handball alley

Handball alley, c. 1920, having rendered mass concrete walls, open to the south end. Concrete playing area to the southeast. Set back from road to the west of Legan.

A modest and unassuming handball alley, which represents an interesting artifact of cultural and social importance to the local community. Handball alleys have strong social and cultural significance on account of their associations with the Gaelic Revival and the emergence of the GAA in the late-nineteenth century and, later, with the attempts to create a unique cultural identity within the newly independent Irish Republic. They are also building type of some social and vernacular importance, which is unique to Ireland and to Irish communities aboard. It is one of the few handballs alleys still extant in County Longford and is of social importance. It is an interesting addition to the built heritage and social history of Legan, adding incident to the west end of the village.