Bellanagare

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Bellanagare · Co. Roscommon

A small village that gave Ireland one of its finest 18th-century scholars during the worst time to be Irish.

Bellanagare is a small village in north-central Roscommon. It is not a destination. But it was the birthplace of Charles O'Conor, one of the most important Irish scholars of the 18th century.

O'Conor was born in 1710 (sources vary between 1709–1710) at Kilmactranny, a few kilometres north, and settled in Bellanagare. He lived through the Penal Laws—the period when Irish Catholics could not own land, could not study, could not hold office. Despite this, he became a leading antiquarian and historian. He published a work on Irish mining in 1754, and in 1766 his major work—Dissertations on the History of Ireland—which was almost alone in its time as serious Irish history research.

He was one of the co-founders of the first Catholic Committee in 1757 and eventually became a member of the Royal Irish Academy. He died here in 1791 at age 81. His collection of manuscripts, including the only known copy of part of the Annals of the Four Masters, passed to the Marquis of Buckingham. The map has marked him; the village has not, much.

Coords

53.7936° N, 8.4192° W

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Stories & lore.

The reason to come back. The things every local will eventually tell you about, usually after the second pint.

Scholar in penal times

Charles O'Conor

Charles O'Conor (1710–1791) was born into the O'Conor Don family of Roscommon, direct descendants of the kings of Connacht. He lived through the Penal Laws, when Irish Catholics had almost no legal rights. Despite this, he became one of Ireland's finest historians and antiquarians. He published Dissertations on the History of Ireland in 1766—the first serious attempt by an Irishman to study and write Irish history in centuries. He co-founded the Catholic Committee and became a member of the Royal Irish Academy. He did this quietly, in a small house in the Irish countryside, during a time when being learned and Irish was dangerous.

Getting there.

By car

From Roscommon town, head north-east toward Boyle, then follow signs. About 25 km. The village is very small.

By bus

No direct service. Unlikely to have regular buses.

Next on the tour

Co. Longford

Longford

County town east, about 50 km. Proper shops and restaurants.

Co. Leitrim

Drumshanbo

Leitrim village north on the Shannon, about 35 km. Water-based and quieter.