Roscommon (county)

I

Introduction

Roscommon (county), county in the western province of Connaught, in the Republic of Ireland, bounded by Sligo to the north, Leitrim, Longford, and Westmeath to the east, Offaly and Galway to the south, and Galway and Mayo to the west. It has a land area of 2,463 sq km (951 sq mi) varying from the mountains in the north to gently undulating hills and very flat country.

II

Land and Resources

Most of Roscommon is low-lying limestone with thin dry soil. The Curlew Mountains are sandstone; and the Arigna, where coal has been mined, is a shale and sandstone plateau. Peat bogs are found throughout the county. Glacial action has left strange rounded hillocks of clay known as drumlins in the north where the soil is much deeper. Eskers, elongated glacial ridges of gravel, are quarried. The mixed woodland of Lough Key Forest Park covers an area of 350 hectares (860 acres) and is home to deer, foxes, badgers, stoats, otters, red squirrels, rabbits, and hares. The park supports a rich variety of bird life, including chiffchaffs, willow warblers, whitethroats, and blackcaps.

The principal rivers are the Shannon and its tributary the Suck. Loughs Boderg, Bofin, and Ree act as drainage basins. Water meadows in this area are called callows.

Roscommon has a mild climate. The average temperature in January is 5° C (41° F) and in July 15° C (59° F). The average annual rainfall is about 1,000 mm (39 in).

III

Population and Administration

Roscommon has an estimated population of 51,897 (1991), a fall of nearly 5 per cent since 1986. Less than 20 per cent live in urban areas. Ninety-seven per cent of the population is Roman Catholic.

The administrative seat of the county is Roscommon. The county council is the primary unit of local government and the county has a county manager. There is a town council at Boyle. Other main towns include Ballaghaderreen, Castlerea, and Strokestown.

IV

Places of Interest

The town of Roscommon is an old centre of the wool trade, with a ruined castle and a Dominican priory, both dating from the 13th century. It is now a busy market, and a commercial and industrial centre. Glebe House, in Frenchpark is the birthplace and childhood home of Douglas Hyde, the first president of Ireland.

Boyle lies to the west of the rich agricultural plain and is a small market town. The restored ruins of a 12th-century Cistercian abbey are located in the town. At Strokestown there are traditional craft workshops. To the west of Castlerea is Clonalis House, the ancestral home of the O’Connor family—the kings of Connaught.