Local Kilkenny GAA hurler Henry Shefflin holds the record for the highest number of All Ireland Senior Hurling medals for a single player.

Ballyhale also played a historic role when, in 1832, approximately 200,000 people from four counties gathered in support of those on trial for the 1831 Battle of Carrickshock.

[6][7] However, John Howell is recorded in the barony in 1411,[8] and "Edmund Howling of Ballyheale" forfeited the townland of Ballyhale in 1653 and was transplanted to Connaught.

[6] Historically the name have been spelt in a variety of ways including; Howelleston,[9] Ballyhaele,[10] Ballihowell, and Baile Haeil.

[11][2] In 1802 Tighe recorded ballyhale as a small village with "little more than twelve houses", permission of a fair, and a ruin of Roman Catholic chapel.

It is today known as the global Food giant, Glanbia, one of the world's top nutrition companies with revenues of over €3.5 billion and 5,815 employees.

booklet records that a federation of 25 Co-op Creameries originally emerged in January 1965 under the umbrella of Avonmore Creameries Ltd., with their chairman, John Joe Kearns, acting as their representative on the Avonmore Council; where shares were taken in the new entity by the society and that in following years a Ballyragget milk processing factory was built.

Ballyhale became one of 20 members of Avonmore Farmers Ltd.; the other founding members being Castlehale, Mullinavat, Iverk, Piltown, Carrigeen, Kilmacow, Ballyragget, South Tipperary, Monastarevan, Muckalee, Barrowvale, Kells, Windgap, Brandonvale, Bennetsbridge, Castlecomer, Freshford, Donaghmore and Fennor.

[citation needed] In 1966 Ballyhale Co-Operative Creamery Dairy Society Ltd., formed by local farmers, had joined with other small rural co-operative societies from Kilkenny and some neighbouring counties and, together with Unigate Limited support, formed the Avonmore Creameries Federation [16] Realising the benefits of increased scale and greater diversification in the 1960s, they saw the need for an amalgamation of many small, locally focused co-operatives across Ireland.

According to by local authorities, in Kilkenny County Council's Plans for Ballyhale, Kiltorcan Old Quarry of sandstone was designated as an "area of specific interest" in 2002.

In 1832, the importance Gathering of c.200,000 people at Ballyhale[25] for the trial of those charged in aftermath of The Battle of Carrickshock, otherwise known as the Carrickshock incident, is acknowledged by researcher Gary Owens of University of Huron, Ontario, Canada[26] as having a significant influence on its overall outcome for anti-tithe movement, known as the Tithe War ensuring that the event marked the beginning of the end of tithes in Ireland.

Those charged were successfully defended by Daniel O'Connell, called the Liberator of the Nation, and who addressed the gathering in Irish.

The List of All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship medal winners shows Ballyhale's Henry Shefflin as holder of the Irish record for highest number of All Ireland Senior Hurling medals for a single player (10) with Kilkenny county team – won in 2000, 2002, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012 and 2014.

Kilkenny, an eventing horse ridden by James C. Wofford in the 1968 and 1972 Olympic Games, was bred by William Dempsey of Ballyhale.

Scoil Phádraig is a mixed primary school located in the southern part of Ballyhale on the R448 road towards Waterford.