Mountbellew or Mountbellew Bridge (historically ''Creggaun'', from ) is a town in

County Galway "Righteousness and Justice" , anthem = () , image_map = Island of Ireland location map Galway.svg , map_caption = Location in Ireland , area_footnotes = , area_total_km2 = ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...

. It lies mostly within the

townland A townland ( ga, baile fearainn; Ulster-Scots: ''toonlann'') is a small geographical division of land, historically and currently used in Ireland and in the Western Isles in Scotland, typically covering . The townland system is of Gaelic orig ...

of Treanrevagh (''Trian Riabhach'') on the N63

national primary road A national primary road ( ga, Bóthar príomha náisiúnta) is a road classification in Ireland. National primary roads form the major routes between the major urban centres. There are 2649 km of national primary roads. This category of ro ...

. The town has a population of approximately 800, and has a number of shops and small businesses. There are four schools located in the town, St. Mary's National School, Holy Rosary College, Coláiste an Chreagáin and the Franciscan Brothers Agricultural College. Points of interest around the town include the Bellew Estate and woodlands, a small lake, the old forge and the Catholic church. The Bellew Estate was once the home of the Grattan-Bellew family, who were Galway parliamentarians during the 18th and 19th centuries. The estate demesne is now a wooded area of forest walks and picnic areas. The village bridge has a milestone inserted in the middle of its parapet.

Franciscan Brothers

The Franciscan Brothers came to Mountbellew from

Milltown, Dublin Milltown () is a suburb on the southside of Dublin, Ireland. Milltown was the site of several working mills on the River Dodder and is also the location of the meeting of the River Slang with the Dodder. It is located adjacent to other suburba ...

, in 1818. The Bellew family invited them and gave them resources of land and a house to get established. The Brothers ran a free primary school until 1884. In 1875 they opened a secondary school (boarding) and in 1898 a special department in the school was set up to prepare students for Teacher Training Colleges. The Brothers changed from secondary education to agricultural education in 1904 and the Franciscan Brothers’ Agricultural College was founded. This was the first agricultural college in Ireland. The Department of Agriculture supported the college from the start. In 1986, the college partnered with a predecessor of

Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology The Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology (GMIT; ga, Institúid Teicneolaíochta na Gaillimhe-Maigh Eo) was an institute of technology, located in Galway, Ireland. In April 2022, it was formally dissolved, and its functions were transferred to ...

(GMIT). This cooperation between the two colleges resulted in the setting up of what is now known as the

Higher Certificate The Higher Certificate (''Ardteastas'' in Irish) is a third level education award at level 6 on the National Framework of Qualifications in the Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a cou ...

in Business Studies (Agribusiness).

Sport and clubs

Mountbellew's sporting societies include Mountbellew Moylough GAA club which plays both

hurling Hurling ( ga, iománaíocht, ') is an outdoor team game of ancient Gaelic Irish origin, played by men. One of Ireland's native Gaelic games, it shares a number of features with Gaelic football, such as the field and goals, the number of p ...

and

Gaelic football Gaelic football ( ga, Peil Ghaelach; short name '), commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA or Football is an Irish team sport. It is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score by ki ...

. The club colours are black and amber and they play on Mountbellew/Moylough GAA grounds. The senior football team won five Galway Senior Football Championships, in 1964, 1965, 1974, 1986 and 2021. A monument to the famous

racehorse Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic pr ...

Bobbyjo Bobbyjo (1990 – 2001) was an Irish bred racehorse by Bustineto and Markup, best remembered as the winner of the 1999 Grand National steeplechase at Aintree. Bobbyjo was owned by Bobby Burke Mullaghmore, Co. Galway. Humble Beginnings In 19 ...

can be seen in the town centre. He won the Irish and English grand nationals.

Notable people

James Lawlor Kiernan James Lawlor Kiernan (26 October 1837 – 29 November 1869) was an Irish-born Brigadier General in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Biography Kiernan was born in Mountbellew, County Galway, in 1837; his father being a retired Brit ...

(1837–1869), Brigadier General in the Union Army during the American Civil War, was born in Mountbellew * Thomas J. Kelly (1833–1908), leader of the Irish Republican Brotherhood

External links

Mountbellew/Moylough Game Preservation Society Website

References

{{County Galway Towns and villages in County Galway Planned communities in the Republic of Ireland

Franciscan Brothers

Sport and clubs

Notable people

See also

External links

References