MOUNTBELLEW

Carved limestone milestone

National Inventory of Architectural Heritage

Saint Mary's Church

National Inventory of Architectural Heritage

Mountbellew

An Creagán (Gaeilge)

Mountbellew also: Mount Bellew (English)

meaning of Irish place name:

creagán (also: screagán)- rocky place

Historical description:

A Topographical Dictionary of Ireland, by Samuel Lewis, 1837

http://www.libraryireland.com/Mount-Bellew

MOUNT-BELLEW-BRIDGE, a market-town, in the parish of MOYLOUGH, barony of KILLIAN, county of GALWAY, and province of CONNAUGHT, 5 miles (N. W.) from Castle-Blakeney, on the road from Tuam to Ballinasloe; containing, in 1836, about 600 inhabitants. This place has increased very much within the last few years, under the auspices of M. Dillon Bellew, Esq.; it is remarkably clean and neat, and most of the houses have shops. An excellent market is held on Tuesday for all sorts of agricultural produce, live stock, and some manufactured goods. Mr. Steel has large stores here, and buys extensively in the market for Liverpool. Fairs are held on May 7th, June 9th, July 25th, and Sept. 29th. A seneschal’s court monthly, and petty sessions fortnightly, are held here; and it is a constabulary police station. There is also a dispensary. Mount Bellew, the seat of M. D. Bellew, Esq., is considered to present some of the greatest improvements, and is the most prettily laid out, of any in the county. The late Mr. Bellew gave 10 acres of land towards the support of a monastery of the order of St. Francis, the inmates of which superintend a national school, to which the Board of Education grants £10 per ann.; it is a neat edifice, built by subscription, towards which Mr. Bellew was the chief contributor: the chapel, built at his cost, is a very pretty structure, with a tower 72 feet high. Should the plan of making the river Suck navigable to its junction with the Shiven take place, it is also proposed to make the latter navigable for boats to this place, which would confer on it great advantages, as agricultural produce could then be conveyed to the Shannon from this part of the country.