Belclare () is a small village 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 = ...

, 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, a shop, pub and post office, a community centre, a GAA pitch and a playground.

Geography

Knockma, also known as

Castle Hackett Castle Hackett is a 13th-century tower house at the base of Knockma hill, south-west of Tuam, County Galway, Ireland. History The tower house was built by the Hacketts, a Norman family. The Kirwans, one of the tribes of Galway, settled th ...

hill, is situated 2 km west of Belclare.

Maeve Maeve, Maev or Maiv is a female given name of Irish origin. It comes from the Irish name ''Méabh'', which was spelt in early modern Irish (), or in Middle Irish, and in Old Irish (). It may derive from a word meaning "she who intoxicates", ...

, the legendary Queen of Connacht, is reputed to be buried in the Cairn on the summit of the hill - from there are panoramic views. Belclare is part of the parish of Corofin.

Politics

Mark Killilea Jnr Mark Killilea Jnr (5 September 1939 – 31 December 2018) was a farmer, auctioneer and agricultural contractor who served as an Irish Fianna Fáil politician. In a 30-year political career, served as a Teachta Dála (TD) and Member of the Europ ...

, 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. Current TD for Galway East,

Seán Canney Seán Canney (born 6 April 1960) is an Irish Independent politician who has been a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Galway East constituency since 2016. He served as a Minister of State from 2016 to 2017 and again from 2018 to 2020. A native of Bel ...

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),

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

(defeating Slaughtneil). They also won the 2018 Championship (defeating Nemo Rangers), the 2019 Championship (defeating Dr Crokes) and the 2020 Championship (defeating Kilcoo) to become the first club team to win three finals in a row.

Popular culture

The 1969 film, ''

Alfred the Great Alfred the Great (alt. Ælfred 848/849 – 26 October 899) was King of the West Saxons from 871 to 886, and King of the Anglo-Saxons from 886 until his death in 899. He was the youngest son of King Æthelwulf and his first wife Osburh, who bot ...

'', 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 The foreign exchange market (Forex, FX, or currency market) is a global decentralized or over-the-counter (OTC) market for the trading of currencies. This market determines foreign exchange rates for every currency. It includes all as ...

'', starring

Zachary Garred ''Foreign Exchange'' is a television series produced by Southern Star in association with Irish public broadcaster RTÉ (Raidió Teilifís Éireann). It aired on Nine Network from 5 November to 27 December 2004. The series starred Lynn Styles as ...

and Lynn Styles, was filmed at Castlehackett House which was called "O'Keeffe's College" in the series. The ''

Countdown A countdown is a sequence of backward counting to indicate the time remaining before an event is scheduled to occur. NASA commonly employs the terms "L-minus" and "T-minus" during the preparation for and anticipation of a rocket launch, and eve ...

'' champion Kevin Steede (who appeared in Series 72 which aired on Britain's Channel 4 in 2015), is originally from Belclare. Steede studied occupational therapy at the University of Plymouth, having earlier attended

St Jarlath's College St Jarlath's College () is a Catholic secondary school for young men in Tuam, County Galway. The college was founded in 1800 and in 2009 absorbed St. Patrick's College, Tuam. The College, which operates under patronage of the Archbishop of Tuam, ...

and NUI Galway locally.

Gallery

File:Belclare,_Co._Galway.jpeg, Welcome to Belclare File:Belclare Church 2023-1.jpg, Sacred Heart Church August 2023 File:Belclare Church 2023-2.jpg, Sacred Heart Church August 2023 File:Turlough,_Belclare,_Co._Galway.jpeg, View of the turlough from Belclare File:Castle_on_Knockma,_Belclare,_Co._Galway.jpeg, Ruined castle on Knockma File:View_from_Knockma,_Belclare,_Co._Galway.jpeg, View from the top of Knockma Hill

References

{{Reflist Towns and villages in County Galway