Aclare

Aclare
Áth an Chláir
Village
Shop and post office in Aclare
Shop and post office in Aclare
Aclare is located in Ireland
Aclare
Aclare
Location in Ireland
Coordinates: 54°02′10″N 8°53′56″W / 54.036°N 8.899°W / 54.036; -8.899
CountryIreland
ProvinceConnacht
CountyCounty Sligo
Elevation
53 m (174 ft)
Irish Grid ReferenceG410097

Aclare (Irish: Áth an Chláir, meaning 'ford of the plain') is a village in County Sligo, Ireland. It lies within both the civil and Catholic parish of Kilmactigue. Aclare village is situated on the Inagh (also spelt "Eignagh") river, a tributary of the River Moy.

History

Kilmactigue Church, near Aclare, was built in 1898

Evidence of ancient settlement in the area includes a number of ringfort and enclosure sites in the townlands of Carns, Lislea and Kilmacteige.

Belclare Castle (Irish: Béal an Chláir, meaning 'mouth of the plain'), a ruined castle near the village in Belcare townland, is historically associated with the O'Hara clan. The castle is located about half a mile west of Kilmactigue Chapel and was originally built in the 15th century.[citation needed]

The Annals of Ulster and Annals of the Four Masters record that, in 1512, Belclare Castle and Aclare were the site of a battle between the O'Donnells of Donegal and the McWilliam Bourkes of Connacht.

Transport

Bus Éireann route 479 links Aclare with Sligo via Tourlestrane, Coolaney and Collooney.

Notable people

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Áth an Chláir/Aclare". logainm.ie. Placenames Database of Ireland. Retrieved 12 November 2025.
  2. ↑ "Kilmactigue Parish". kilmactigueparish.com. Retrieved 12 November 2025. Aclare village is the main built-up area of our rural parish
  3. 1 2 "The return of the native to a Sligo village". westernpeople.ie. 31 May 2025. Retrieved 12 November 2025.
  4. 1 2 Archaeological Inventory of County Sligo. Dublin: Government Stationery Office. 2005. ISBN 0755719425.
  5. ↑ Mason, William Shaw (1816). A Statistical Account, Or Parochial Survey of Ireland, Volume 2. J. Cumming and N. Mahon. pp. 358–359.
  6. ↑ History of Sligo (PDF), p. 149 – via archive.org, The third castle, that of Belclare [..] fell in the course of time into the hands of the Burkes, between whom and O'Donnell there was a spirited contest for its possession in 1512† [..] †Annals of the Four Masters, 1512
  7. ↑ Annals of the Four Masters - Annal M1511, retrieved 12 November 2025 – via celt.ucc.ie, war also broke out between O'Donnell and Mac William Burke [..] he [Mac William Burke] marched with all his forces, and surrounded the castle of Bel-an-Chlair, in which O'Donnell had left his warders; but when O'Donnell heard that Mac William was besieging the town, he returned vigorously and expeditiously
  8. ↑ "Route 479: Serving Aclare to Sligo via Coolaney". Bus Éireann. Retrieved 14 August 2026.
  9. ↑ "Ten minutes with... Tommy Fleming". The Irish Post. 21 August 2014. Retrieved 9 November 2025.