Bellaghy

Bellaghy
Village
Entering Bellaghy from Old Town Road, Seamus Heaney HomePlace in centre, August 2023
Bellaghy is located in Northern Ireland
Bellaghy
Location within Northern Ireland
Population1,063 (2001 Census)
District
County
CountryNorthern Ireland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townMAGHERAFELT
Postcode districtBT45
Dialling code028
PoliceNorthern Ireland
FireNorthern Ireland
AmbulanceNorthern Ireland
UK Parliament
NI Assembly
List of places
UK
Northern Ireland
County Londonderry
54°48′29″N 6°31′08″W / 54.808°N 6.519°W / 54.808; -6.519

Bellaghy (from Irish Baile Eachaidh, meaning 'Eachaidh's town')[1][2] is a village in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It lies north west of Lough Neagh and about 5 miles north east of Magherafelt. In the centre of the village (known locally as The Diamond) three main roads lead to Magherafelt, Portglenone and Toome. It had a population of 1,063 people in the 2001 Census and is within Mid-Ulster District.

Bellaghy is home to various historical landmarks, including a well-preserved 17th century fortified house, Bellaghy Bawn, which is now a museum. A Grade B+ thatched cottage is present in the Bellaghy outskirts. The village is also known as the birthplace, childhood home and resting place of poet Seamus Heaney (1939–2013), who won the Nobel Prize for Literature. There is an arts centre in the village dedicated to Heaney.[3]

  1. ^ "Bellaghy, County Derry". www.placenamesni.org. Place Names NI. Retrieved 26 November 2018.
  2. ^ Bellaghy Placenames Database of Ireland. Retrieved: 2013-09-01.
  3. ^ Roslyn Sulcas, "Ireland Celebrates the Life and Legacy of Nobel Prize-Winning Poet", New York Times, 17 October 2016