Castlebellingham () is a village and

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 ...

County Louth County Louth ( ; ) is a coastal Counties of Ireland, county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. Louth is bordered by the counties of County Meath, Meath to the ...

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 village has become quieter since the construction of the new M1 motorway, which bypasses it. The population of Castlebellingham-Kilsaran (named for the two townlands which make up the census area) increased from 721 inhabitants as of the 2002 census to 1,126 people as of the 2016 census.

History

Evidence of ancient settlement in the area include

fulacht fiadh A burnt mound is an archaeological feature consisting of a mound of shattered stones and charcoal, normally with an adjacent hearth and trough. The trough could be rock-cut, wood-lined or clay-lined to ensure it was watertight. Radiocarbon ...

, fosse (ring ditch) and a

motte and bailey A motte-and-bailey castle is a European fortification with a wooden or stone keep situated on a raised area of ground called a motte, accompanied by a walled courtyard, or bailey, surrounded by a protective ditch and palisade. Relatively easy ...

site in the surrounding

s of Castlebellingham, Greenmount and Kilsaran. A religious house in Kilsaran townland, of which no trace is visible and which had a reputed association with the

Knights Templar The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon, mainly known as the Knights Templar, was a Military order (religious society), military order of the Catholic Church, Catholic faith, and one of the most important military ord ...

, is recorded in some texts.

Castle Bellingham

The castle of Castlebellingham served as one of the ancestral homes of members of the

eponymous An eponym is a noun after which or for which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. Adjectives derived from the word ''eponym'' include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''. Eponyms are commonly used for time periods, places, innovati ...

Bellingham family from the 17th century to the mid-20th century. The family originated in the small town of

Kendal Kendal, once Kirkby in Kendal or Kirkby Kendal, is a market town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Westmorland and Furness, England. It lies within the River Kent's dale, from which its name is derived, just outside the boundary of t ...

, Westmorland in England. The original ancestor of the Irish Bellinghams, Alan Bellingham, hailed from here. Henry Bellingham (d.1676), a descendant of Alan was a cavalry officer who first came to Ireland during the English Civil War. The lands of Gernonstown were granted to Henry during the Cromwellian Settlement, in which a large amount of native Irish lands were given to Englishmen in reward for their service. Henry is named in the list of grantees under the Acts of Settlement and Explanation of Charles II s. In 1666, Charles II formally granted the lands to him for his ‘faithful service as a good soldier in the late wars’. The castle was rebuilt by Thomas Bellingham in the 1690s following the first castle's destruction by Jacobites during the

Williamite War in Ireland The Williamite War in Ireland took place from March 1689 to October 1691. Fought between Jacobitism, Jacobite supporters of James II of England, James II and those of his successor, William III of England, William III, it resulted in a Williamit ...

. The

calvary Calvary ( or ) or Golgotha () was a site immediately outside Jerusalem's walls where, according to Christianity's four canonical gospels, Jesus was crucified. Since at least the early medieval period, it has been a destination for pilgrimage. ...

near the castle was built by Sir Alan Henry Bellingham (1846–1921) in memory of his first wife, Lady Constance. A collection of inset religious panels is to be seen on the upper facades of many of the village buildings. These are also a reflection of Sir Henry's religious sentiments, and they are unique in Ireland. In addition to the many panels, there are biblical quotations cut into the stone window sills of some buildings. North of the castle is a carefully preserved group of "widows' dwellings", built from charitable motives by Sir Henry. The war memorial in the village was built in the Celtic style in 1920 and was unveiled by Cardinal Logue. Castlebellingham was home to the Bellinghams until the late 1950s. The last Bellingham to live there was Brigadier General Sir Edward Bellingham, born in 1879, last Lord Lieutenant of Louth (1921), and Guardian of the Rolls (Custos Rotulorum). He was then elected to the Irish free State Senate from 1925 to 1936. The house was purchased by Dermot Meehan in 1958 from the

Irish Land Commission The Irish Land Commission was created by the British crown in 1843 to "inquire into the occupation of the land in Ireland. The office of the commission was in Dublin Castle, and the records were, on its conclusion, deposited in the records tower ...

for £3,065.00. Meehan spent several years converting the house into the Bellingham Castle Hotel, which remains today. Meehan sold the hotel and 17 acres in 1967 for £30,636.61. The hotel, including the 17 acres, was offered for sale at €1,500,000 in 2011. In December 2012, the hotel was bought by the Corscadden family, who also own and run Cabra Castle Hotel in Kingscourt, County Cavan and Ballyseede Castle Hotel in

Tralee Tralee ( ; , ; formerly , meaning 'strand of the River Lee') is the county town of County Kerry in the south-west of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The town is on the northern side of the neck of the Dingle Peninsula, and is the largest town in ...

, County Kerry. Bellingham Castle has also been a wedding venue since 1905.

Transport

Castlebellingham railway station opened on 1 April 1851, but finally closed on 6 September 1976. Castlebellingham

motorway service area Motorway service areas (MSA) also known as services or service stations, are rest areas in the UK and Ireland where drivers can leave a motorway to refuel/recharge, rest, eat and drink, shop, use the toilet or stay in an on-site overnight hotel ...

on the M1 opened on 29 September 2010.

Sport

The area is home to the Gaelic football team the O'Connell's. In 2012, the team won their first Intermediate Championship. After victories over Laois and Meath opposition, they narrowly lost to Monasterevin of Kildare in the Leinster final.

References

External links