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Bellaghy () 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 Deerpark 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.
In the early 17th century, Bellaghy became one of many towns planned, built and settled under the authority of the Vintners Company of London, as part of the English Plantation of Ulster. In 1622, according to a manuscript of a Captain Thomas Ash, Bellaghy consisted of a church, a castle, a corn mill and twelve houses.
During the Plantation, English colonials built a Bellaghy Bawn in the village. It had surrounding walls and two circular towers at opposite corners. Recent excavations have revealed that the fortified house was built on the site of a former Gaelic ringfort. During the 1641 rebellion the house was attacked by Irish rebels, but it remained intact. Many other houses in the village were burnt to the ground. Locally it was called "The Castle" and is located on Castle Street. The refurbished house was opened to the public in 1996 as Bellaghy Bawn. It is a museum featuring exhibitions on local history.
On 2 May 1922, during the Irish War of Independence, the Irish Republican Army launched an attack on Bellaghy Royal Irish Constabulary barracks - the IRA men gained access after the outer gate was mistakenly left unlocked while a 'farewell party' was being held inside for a retiring police officer. One RIC officer was killed and at least two others wounded. An IRA volunteer was also killed when he went to inspect a room and was shot 'through the woodwork' by a B Specials who had concealed himself behind a half-open door. The three other IRA volunteers subsequently withdrew, but were captured shortly afterwards.
Others to hail from the village include World Outdoor Bowls champion Margaret Johnston, international footballer Sarah Robson, and Eurovision 2022 entrant for Ireland Brooke Scullion.
Two Bellaghy natives, Francis Hughes and his cousin Thomas McElwee, died participating in the 1981 Irish hunger strike during The Troubles. They were protesting at the treatment by the British and supporting political change in Northern Ireland. Other republicans from Bellaghy include former Irish National Liberation Army (INLA) leader Dominic McGlinchey.
Sean Browne, chairman of the local Bellaghy GAC, was abducted by the Loyalist Volunteer Force in May 1997 while he locking the clubgrounds after a gaelic football game and then murdered near Randalstown, County Antrim.
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