Bellaghy

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Road into Bellaghy in 2007

Bellaghy (from Irish: Baile Eachaidh meaning "Haughey's Townland"), is a village in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It lies north west of Lough Neagh and about 5 miles north of Magherafelt. At the centre of the village lies the junction of three main roads leading to Magherafelt, Portglenone and Toome. It had a population of 1,063 people in the 2001 Census. It is within the Magherafelt District Council area.

[edit] History

Although there were Gaelic settlements in the area beforehand, Bellaghy was one of the first planned towns in Ireland. The village dates back to the 17th century when it was one of many towns settled and built under the authority of the Vintners Company of London as part of the Plantation of Ulster. In 1622, according to a manuscript of a Captain Thomas Ash, it seems that Bellaghy consisted of a church, a castle, a Corn Mill and 12 houses.

Bellaghy Bawn in 2007

The 17th century Bawn at Bellaghy is the best restored example to be found anywhere in Northern Ireland. Recent excavations have revealed that the Bawn was constructed on the site of a Gaelic rath or ringfort. The Bawn was attacked, but remained intact, in the 1641 rebellion when many of the houses were burnt to the ground. Locally it is still referred to as "the castle" and it is located in Castle Street. Bellaghy Bawn was opened to the public in 1996 and features exhibitions on local natural history, the history of the Ulster Plantation and the poetry of local Nobel Laureate, Seamus Heaney, who was born and grew up nearby and its where he calls 'home'.

In 1981 two Bellaghy locals died participating in the 1981 hunger strike, Francis Hughes died after 59 days on strike on the 12th of May and his cousin Thomas McElwee died after 62 days on strike on the 8th of August.

In the past there have been many disputes about Orange Order parades in the, now, mainly nationalist village. In the past all parades had been rerouted away from the main street but now have been returned to the original route on William Street, known locally as Billy Street.

The parish is famous for its Gaelic football tradition^{[citation needed]}, having won several titles including the Ulster Club Championship in 1968 and the All-Ireland Club Championship in 1972. In 2000 Bellaghy won their fourth Ulster title and in 2005 they won their twenty-first title.

It is in Bellaghy where the first two practitioners of Harvin Jiu-Jitsu established the martial art, now widely used in MMA, most notably by former UFC Heavyweight Champion Seamus Mallon. Savledge Moiven and Harven Glave founded the martial art in 2008.

[edit] 2001 Census

Bellaghy is classified as a Village by the NI Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) (i.e. with population between 1,000 and 2,250 people). On Census day (29 April 2001) there were 1,063 people living in Bellaghy. Of these:

31.4% were aged under 16 years and 12.7% were aged 60 and over
49.9% of the population were male and 50.1% were female
86.0% were from a Catholic background and 14.0% were from a Protestant background
4.6% of people aged 16–74 were unemployed

For more details see: NI Neighbourhood Information Service