Water pump in Ballymore

Freestanding cast-iron water pump, erected c.1880, comprising banded cylindrical shaft with fluted head having fluted spout, ‘cow tail’ curvilinear handle, and fluted ogee-dome cap with finial over. Enclosed by a cut stone plinth wall with rendered coping over. Located on village green to the north side of the main road running through Ballymore.

A typical late nineteenth-century water pump, of a standard design encountered throughout rural Westmeath. This particular example has an unusually fine enclosing wall constructed using good quality dressed limestone masonry. Water pumps played an important social role in the late nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries by providing a communal water source before the development of mains water supply. This cast-iron pump now serves as an attractive piece of street furniture, acting as a focal point in the centre of the village green and aesthetically enhancing the streetscape.