Things to do in County Roscommon

Ballintober Castle in County Roscommon is one of the most significant surviving medieval fortifications in Connacht, a large enclosure castle of the Anglo-Norman type built in the early thirteenth century and associated with the de Burgh family, who were among the most powerful of the Anglo-Norman magnates in medieval Ireland. Unlike the more common Irish tower house, Ballintober is a substantial planned fortress with a rectangular courtyard enclosed by curtain walls and flanked by round towers at each corner, a design that reflects the military and political ambitions of the Norman lords who introduced this form of castle-building to Ireland. The de Burgh family built Ballintober as part of their effort to establish control over Connacht, the westernmost province of Ireland, in competition with the native Gaelic dynasties who had long dominated the region. The castle changed hands repeatedly across the medieval and early modern periods as successive Gaelic and Anglo-Norman lords contested the rich agricultural lands of County Roscommon. The O'Connor family, the traditional kings of Connacht, were among those who held the castle at various points, giving Ballintober a complex history that reflects the tangled and shifting power struggles of medieval Ireland with particular clarity. Despite having been attacked, damaged and partially demolished on several occasions, Ballintober Castle has survived in a reasonably coherent state and the basic layout of its enclosure, walls and towers can be understood from the surviving fabric. The large round corner towers, characteristic of thirteenth-century military architecture, give the castle an imposing silhouette across the flat Roscommon landscape, and their scale speaks clearly to the resources that the de Burgh family was prepared to deploy in establishing their position in the west of Ireland. The castle stands in a quietly rural setting that provides a very different experience from the heavily visited Norman castles of the east coast, and its relatively undiscovered status adds to its appeal for those interested in the medieval archaeology of Connacht. The surrounding countryside of County Roscommon, with its lakes, drumlins and the nearby monastic site of Clonmacnoise, provides strong supporting context for a visit.

Carrowkeel in the Bricklieve Mountains of County Sligo is a cairn cemetery of fourteen Neolithic passage tombs dating from approximately 3000 BC, a remarkable concentration of prehistoric monuments set on a series of limestone ridges with commanding views over the surrounding Sligo landscape, Lough Arrow below and the distant profiles of Knocknarea and the Ben Bulben plateau visible to the north. The combination of the elevated setting, the multiple tombs of considerable scale and the views make Carrowkeel one of the most impressive and most atmospheric Neolithic sites in Ireland. The tombs are all passage tombs of the classic Irish Neolithic type, with a central chamber accessed through a narrow stone passage and covered by a circular cairn of stone and earth. The Carrowkeel tombs are less excavated and less heavily visited than the more famous Brú na Bóinne complex in Meath, preserving an atmosphere of untouched wilderness that Newgrange, with its visitor facilities, cannot provide. The approach across the open limestone hillside to the cairns, with the views expanding at every step, is one of the most rewarding walks to any prehistoric site in Ireland. Cairn G at Carrowkeel has an alignment similar to Newgrange in that the rising sun at the summer solstice illuminates the chamber through a roofbox above the entrance, demonstrating that the solar alignment of passage tombs was not unique to the Boyne Valley complex but was a widespread practice in the Irish Neolithic tradition.

Cong is a picturesque village in County Mayo at the narrow isthmus between Lough Corrib and Lough Mask, a settlement of considerable charm whose combination of the ruined Augustinian abbey, the dry canal that was never completed, the extensive cave and swallow hole system and the extraordinary setting beside the grounds of Ashford Castle creates one of the most atmospherically rewarding small villages in Connacht. The village achieved worldwide cultural visibility as the principal filming location for John Ford's 1952 film The Quiet Man and the filming associations have become the dominant tourism narrative. Ashford Castle, the luxury hotel on the edge of the village, is one of the grandest and most celebrated castle hotels in Ireland, a Victorian Gothic castle set in extensive grounds on the shores of Lough Corrib that was developed from the original castle of the de Burgo family and subsequently expanded by the Guinness family in the late nineteenth century into the palatial hotel complex it remains today. The castle grounds and the lough shore are accessible to visitors who wish to see the exterior setting without the hotel tariff. The Augustinian Abbey of Cong, founded in the twelfth century and among the finest Romanesque monastic ruins in Connacht, provides the historical dimension to a village whose character is equally shaped by the natural landscape of the isthmus between the two great Connaught loughs. The system of underground rivers connecting the two lakes and emerging at various swallow holes and caves around the village adds a geological interest to the Abbey ruins.

Lough Key Forest Park Roscommon is one of those places that quietly captures the character of the British landscape. The surrounding landscape provides a strong sense of place that helps visitors understand the character of the region. Photographers often appreciate the changing light conditions, particularly during sunrise and sunset. Visitors often find themselves spending far longer here than expected because the scenery invites slow exploration. Even during busier periods there are usually quieter corners where the scenery can be appreciated at a slower pace. The surrounding landscape changes beautifully with the seasons, giving the location a slightly different character throughout the year. Local walking routes and nearby viewpoints make it a rewarding place to explore on foot. The location works particularly well as part of a wider scenic journey through the region. Wandering around the area reveals small details that are easily missed when simply passing through. Many visitors return repeatedly because each visit offers something slightly different. The atmosphere can shift dramatically depending on the weather, with bright sunlight revealing colours and textures that are easy to miss on overcast days. For travellers building an itinerary, Lough Key Forest Park Roscommon works well as a memorable stop between larger destinations.

MacDermott's Castle is located on Lough Key, 3km north east of the town of Boyle in County Roscommon, Ireland Lough Key is about 10km across, and roughly circular in shape. It contains over 30 islands including Castle Island where McDermott's Castle stands. It was formerly known as McGreevys Castle. Lough Key adjoins the Rockingham Demesne, a Country Park that was once occupied by the Lords Lieutenant of Ireland. Facilities Lough Key Forest Park and Activity Park is an area of about 800 hectares of picturesque woodland and parkland with a lake and a number of wooded islands. It was once part of the Rockingham estate, owned by the MacDermott family. The park features an observation tower, wishing chair and underground tunnels. Wildlife is abundant in the diversity of habitats. Trinity Island on the lake has a ruined church. Moylurg Tower, standing on the site of Rockingham House which burned down in 1957, offers beautiful lake views. Park visitors can walk to the Trinity Bridge, built with limestone blocks in 1836, and the Bog Garden with its log stepping stones. There is a tunnel near the lakeside restaurant which was built to allow staff to bring supplies from the lake to the house without being seen. The part has a fully serviced caravan park. The Park has a modern Visitor Centre which is open all year round, with magnificent views over the Lough. MacDermott's castle dates back to the 18th century but is now in ruins. Legends According to legend, the name of the lake comes from Ce', a druid who drowned when the lake was formed. Another legend tells the story of Una, the daughter of the MacDermott chief, who was in love with a lower class boy. Her father prevented her from leaving the island. Her boyfriend swam over to her island once too often and drowned in the lake. Of course, the poor girl died of grief, and both her and the boy are supposed to be buried on the island, beneath two intertwined trees which grew over them.

Rindown Castle on a narrow promontory in Lough Ree in County Roscommon is one of the most historically significant and dramatically situated medieval settlements in the Irish Midlands. Established by the Anglo-Normans in the thirteenth century as a forward base for extending power into Connacht, the promontory site almost surrounded by water offered exceptional natural defences. The ruins are remarkably complete in plan: castle, town walls, gate towers, church remains and earthwork traces of the medieval street pattern all survive, giving a vivid impression of the ambitious planned settlement that was never fully realised before gradual abandonment preserved its medieval fabric unusually intact. Managed by the Office of Public Works and freely accessible, Rindown offers one of the most evocative medieval townscape experiences in Ireland.

Roscommon Castle is one of the largest medieval castle ruins in Connacht, a late thirteenth-century Anglo-Norman enclosure castle with D-shaped corner towers and an elaborate twin-towered gatehouse, built to establish royal authority in western Ireland following military campaigns against the O'Conor kings. The castle was repeatedly attacked and recaptured by the O'Conors who regarded it as an alien imposition on their ancestral territory. In the seventeenth century the castle was refortified with new mullioned windows and fireplaces, evidence still visible in the surviving towers. The town of Roscommon also preserves a Dominican priory founded in 1253 by Felim O'Conor, whose effigy tomb is one of the finest pieces of medieval sculpture in Connacht.

Strokestown Park in County Roscommon is one of Ireland's finest Palladian country houses and the site of the Irish National Famine Museum, a combination that makes it one of the most layered and most thought-provoking heritage destinations in Ireland. The house was built for the Mahon family in the 1730s and the estate's history during the Great Famine of 1845 to 1852 is one of the most documented of any in Ireland. The Famine Museum draws extensively on the remarkable archive of estate papers held at Strokestown, which provides an exceptionally detailed record of the management of a large Irish estate during the crisis years. The letters, accounts and communications allow the museum to present the Famine experience with documentary precision available at very few sites, bringing both the decisions made by the landowner and the suffering of the tenant population into sharp focus. The house itself is one of the finest examples of Palladian architecture in the Irish midlands, its principal rooms retaining much of their eighteenth and nineteenth-century decoration and furnishings. The pleasure grounds and walled garden provide outdoor interest in a setting of considerable charm, and the combination of the house, the garden and the museum creates a visit of unusual depth and emotional resonance.