clachan but some held land within the clachan. The fact that there has been a large number of holdings amalgamated over the years means that local knowledge about the clachan and the townland is not always accurate. Ambiguity about the boundaries of the townland means that some holdings can appear in documents as belonging to neighbouring Altgore or even Ballycleagh.
Ballyteerim was reckoned at one time to have the largest population of any townland in the parish of Cushendun. This seems to be correct as an examination of maps made in 1833 and 1857 shows that there is a large number of dwellings located in the area. There was also a church here and a graveyard, although its boundaries have been obliterated over the years. In addition, the building of the cairn to the memory of Shane O’Neill in 1908 altered the topography and although it is still possible to identify some grave mounds there is no trace of the church. Local tradition holds that the church held a relic of the True Cross. The church’s name, Cross Scrine may derive from this belief.
There are four new dwellings in the clachan. Many of the original dwellings within the clachan are still intact, some used as farm offices.
The photographs below show the main buildings which make up the clachan area today. The photograph numbers correspond to the numbers in the sketch map.
The links on the right of this page will provide you with more information on the people who occupied the clachan during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
You can also follow a video of a guided tour of the clachan which was recorded on 5th August 2006. Go to guided tour of the clachan.