Belclare

Belclare (Irish: Béal Chláir, meaning "Mouth of the Plain"[1]) is a small village in County Galway, western Ireland. The village is on the R333 road approximately 7 km. from Tuam. It has a little parish church (The Church of the Sacred Heart), a small primary school, Canavans shop, pub and post office, a community centre, a GAA pitch and a playground.

Belclare

Béal Chláir
Village
Sacred Heart Church
Belclare
Location in Ireland
Coordinates: 53.492119°N 8.937984°W / 53.492119; -8.937984
CountryIreland
ProvinceConnacht
CountyCounty Galway
Dáil ÉireannGalway East
Eircode
H54
Dialing code+353 93

Geography

Knockma, also known as Castle Hackett hill, is situated 2 km west of Belclare. 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.

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),[4] 2015 (defeating Slaughtneil).[5] They also won the 2018 Championship (defeating Nemo Rangers).,[6] the 2019 Championship (defeating Dr Crokes) [7] and the 2020 Championship (defeating Kilcoo) [8] to become the first club team to win three finals in a row.[9]

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.[10]

The Countdown octochamp Kevin Steede (who appeared in Series 72 which aired on Britain's Channel 4 in 2015), is originally from Belclare.[11] Steede had been studying occupational therapy at the University of Plymouth, having earlier attended St Jarlath's College and NUI Galway locally.[12]

  • Welcome to Belclare
  • View of the turlough from Belclare
  • Ruined castle on Knockma
  • View from the top of Knockma Hill

References
  1. "Béal Chláir". Logainm.ie.
  2. "Knockma ~ Corofin".
  3. Collins, Liam (6 January 2019). "Former TD who helped resurrect Charles Haughey's political career". Sunday Independent. p. 28.
  4. Kelly, Niall (18 March 2015). "'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". Archived from the original on 11 August 2015.
  5. Boyle, Donnchadh (17 March 2015). "Corofin's pace and power too much for Slaughtneil as they claim second All-Ireland title". Irish Independent. Retrieved 17 March 2015.
  6. "Classy Corofin are All-Ireland club football champions: As it happened". Irish Independent. 17 March 2018. Retrieved 17 March 2018.
  7. https://www.gaa.ie/football/gaa-football-all-ireland-senior-club/corofin-dr.%20crokes/1495003/
  8. https://www.gaa.ie/football/gaa-football-all-ireland-senior-club/corofin-kilcoo/1738493/
  9. https://galwaybayfm.ie/sports/corofin-wins-all-ireland-club-title-for-third-year-in-a-row-commentary-and-reaction/
  10. https://visitgalway.ie/castlehacket-house/
  11. "Belclare's Kevin Steede a Countdown champ". Galway Advertiser. 19 February 2015. Archived from the original on 14 December 2017.
  12. "Kevin Steede". Retrieved 18 November 2018.
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