The
Main Tourist Attractions Include :
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.
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.
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.
King
House
Located in Boyle. The house
was built in the 1720s by Sir Henry King, King
House is one of the most important provincial townhouses
in Ireland and Britain. It was home to the Earls
of Kingston until 1788 when it became a military
barracks for the Connaught Rangers Regiment of
the British Army, and later for the Irish Army.
Now beautifully restored, King House has a series
of exciting interactive exhibitions focusing on
Gaelic Ireland, the King Family and their time
as landlords, the construction of the house and
its military history.
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.
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.
Heritage Sites
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. |
Roscommon is an inland county
situated between the Shannon River, to
the east, and its chief
tributary, the Suck River, to the
west.
The land is undulating, with
natural grazing areas interspersed with
rocky outcrops, lakes, and peat bogs.
