Bellavally Upper
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Bellavally Upper, in Gaelic= 'Béal an Bhealaigh Uachtarach', meaning ''The Upper Entrance to the Pass or Gap'', is a
townland A townland (; Ulster-Scots: ''toonlann'') is a traditional small land division used in Ireland and in the Western Isles of Scotland, typically covering . The townland system is of medieval Gaelic origin, predating the Norman invasion, and mo ...
in the
civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...
of
Templeport Templeport () is a civil parish in the barony of Tullyhaw, County Cavan, Ireland. The chief towns in the parish are Bawnboy and Ballymagauran. The large Roman Catholic parish of Templeport containing 42,172 statute acres was split up in the ...
,
County Cavan County Cavan ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and is part of the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the town of Cavan and is based on the hi ...
,
Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
. The local pronunciation is ''Bealbally''. It lies in the Roman Catholic parish of
Glangevlin Glangevlin () is a village in the northwest of County Cavan, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the townlands of Gub (Glangevlin) and Tullytiernan, at the junction of the R200 road (Ireland), R200 and R207 road (Ireland), R207 regional roads ...
and barony of
Tullyhaw Tullyhaw (, which means 'the Territory of Eochaidh', an ancestor of the McGoverns, who lived ) is a Barony in County Cavan in Ireland. The area has been in constant occupation since pre-4000 BC. Located in the northwest of the county, it h ...
.


Geography

Bellavally Upper is bounded on the north by Bellavally Lower townland, on the west by Derrynananta Lower townland, on the east by Altnadarragh,
Commas (Kinawley) Commas (Irish derived place name ''Cam Eas'', meaning either ‘The Bend in the River’ or ‘The Crooked Stream’) is a townland in the civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish of Kinawley, barony of Tullyhaw, County Cavan, Republic of Ireland, ...
and Legnaderk townlands and on the south by Altateskin townland. It is part of the
Cuilcagh Cuilcagh () is a mountain on the border between County Fermanagh (in Northern Ireland) and County Cavan (in the Republic of Ireland). With a height of it is the highest point in both counties. It is also the 170th highest peak on the island of ...
mountain range and its chief geographical features are Benbrack Mountain (An Bhinn Bhreac meaning ‘The Speckled Peak’), which reaches a height of 503 metres, Benbeg Mountain (An Bhinn Bheag meaning ‘The Small Peak’), which reaches a height of 539 metres, Bellavally Gap, the
Owenmore River (County Cavan) The Owenmore River (, meaning "Big River") rises in the Cuilcagh Mountains, in the townland of Dunmakeever, civil parish of Kinawley, Roman Catholic parish of Glangevlin, Barony of Tullyhaw, County Cavan. It then flows in a north-west direction ...
, mountain streams, waterfalls, forestry plantations and gravel pits. Bellavally Upper is traversed by the regional
R200 road (Ireland) The R200 road is a regional road in County Leitrim and County Cavan, Ireland. Going from west to east, the route connects the towns of Drumkeeran, Dowra, Glangevlin and Derrynacreeve. Along the way, it crosses the R207 at Dowra, meets the R ...
, minor public roads and rural lanes. The townland is popular with mountain hikers and is also noted for geological formations such as the Dinantian (Asbian) Glenade Sandstone Formation and the Bellavally Formation. The townland covers 698 statute acres.


History

The earliest surviving mention of the name relates to the
Battle of Magh Slecht The Battle of Magh Slécht took place at Magh Slécht in Ireland in 1256. The battle was part of a wider conflict between the O'Rourke rulers of Breifne and their traditional O'Reilly vassals over control of the kingdom. Both sides were assis ...
in 1256 which took place in Bellavally between the O’Reilly and O’Rourke clans. The
Annals of Connacht The ''Annals of Connacht'' (), covering the years 1224 to 1544, are drawn from a manuscript compiled in the 15th and 16th centuries by at least three scribes, all believed to be members of the Clan Ó Duibhgeannáin. The early sections, commenc ...
for that year state- ''The main army came up with them after some of their men had been killed: Diarmait O Flannacain, Mac Maenaig, Coiclid O Coiclid and a number of others; and the combined armies came to Alt na hElti and Doirin Cranncha, between Ath na Betige and Bel in Belaig and Coill Esa and Coill Airthir, on Slieve Anierin''. In 1339 the chief of the McGovern clan,
Tomás Mág Samhradháin (died 1340) Tomás mac Brian Breaghach Mág Samhradháin, (anglicised Thomas McGovern) was chief of the McGovern Clan and Baron or Lord of Tullyhaw barony, County Cavan from before 1325 until his death in 1340. Ancestry His ancestry was Tomás son of Brian ...
, was released from captivity. Poem XXII in The Book of Magauran by the poet Maol Pádraig Mac Naimhin (or Cnáimhín) commemorates his release and refers to Bellavally. Stanza 15 states- , (Graceful McGovern’s capture, the imprisonment of Bealach’s chief and some Gael being held in horror- these things fill Ireland with woe). The 1652 Commonwealth Survey spells the name as ''Bealbaly'' and lists the proprietor as The Lord of Cavan (i.e.
Charles Lambart, 1st Earl of Cavan Charles Lambart, 1st Earl of Cavan (c. March 1600 – 25 June 1660) was an Anglo-Irish Cavalier, Royalist soldier and peer. Lambart was the son of Oliver Lambart, 1st Baron Lambart and Hester Fleetwood. He served as the Member of Parliament fo ...
). A deed dated 10 May 1744 spells the name as ''Bealbally''. The Tithe Applotment Books for 1826 list sixteen tithepayers in the townland but this would probably include both Bellavally Upper and Lower townlands. The Ordnance Survey Name Books for 1836 give the following description of the townland- ''The part which is arable is only reclaimed mountain...There is a remarkable hollow between two mountains called Balebally Gap which the road from Bawnboy to Glan chapel passes through. There is an ancient legend concerning this place. Iron ore, sandstone and slate is found in the mountain but it is not quarried nor used in any way whatever''. In his ''A Topographical Dictionary of Ireland'' published in 1837,
Samuel Lewis (publisher) Samuel Lewis (c. 1782 – 1865) was the editor and publisher of topographical dictionaries and maps of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. The aim of the texts was to give in 'a condensed form', a faithful and impartial description ...
states- ''To the west of Swanlinbar rises the Bealbally mountains, through which is the Gap of Beal, the only entrance to Glangavlin''. A local folktale occurred about 1838 in Bellavally. The Bellavally Upper Valuation Office Field books are available for August 1839.
Griffith's Valuation Griffith's Valuation was a boundary and land valuation survey of Ireland completed in 1868. Griffith's background Richard John Griffith started to value land in Scotland, where he spent two years in 1806–1807 valuing terrain through the examin ...
of 1857 lists nine landholders in the townland. In the 19th century the landlords of Bellavally were the Annesley and Blachford Estates.


Census

In the
1901 census of Ireland Nineteen or 19 may refer to: * 19 (number) * One of the years 19 BC, AD 19, 1919, 2019 Films * ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film * ''Nineteen'' (1987 film), a 1987 science fiction film * ''19-Nineteen'', a 2009 South Korean film * ''Dician ...
, there are eight families listed in the townland. In the
1911 census of Ireland The 1911 census of Ireland was the last census that covered the whole island of Ireland and of the 26 counties that form the Republic of Ireland. Censuses were taken at ten-year intervals from 1821 onwards, but the 1921 census was cancelled due ...
, there are seven families listed in the townland.Census of Ireland 1911
National Archives


Antiquities

# Stone bridges, stepping-stones and footbridges over the Owenmore River.


References


External links


The IreAtlas Townland Data Base
{{County Cavan Townlands of County Cavan