Bellurgan (Irish: Baile na Lorgan)[1] is a townland in the northeast of County Louth, Ireland. Located approximately 6km from the town centre of Dundalk, as of the 2011 census the townland had a population of 665 people.[2] Bellurgan townland has an area of approximately 8.44 square kilometres (3.26 sq mi).[3]
Bellurgan
Baile na Lorgan | |
|---|---|
Townland | |
 Disused bridge, of the former Dundalk, Newry and Greenore Railway, at Bellurgan Point | |
  Bellurgan Location in Ireland | |
| Coordinates: 54°01′26″N 6°19′37″W / 54.024°N 6.327°W | |
| Country | Ireland |
| Province | Leinster |
| County | County Louth |
Its Irish name, Baile na Lorgan, derives from "baile" (meaning townland, town or homestead) and "lorgain" or "lorga" (long low ridge or strip of land).[1]
Amenities
edit
The local national (primary) school, Bellurgan National School,[4] had an enrolment of 124 pupils in 2023.[5] The school, formerly operating from a smaller building opened in 1912, moved to a new location in 1980.[6]
Founded in 1936, Bellurgan United Football Club is a local association football (soccer) club.[7]
Lordship Credit Union, which has premises in Bellurgan, is a credit union named after Lordship, a village 4.5 kilometres (2.8 mi) east along the R173 road. In 2013, Garda detective Adrian Donohoe was shot dead the car park during the robbery of a cash-in-transit van he was escorting.[8]
Built heritage
editBellurgan Park house is a detached seven-bay two-storey house which was built c. 1790. There is a three-bay two-storey house, built c. 1740, attached to the east.[9] The main building, together with the earlier mid-18th century house to which it is attached, was built by the Tipping family. Members of this family had been living in the area since the 17th century.[9]
Transport
editOld Road
editThe Old Road in Bellurgan was once the main thoroughfare from Carlingford and indeed the whole Cooley peninsula to Dundalk, the road used to travel straight through Bellurgan park passing the back of the old estate house where there was access to drinking water for horses as they passed.[citation needed]
Former railway station
edit
The 26-mile (42 km) Dundalk, Newry and Greenore Railway was an Irish gauge (1,600 mm (5 ft 3 in)) railway which passed through the area. It opened in the 1870s to provide a link between Dundalk and the port at Greenore, from where a ferry service operated to Holyhead.[10] The station at Bellurgan was the first stop, outside Dundalk, on the route to Greenore.[10] The line closed in 1951 and the station building was subsequently used as a private home.
See also
edit- Ballymascanlan, a townland which borders to the west
References
edit- ^ a b "Baile na Lorgan/Bellurgan". logainm.ie (in Irish). Placenames Database of Ireland. Retrieved 2024-01-17.
- ^ "CD163 - Louth Population by Private Households, Occupied and Vacancy Rate". Central Statistics Office. Retrieved 18 January 2024 – via data.gov.ie.
Population [..] Townlands [..] Bellurgan, Ballymascanlan, Co. Louth [..] 665
- ^ "Bellurgan Townland, Co. Louth". www.townlands.ie. Retrieved 2024-01-17.
- ^ "Bellurgan National School". Retrieved 2024-01-17.
- ^ "Directory page: Bellurgan NS". gov.ie. 20 July 2023. Retrieved 18 January 2024.
- ^ "Birth of the 'booze trail' traced back to decision by EU court". The Argus. 30 June 2010. Retrieved 18 January 2024.
Minister for Defence, Padraig Faulkner opened Bellurgan's new primary school in June, 1980 [..] The school, built at a cost of £170,000 replaced a two teacher school built in 1912
- ^ "Bellurgan United FC". Retrieved 2024-01-17.
- ^ "Garda killed in Co Louth shooting". RTÉ News. 25 January 2013. Retrieved 27 August 2024.
- ^ a b "Bellurgan Park, Bellurgan, Louth". Buildings of Ireland. Retrieved 2024-01-17.
- ^ a b "Four on the market: Former railway stations". independent.ie. 15 November 2019. Retrieved 18 January 2024.
The Dundalk, Newry and Greenore railway [..] opening in the 1870s to connect Dundalk and Newry to the port at Greenore, on Carlingford Lough, where you could board a ferry for Holyhead. Bellurgan Station lay just outside Dundalk and was the first stop on the way to Greenore