Belcarra History
A brief history of our Village.
The Village Today
Belcarra (Baile na Cora) village is located in County Mayo in the West of Ireland. The name means ‘the village of the weir’ or river-crossing. It is referred to on some old maps as Ballycarra but the name was changed by deed poll in 1970 to Belcarra. It is 10 kilometres (6.2 miles) south-east of the county town of Castlebar.
There is a vibrant community with a Community Centre in the heart of the village which hosts a wide-variety of social events, community groups and remote working hub with fibre optic broadband. There are amenities such as: sports centre, recreational park with playground, riverside walk, general grocer with postal service, artisan butcher, recycling centre, and two pubs. The Local Business section gives details of all businesses in the area.
St Anne’s Catholic Church is also located in the heart of the village close to the Community Centre.
Our village received its first county award for the tidiest village in Mayo in 1977 and has gone on to win county Tidy Towns Award on fourteen occasions so far.
In 2007, Belcarra was twinned with Belcarra, British Columbia in Canada.
The Great Famine (1845 - 1852)
The Famine had a devastating impact across Belcarra. When it was over the population was reduced from 1872 persons to 1190 persons. The records show that some of the townlands suffered greater losses than others. The follow depicts the Townlands of Belcarra and their populations in 1841 and again in 1951:
Ballaghfarna – 191 -> 99
Ballycarra – 328 -> 211
Ballyshane – 78 -> 28
Barney – 133 -> 39
Cloonagh – 41 -> 33
Cloonaghduff – 60 -> 54
Cloonlynchaghaun – 78 -> 34
Cuillare – 18 -> 16
Currany – 4 -> 11
Deerkpark Lower – 37 -> 35
Deerpark Upper – 95 -> 42
Dereen – 71 -> 69
Elmhall – 106 -> 75
Glebe – 7 -> 7
Gortaruan – 27 -> 23
Kilbrenan – 17 -> 8
Kilnageer – 101 -> 71
Knocknaveagh – 16 -> 5
Lissaniska – 131 -> 80
Logaphuill – 188 -> 159
Tully – 139 -> 86
Tullybeg – 6 -> 5
Taylor and Skinner Map 1777
Belcarra Village, June 1918 (Courtesy of Bridie Coleman).
According to Belcarra resident and local historian Sean Nestor, this Photograph was taken by two brothers from Blackpool, England and was one of a series of Ireland Postcards. According to Sean the brothers were killed in WW2 and their glass plates were subsequently destroyed in a fire at their premises. They may have operated under the business name ‘Scholastic Publications’.
Sean Nestor has identified the buildings in the Photograph as follows – Left side:- starting at the left foreground: Paddy Mullaney’s thatched cottage; Maggie Heneghan’s shop; the road to The Common; 2 thatched houses owned by the Hughes’; Right side:- starting at the right foreground: Michael Galvin’s with archway (Principal Clogher N.S.); Kilroe’s Shop (later the original Roches’s Shop); Tommy Naughton’s (Cobbler), Pakie Fadden’s (Then a gap where Flukie’s yard gate is); Flanagan’s in ruins (now Flukie’s private dwellings); Mickey Jenning’s Pub (now Flukie’s Pub), Tuffy’s Pub (now Corley’s Pub).
Willie Roche as a young blacksmith shoeing horses outside the Forge where the Roche family established their business in the early 1900.
Belcarra Crest and Motto
Belcarra Community Council adopted a village Crest and Motto in 2007. The crest features the Killeen Stone Head, representing Belcarra’s pre-historic pagan past, and the Celtic cross representing the Christian present. The village name is rendered in ancient ogham script along the top of the shield. The design also features a garland of shamrocks and maple leaves symbolising the links forged with Belcarra, British Columbia, Canada in 2007. The hand-clasp symbolises friendship and hospitality.
The jackdaw, perched on the shield, reminds us that we share our world with many living creatures. In Belcarra village we are proud to have a historic rookery where several hundred rooks and jackdaws spend the night.
The village Motto “Ar scáth a cheile” is an abbreviated rendering of “Ar scáth a cheile a mhaireann na daoine” – a well known Irish proverb which stresses neighbourliness, and reminds us that we all depend on one another.
Belcarra twins with Belcarra Canada
in 2007 we extended the hand of friendship to the citizens of Belcarra, Vancouver, Canada at a special twinning ceremony in our Community Centre. A delegation from the small Canadian community, led by Bruce Drake, travelled to Co. Mayo and spent the weekend in our village.
Pride of Place
Pride of Place is an all-island competition that recognises improvements made by local communities to create civic pride in their area. The competition focus is about people coming together to shape, change and enjoy all that is good about their area.
In 2020 Belcarra Village community won this National Award for the population category 300-1,000′
This award marks the cumulation of over 20 years of hard work and dedication to Belcarra Village’s community.
Tidy Towns
Belcarra Tidy Towns was established in 1962 by two local members of the ICA with the intention of upgrading the local area.
Belcarra received its first County award for the tidiest Village in Mayo in 1977. Through the national tidy towns initiative volunteers in our community work together to improve our local environment and made Belcarra a better place to live, work and visit.
Belcarra village has won the county Tidy Towns Award on 14 occasions and consequently attracts many tourists.