:''There are other places called Meelick 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 = ...

and

County Mayo County Mayo (; ga, Contae Mhaigh Eo, meaning "Plain of the Taxus baccata, yew trees") is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. In the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Conn ...

.'' __NOTOC__ Meelick () is a small village in

County Clare County Clare ( ga, Contae an Chláir) is a county in Ireland, in the Southern Region and the province of Munster, bordered on the west by the Atlantic Ocean. Clare County Council is the local authority. The county had a population of 118,817 ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

, situated a few kilometres north of

Limerick Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2016 ...

in the Mid-West Region.

History

From 1956, the area was home to 161 Hungarian

refugee A refugee, conventionally speaking, is a displaced person who has crossed national borders and who cannot or is unwilling to return home due to well-founded fear of persecution.

s fleeing the

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

repression in that country (see

1956 Hungarian Revolution The Hungarian Revolution of 1956 (23 October – 10 November 1956; hu, 1956-os forradalom), also known as the Hungarian Uprising, was a countrywide revolution against the government of the Hungarian People's Republic (1949–1989) and the Hunga ...

). They were housed in Knockalisheen Camp, a disused army barracks dating from the Emergency. In 1957, complaints and disputes between the refugees and the authorities over living conditions and enforced idleness led to a mass

hunger strike A hunger strike is a method of non-violent resistance in which participants fast as an act of political protest, or to provoke a feeling of guilt in others, usually with the objective to achieve a specific goal, such as a policy change. Most ...

. After three days, the Dáil and the Irish

Red Cross The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million Volunteering, volunteers, members and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure re ...

negotiated an end to the strike. By the summer of 1958, most of the refugees were allowed to move to

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

and the

USA The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

while a few chose to remain in Ireland. During their stay at the camp, the 51 children attended the local St Munchin's Girls' School where they were taught both the English and Irish languages. Since the 1990s the camp has again been used to house asylum seekers, now mostly from African countries.

Community

The village has a local GAA club and a community centre. The village also had a tavern and shop although both have now closed. Historically the village of Meelick was located in an area commonly known as Stonepark, where the church and school are situated. However, during the early 1980s, the development of housing estates began where the majority of Meelick residents now live. Before this, Meelick didn't even warrant a place on the map and even with the development of new housing and the resulting population boost, Meelick can still be seen on very few maps. The three main housing estates built were Ballycannon Heights, Elton Court and Kylevoher. With the turn of the 20th century, two new estates, Elmwood and Glen Abhainn were developed. Other residential areas near Meelick include Cappantymore, Moneen, Stonepark (the original village location), Woodcock Hill and Ballycannon North.

People

* Michael Brennan (Lieutenant-General), the Irish Defence Forces Chief of Staff 1931-1940, was born in Meelick.

References

{{Coord, 52, 42, 3.05, N, 8, 39, 11.13, W, scale:12500_type:city_region:IE, display=title Towns and villages in County Clare

History

Community

People

See also

References