Ballybough ({{irish place name is a district of north Dublin, Ireland situated northeast of Summerhill, between the Royal Canal and the River Tolka. Adjacent areas are North Strand, Fairview and Drumcondra/Clonliffe. The name in Irish is generally perceived incorrectly as baile "town" and bocht "poor". The correct name in Irish is derived from the Old Mud Island 'Bog' meaning 'soft'. In the 18th Century, Ballybough was known as Mud Island, owing to its proximity to the mud flats that now form Fairview and environs.