Mountbellew
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Mountbellew or Mountbellew Bridge (historically ''Creggaun'', from ) is a town in
County Galway County Galway ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Northern and Western Region, taking up the south of the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht. The county population was 276,451 at the 20 ...
,
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 ...
. It lies mostly within the
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 ...
of Treanrevagh (''Trian Riabhach'') on the N63
national primary road A national primary road () is a road classification in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. National primary roads form the major routes between the major urban centres. There are 2649 km of national primary roads. This category of road has the pr ...
. As of the 2022 census, it had a population of 774.


Amenities

Mountbellew has a number of shops and small businesses. There are four schools located in the town: St. Mary's National School; two secondary schools, Holy Rosary College and Coláiste an Chreagáin; and the Franciscan Brothers Agricultural College, part of the
Atlantic Technological University Atlantic Technological University (also known as Atlantic TU or ATU; ) is a Technological Universities in Ireland, technological university in the west and north-west of Ireland. It was formally established on 1 April 2022 as a merger of three ...
. The local secondary school " Holy Rosary College Mountbellew" is home to an All Weather sports facility that was originally built in 2017 with the intention of renting it out to various third parties, especially during the winter in aid of raising money for the school. However, An Bord Pleanala ruled that the floodlighting of the facility should not be in operation any later than 7:30 PM. It was also ruled that the use of this facility could only be used for school purposes and was not to be rented out to third parties. This came after fierce complaints by the residents of the local estate, these complaints mostly regarded the light pollution and the noise such a facility would have on the estate which was only 30 yards from the sports facility. Points of interest in the area include the Bellew Estate and woodlands, the man-made pleasure lake, the old forge, the malt house (which now lends its name to a restaurant) and St Mary's 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. In 2020, the local authorities and The
Galway County Council Galway County Council () is the Local government in the Republic of Ireland, local authority of County Galway, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. As a county council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001. The council is responsible for ho ...
had approved the building of a supermarket and filling station. The site was planned to be built upon by Cahermorris Developments Ltd. However, the building of the supermarket and filling station was appealed to An Bord Pleanala by a number of residents who were living in close proximity to where the new site was scheduled to be built. Reasons stated in objection to the building included that were would be "Chiller Fans" within 50 meters of residential property, the delivery bay of the supermarket would generate "intolerable noise" at all hours of the day and that such a large discount supermarket would not be sustainable for the local business and economy of the small village. In the end it was deemed that “The entire development is completely incompatible with this village and would have a detrimental effect on the location." In 2021, the discount supermarket chain
Aldi Aldi (German pronunciation: ), stylised as ALDI, is the common company brand name of two German multinational family-owned discount supermarket chains operating over 12,000 stores in 18 countries. The chain was founded by brothers Karl and ...
announced the opening of a new 7 million Euro store in Mountbellew. The local drapery shop, Briggs Drapers, is a very important amenity to the village. It is run by Peter Briggs, who has worked behind the counter at the shop for over 60 years. Peter is often found up at 7 AM servicing the community by providing breakfasts for many residents, including students of the nearby
Agricultural College This article lists agricultural universities and colleges around the world, by continent and country. Africa Algeria * Higher National Agronomic School (French name: Ecole Nationale Supérieure Agronomique) Benin * Agricultural University ...
. Peter has worked at the drapery shop since 1952.


Franciscan Brothers

The Franciscan Brothers, a
Catholic religious order In the Catholic Church, a religious order is a community of consecrated life with members that profess solemn vows. They are classed as a type of Religious institute (Catholic), religious institute. Subcategories of religious orders are: * can ...
, came to Mountbellew from
Milltown, Dublin Milltown () is a suburb and townland 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 ...
, in 1818. The Bellew family invited them and gave them resources of land and a house to get established. The order 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 order 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. In 1986, the college partnered with a predecessor of
Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology The Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology (GMIT; ) was an institute of technology, located in Galway, Ireland. In April 2022, it was formally dissolved, and its functions were transferred to Atlantic Technological University (ATU). Now a con ...
(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. The Higher Certificate is awarded by various Institutes of Technology. A Higher ...
in Business Studies (
Agribusiness Agribusiness is the industry, enterprises, and the field of study of value chains in agriculture and in the bio-economy, in which case it is also called bio-business or bio-enterprise. The primary goal of agribusiness is to maximize profit ...
). The
Atlantic Technological University Atlantic Technological University (also known as Atlantic TU or ATU; ) is a Technological Universities in Ireland, technological university in the west and north-west of Ireland. It was formally established on 1 April 2022 as a merger of three ...
, formed via the merger of Galway-Mayo IT, IT Sligo, and Letterkenny IT in April 2022, has eight campuses across four counties, including one in Mountbellew.


Sport and community

Mountbellew's sporting societies include Mountbellew Moylough GAA club, which plays both
hurling Hurling (, ') is an outdoor Team sport, team game of ancient Gaelic culture, Gaelic Irish origin, played by men and women. One of Ireland's native Gaelic games, it shares a number of features with Gaelic football, such as the field and goa ...
and
Gaelic football Gaelic football (; short name '')'', commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA, or football, is an Irish team sport. A form of football, it is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score ...
. The club colours are black and amber, and they play on Mountbellew/Moylough GAA grounds. The senior football team won five
Galway Senior Football Championship The Galway Senior Football Championship is an annual Gaelic Athletic Association competition between the top Gaelic football clubs in Galway Galway ( ; , ) is a City status in Ireland, city in (and the county town of) County Galway. It ...
s in 1964, 1965, 1974, 1986 and 2021. A monument to the
racehorse Horse racing is an equestrian performance activity, 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 bas ...
Bobbyjo can be seen in the town centre. He won the Irish and English grand nationals. A historic market, promoted by local landlord Christopher Dillon Bellew in the 19th century, still takes place in the triangular 'square' every Tuesday. The historic weigh-house building is still located across from the square, becoming a garage in the 1900s, and it is now being redeveloped. Mountbellew in combination with nearby town Moylough are part of the Irish/French
town twinning A sister city or a twin town relationship is a form of legal or social agreement between two geographically and politically distinct localities for the purpose of promoting cultural and commercial ties. While there are early examples of inte ...
program which links the two
parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...
es both legally and socially with the French town of Eliant.


Notable people

* Thomas J. Kelly (1833–1908), leader of the Irish Republican Brotherhood * James Lawlor Kiernan (1837–1869), Brigadier General in the Union Army during the American Civil War, was born in Mountbellew * Niamh Kilkenny, sportsperson and All Ireland Camogie Championship winner, attended school locally.


See also

* List of towns and villages in Ireland


References


External links


Mountbellew/Moylough Game Preservation Society Website
{{County Galway Towns and villages in County Galway Planned communities in the Republic of Ireland