Basic Info.
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Roscommon is an inland county situated between the Shannon River, to the east, and its chief tributary, the Suck River, to the west.
The counties main attraction is the beauty of island-dotted lakes. Much of the county is level plain, bogland and river meadow - broken with low hills and many lakes.
Roscommon was little affected by the Norman invasion and was one of the counties left to the native proprietors by Cromwell in the seventeenth century. One result was that many of the old ways survived here longer than elsewhere.
The land is undulating, with natural grazing areas interspersed with rocky outcrops, lakes, and peat bogs.
When the county was created in 1565, its name was taken from the major town, Roscommon. Little is known about Coman, the fifth-century saint from whom the name comes. The ruined abbey which dominates the town was founded by the Dominicans in the thirteenth century. |
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Roscommon Heritage and Genealogical Centre
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Roscommon Heritage and Genealogical Centre
Located at Church Street, Strokestown, offers a family research service to people with County Roscommon roots. There is a permanent display dealing with Roscommon surnames, around which a series of historical and heritage exhibitions are held each season.The Church of Ireland Church, in which the centre is housed, contains an octagonal nave, a unique architectural feature of its period in Ireland. The centre is open to deal with genealogy all year round.
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Roscommon County Museum
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Roscommon County Museum
Located at The Square, Roscommon Town, the museum has a unique collection of artefacts relating to the history of the county, the town and its people. Formerly a Presbyterian Church, it was built in the 1860s. A collection of horse drawn farm machinery is also displayed in a yard behind the museum.
Items on display include a ninth century inscribed slab from St. Comans foundation, Church street Roscommon, a replica of the Cross of Cong with the inscription "made in Roscommon", and a superb example of a "Sheel na Gig" figure from Rahara.
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Elphin Windmill
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Elphin Windmill
Located in the town of Elphin, is a fully restored, working 18th century windmill, the oldest type in the country. It was perfectly located to harness the winds sweeping over the
plains of Elphin. It has a thatched revolving roof and four sails that are turned into the wind by using a tail pole attached to a cartwheel on a circular track.
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Clonalis House
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Clonalis House
Located in Castlerea, Clonalis is the ancestral home of the O'Connors, Kings of Connaught and the family from which the last High Kings of Ireland came. The O'Conor inauguration stone, similar to the Stone of Scone which lies in Westminster, belonged to the O'Connor
clan for 1,500 years. A fascinating historic archive of over 100,000 documents is maintained at Clonalis, including a copy of the last Brehon Law judgement, handed down about 1580. A harp owned by Turlough O'Connor, the blind Irish bard, is on display in the house.
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The Old Schoolhouse Museum
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The Old Schoolhouse Museum
Located in Ballintubber, the schoolhouse, which dates from 1929, captures the atmosphere of an Irish classroom of the time and reflects a period in Irish education which straddles two centuries. The craft shop and art gallery has a large selection of quality paintings, giftware and knitware, most of which were produced in the county. Home baked produce and an open turf fire will further stimulate the nostalgia and the taste buds in the lovely tea rooms.
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Boyle Abbey
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Boyle Abbey
An impressive and well preserved Cistercian Monastery which was founded in the 12th century under the patronage of the local ruling family, the MacDermotts. Though mutilated during the 17th and 18th centuries when it was used to accommodate a military garrison, Boyle Abbey nevertheless retains its ability to impress the visitor as one of the most formidable of the early Cistercian foundations in Ireland. A restored gatehouse of 16th/17th century houses an exhibition
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Reservation: reservation@lmho.net 
