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BELLAGHY |
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Like many of the plantation settlements in the area, BELLAGHY , just
west of Lough Beg, has a history which reflects the divisions between
communities. Indeed, no less than two of the ten 1981 hunger strikers -
cousins Francis Hughes and Thomas McElwee - came from the village, and
Orange Parades have been a regular flashpoint. Bellaghy is neatly laid
out around a T-junction and, if you wander south, past the whitewashed
terraces on Castle Street, you'll come to one of the best examples of a
surviving plantation castle, Bellaghy Bawn (June-Sept Mon-Fri 10am-5pm,
Sat noon-5pm, Sun 2-5pm; Oct-May Mon-Sat 10am-5pm; £2). The castle was
constructed in 1622 by the Vintners' Company. Most of its fortifications
were lost in 1641, but it still retains an impressive circular flanker
tower. The Bawn is now owned by the Department of the Environment, and
has been sensitively restored. Inside you'll find fascinating
interpretive displays explaining the 7000-year-old history of the
settlements in this area, the Vintners' construction of the village -
today's houses still occupy the same original allocated plots of land -
and the diverse ecology of the Lough Beg wetland area. The real treasure
here, however, is the dedication of much of the Bawn's space to a most
notable local man, Seamus Heaney , one of the twentieth-century's
greatest living poets, who was born and brought up nearby . Heaney
himself is the star of a unique and atmospheric video showing in the
Bawn, "A Sense of Place", in which he recounts the influence of his
upbringing, local character and landmarks on his poetry. His father, for
instance, rented grazing rights on the strand at Lough Beg and, in his
poem Ancestral Photograph , Heaney recalls helping to herd the cattle
that grazed there down Castle Street on their way to market. Prints of
other poems are displayed on the walls of various rooms and the Bawn's
library contains the ultimate collection of his works, including first
drafts and extremely limited editions. The Bawn's helpful curators are
very knowledgeable and there's a small café here too.
You can see the shimmering Lough Beg from the windows of the flanker
tower and a stroll down to the lake is well worthwhile. In summer, the
lake's waters recede and Church Island becomes accessible from the
strand. Besides a walled graveyard, here you'll find the ruins of a
medieval church, said to have been founded centuries before by the
ubiquitous St Patrick, with a tower and spire added in 1788 by the
eccentric Frederick Augustus Hervey, Anglican Bishop of Derry and fourth
Earl of Bristol , to improve his view from Ballyscullion House on the
mainland nearby. He commissioned Lanyon to build a huge replacement for
the original, with, apparently, 365 windows, but died abroad before ever
moving in. You can view the ruins from one of the Lough Beg Coach Houses
(tel 028/7938 6235; £200-380 per week) which offer good self-catering
accommodation and run coarse fishing and birdwatching weekends.
Bellaghy's only B&B is at the tiny, though comfortable, Bawn Lodge , 10
Castle St (tel 028/7938 6241; £26-33). Seven buses run daily to Bellaghy
from Magherafelt and Ballymena.
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