Series of events to take place this week to mark Bellaghy Historical Society's 25th anniversary

Bellaghy is a place with a rich and deep history, culture and sense of identity.

Various archaeological finds along the River Bann provide evidence of settlement dating back some 8,000 to 10,000 years.

It was only natural therefore that local people, keen to learn of their heritage, would think about establishing a local Historical Society.

On February 16 2000, local historian Mrs Patricia Lowry, with help from Bawn Curator Ms Deborah Logan, convened a public meeting to determine the level of interest among local people for the development of a Historical Society.

A total of 17 people turned up for that first meeting and Ms Logan gave a talk on ‘The History of The Bawn.’

Bellaghy Bawn is a 17^th century Plantation fortification and defensive dwelling which occupies an elevated site at the top of Castle Street with panoramic views of the town and surrounding area.

Greatly encouraged by the numbers and the obvious enthusiasm that there was, these two ladies, with help from Mrs Mary Breslin, set about planning a series of lectures.

ABOVE: Some members of Bellaghy Historical Society pictured on a trip to Church Island in 2006 to meet up with Frank Rogers who was on a quest to canoe across 32 lakes in 32 counties in 32 days.

In the months that followed, members enjoyed talks on ‘Agriculture in the Last Century’ by Ms Logan and ‘Ulster Dialects’ by Mr Alex Blair.

In May of 2000, members elected a Committee with Mrs Breslin (Chairperson), Mrs Lowry (Secretary) and Mrs Patricia Henry (Treasurer).

The newly formed Society also began work on its publication ‘Life in The Past’ which proved highly successful in terms of copies sold and provided a much needed income for the Society.

Such energy can only be marvelled at and as interest and membership grew, it was necessary for the group to find alternative accommodation and so in October of their first year, the Society moved to the Old School building on Castle Street where members continue to meet at 8pm on the second Tuesday of each month between October and April.

ABOVE: Members pictured at a meeting of Bellaghy Historical Society in the early 00's.

The range of topics too has expanded considerably reflecting the considerable interest that exists among locals and others who travel long distances to attend lectures.

Lectures over the intervening 25 years have reflected not only on the arrival of the earliest settlers immediately after the last ice age but have also examined the economic, industrial, religious, educational, cultural and political events that have influenced the lives of people, not just from Bellaghy but across Ireland and further afield.

The Society’s lectures have covered the 10,000 year period from the neolithic settlers through the introduction of Christianity (Church Island is prominent in that history), the Vikings, Normans, the Great Irish Clans, the importance of the Battle of the Boyne not just for Irish political history but also for wider European politics and the Plantation. Members learned of the development of Bellaghy as a town, the Vintners’ Company, the Bawn and in a later period, the impact of the Penal Laws and the Great Famine.

Bishop Earl Hervey, Ballyscullion Palace, Percy French, the GAA, Marching Bands, the six Prime Ministers in the Stormont Government (1921-1972), influential Irish women, fashions, cures, the Post Office railways and Christmas traditions over the years have all provided topics for lectures to Society members.

History, historic events and activity, has a habit of repeating itself and the lecture programme has reflected those occurrences.

When the archaeologists, working on the A6 road development, presented a lecture on the archaeological excavations between Toome and Castledawson, members could see a line of continuous industrial activity in the area from iron working by our ancestors two thousand years ago to the more recent Diatomite Company (clay works) and the Eel Fisheries.

The recent storm Éowyn which caused widespread devastation, reminded members that it had all happened before. In a lecture by Peter Carr in November 2010 entitled ‘The Night of the Big Wind,’ members learned of the storm that rocked Ireland and Britain on the night of Sunday, January 6 1839. On that occasion, there was extensive damage to property (25% of the houses in Dublin were damaged or destroyed), forty two ships were wrecked and one hundred and twenty people were killed. Countless numbers of animals (wild and domestic) were also killed.

When members met for the first time after the Covid pandemic, the lecture was indeed topical. The speaker, Society Chairperson, Séamus McErlean, provided evidence of pandemics going back over millennia as evidenced from analysis of skeletal remains from ancient burial sites. Members heard too how society had responded, empires had fallen, and how disasters were politicised to reflect poorly on certain countries (Spanish flu) or individuals. Some of the responses to pandemics in the past provided learning for our modern Public Health Service on how to limit the spread of diseases and protect life.

At the start of the last decade (2010 onwards), the Society’s programme began to examine the significant events that had occurred one hundred years before and which still influence our lives politically and socially. Members received talks on the Titanic and ship building, the birth of the Ulster Volunteer Force and the Irish Volunteers, the Ulster Covenant, World War 1, the 1916 Rising, the War of Independence and the Irish Civil War.

The Society has also collaborated with colleagues at Seamus Heaney Home Place to put on events covering the life and work of Seamus Heaney, Turlough O’Carolan (1670-1738) the hugely talented Irish Harpist and the Pankhurst family (suffragette movement).

Strong collaborative links have been established with other local Historical Societies and in March 2024, several members joined with colleagues from Loup Historical Society and archaeologists from Queen’s University Belfast to survey a recently discovered crannóg at Maghadon, between the Loup and Moneymore.

ABOVE: Last year (2024), some of the members of Bellaghy Historical Society took part in the Queen's University Belfast's archaeology survey at Maghadone Crannog outside Moneymore.

A little bit closer to home and in October 2023, a Bog Body was found in Ballymacombs Mór, near Newferry. The remains are thought to be those of a woman who lived 2,500 years ago. This represents the first authenticated prehistoric bog preserved human remains to be found in Northern Ireland.

National Museums NI is the organisation with responsibility for the preservation of archaeological finds from our past and in collaboration with colleagues at Seamus Heaney Home Place have planned a series of lectures, poetry and music between Thursday, February 20 and Sunday, February 23 to share archaeological research findings on the Ballymacombs Mór body and to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of Heaney’s publication ‘North’ which includes some of the poet’s bog poems.

A one-day symposium on Saturday, February 22, brings together experts in the field of prehistoric bog bodies and the poetry of Seamus Heaney. Speakers will explore Iron Age culture and society on this island and beyond, highlight the importance of bogland in Ireland and its unique preservation qualities for archaeological material and look at the poetry of Heaney inspired by our ancient past.

Sadly, many of the founding members of the Society are no longer with us. However, current members would acknowledge with gratitude those history lovers especially Mrs Lowry, Mrs Breslin, Ms Logan and Mrs Henry whose vision, enthusiasm and energy have helped lay a strong foundation for the Society which has gone from strength to strength over the past twenty five years.

Here's to the next 25.

To find out more information visit BELLAGHY HISTORICAL SOCIETY

Alternatively email bellaghyhs@gmail.com