Belclare Explained

Belclare
Native Name:Irish: Béal Chláir
Native Name Lang:ga
Settlement Type:Village
Pushpin Map:Ireland
Pushpin Label Position:right
Pushpin Map Caption:Location in Ireland
Coordinates:53.4923°N -8.9386°W
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Name:Ireland
Subdivision Type1:Province
Subdivision Name1:Connacht
Subdivision Type2:County
Subdivision Name2:County Galway
Subdivision Type3:Dáil Éireann
Subdivision Name3:Galway East
Unit Pref:Metric
Postal Code Type:Eircode
Postal Code:H54
Blank Name Sec2:Dialing code
Blank Info Sec2:+353 93

Belclare ([1]) is a small village in County Galway, western Ireland. The village is on the R333 road approximately from Tuam. It has a little parish church (The Church of the Sacred Heart), a small primary school, a shop, pub and post office, a community centre, a GAA pitch and a playground.

Geography

Knockma Hill, also known as Castle Hackett hill, is situated west of the centre of Belclare. Legend has it that Finvarra, king of the Connacht Fairies, dwelled there. Maeve, the legendary Queen of Connacht, is reputed to be buried in the Cairn on the summit of the hill - from there are panoramic views.[2]

Belclare is part of the parish of Corofin.

Politics

Mark Killilea Jnr, the Fianna Fáil politician noted for describing supporters of his party as "people who eat their dinner in the middle of the day", lived in Belclare and died at his home there.[3]

Current TD for Galway East, Seán Canney is from Belclare.[4]

Sport

As part of the parish of Corofin, its parish Gaelic football team won the All-Ireland Senior Club Football Championship in 1998 (defeating Erin's Isle),[5] 2015 (defeating Slaughtneil).[6] They also won the 2018 Championship (defeating Nemo Rangers),[7] the 2019 Championship (defeating Dr Crokes) [8] and the 2020 Championship (defeating Kilcoo) [9] to become the first club team to win three finals in a row.[10]

Popular culture

The 1969 film, Alfred the Great, was filmed in the Castlehackett area. The 1998 film, A Very Unlucky Leprechaun, starring Warwick Davis and Tim Matheson, was filmed at Castlehackett House and Knockma. The 2004 TV series Foreign Exchange, starring Zachary Garred and Lynn Styles, was filmed at Castlehackett House which was called "O'Keeffe's College" in the series.[11]

The Countdown champion Kevin Steede (who appeared in Series 72 which aired on Britain's Channel 4 in 2015), is originally from Belclare.[12] Steede studied occupational therapy at the University of Plymouth, having earlier attended St Jarlath's College and NUI Galway locally.[13]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Béal Chláir. Logainm.ie. 15 October 2018. 15 October 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20181015192247/https://www.logainm.ie/en/915. live.
  2. Web site: Knockma ~ Corofin. 21 September 2014. 19 May 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150519005220/http://corofin.galway-ireland.ie/knockma.htm. live.
  3. News: Liam. Collins. Former TD who helped resurrect Charles Haughey's political career. Sunday Independent. 6 January 2019. 28. 25 December 2021. 29 April 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190429070153/https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/obituary-mark-killilea-37683928.html. live.
  4. Web site: About Sean Canney TD Independent politician Tuam County Galway .
  5. News: Niall. Kelly. 'It bred the group you see here today' - Memories of '98 drove Corofin to All-Ireland glory: Seventeen years on from their first, Corofin finally got their hands on the All-Ireland football title again yesterday. 18 March 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150811051527/http://www.the42.ie/gary-sice-corofin-slaughtneil-1997607-Mar2015/. 11 August 2015.
  6. News: Donnchadh. Boyle. Corofin's pace and power too much for Slaughtneil as they claim second All-Ireland title. Irish Independent. 17 March 2015. 17 March 2015. 1 July 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150701190859/http://www.independent.ie/sport/gaelic-games/gaelic-football/corofins-pace-and-power-too-much-for-slaughtneil-as-they-claim-second-allireland-title-31074398.html. live.
  7. News: Classy Corofin are All-Ireland club football champions: As it happened. Irish Independent. 17 March 2018. 17 March 2018. 18 November 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20181118081736/https://www.independent.ie/sport/gaelic-games/gaelic-football/classy-corofin-are-allireland-club-football-champions-as-it-happened-36714956.html. live.
  8. Web site: AIB GAA Football All-Ireland Senior Club Championship . March 17, 2019 . . 25 December 2021 . 26 January 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200126214246/https://www.gaa.ie/football/gaa-football-all-ireland-senior-club/corofin-dr.%2520crokes/1495003/ . live .
  9. Web site: Corofin 1-12 0-7 Kilcoo. 25 December 2021. 26 January 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200126214243/https://www.gaa.ie/football/gaa-football-all-ireland-senior-club/corofin-kilcoo/1738493/. live.
  10. Web site: Corofin Win All-Ireland Club Title for Third Year in a Row - Commentary and Reaction. 19 January 2020. 25 December 2021. 16 July 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200716213947/https://galwaybayfm.ie/sports/corofin-wins-all-ireland-club-title-for-third-year-in-a-row-commentary-and-reaction/. live.
  11. Web site: Castlehacket House | Castlehacket House Belclare | Knockma House. 25 December 2021. 14 April 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210414150210/https://visitgalway.ie/castlehacket-house/. live.
  12. News: Belclare's Kevin Steede a Countdown champ. Galway Advertiser. 19 February 2015.
  13. News: Kevin Steede. 18 November 2018.

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