County Roscommon

County Roscommon (Irish: Contae Ros Comáin) is a county in Ireland. In the western region, it is part of the province of Connacht. It is the 11th largest Irish county by area and 27th most populous. Its county town and largest town is Roscommon. Roscommon County Council is the local authority for the county. The population of the county was 64,544 at to the 2016 census.[4]

Not to be confused with Roscommon County, Michigan.

County Roscommon

Contae Ros Comáin
Coat of arms
Motto(s): 
Constans Hiberniae Cor  (Latin)
"Steadfast Irish heart"
CountryIreland
ProvinceConnacht
Dáil ÉireannRoscommon–Galway
EU ParliamentMidlands–North-West
Establishedc. 1569[1][2]
County townRoscommon
Government
 • TypeCounty Council
Area
 • Total2,548 km2 (984 sq mi)
Area rank11th
Highest elevation428 m (1,404 ft)
Population
 (2016)[4]
 • Total64,544
 • Rank27th
 • Density25/km2 (66/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC±0 (WET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+1 (IST)
Eircode routing keys
F42, F45, F52 (primarily)
Telephone area codes071, 090 (primarily)
Vehicle index
mark code		RN
Websitewww.roscommoncoco.ie

Etymology

County Roscommon is named after the county town of Roscommon. Roscommon comes from the Irish Ros meaning a wooded, gentle height and Comán, the first abbot and bishop of Roscommon who founded the first monastery there in 550 AD.[5]

Geography

County Roscommon has an area of 2,548 square kilometres (984 sq mi).[3] Lough Key in north Roscommon is noted for having thirty-two islands. The geographical centre of Ireland is located on the western shore of Lough Ree in the south of the county.[6]

Roscommon is the third largest of Connacht's five counties by size and the second-smallest in terms of population. It ranks 11th in size of Ireland's 32 counties, but 27th in terms of population, making it the 3rd most sparsely populated county after Leitrim and Mayo. The county borders every other Connacht county: Galway, Mayo, Sligo, and Leitrim, as well as three Leinster counties: Longford, Westmeath, and Offaly. In 2008, a news report said that statistically, Roscommon has the longest life expectancy of any county on the island of Ireland.[7]

Seltannasaggart, which is located along the northern border with County Leitrim, is the tallest point in County Roscommon, measuring to a height of 428 m (1,404 ft).[8]

Baronies

There are nine historical baronies in County Roscommon.

North Roscommon

South Roscommon

History
River Suck at Athleague.

Rathcroghan (Rath Cruachán), near Tulsk, a complex of archaeological sites, the home of Queen Medb (Méadhbh, Maeve), was the seat of Kings of Connacht and then to the High Kings of Ireland. This was the starting point of the Táin Bó Cúailnge, or Cattle Raid of Cooley, an epic tale in Irish mythology. The county is home to prehistoric ringforts such as Carnagh West Ringfort and Drummin fort.

County Roscommon as an administrative division has its origins in the medieval period. With the conquest and division of the Kingdom of Connacht, those districts in the east retained by King John as "The King's Cantreds" covered County Roscommon, and parts of East Galway. These districts were leased to the native kings of Connacht and eventually became the county. In 1585 during the Tudor re-establishment of counties under the Composition of Connacht, Roscommon was established with the South-west boundary now along the River Suck.

Medieval art

A "well defined" and "original" fine metal workshop was active in County Roscommon in the 12th century. The Cross of Cong, the Aghadoe crosier, Shrine of the Book of Dimma and Shrine of Manchan of Mohill' are grouped together as having been created by Mael Isu Bratain Ui Echach et al., at the same Roscommon workshop.[9][10][11][12] The workshop has been linked to St. Assicus of Elphin.[13]

Ordnance Survey
Roscommon Castle

John O'Donovan (1806–1861), historian and scholar, visited County Roscommon in 1837, while compiling information for the Ordnance Survey. Entering St Peter's parish in Athlone in June 1837, he wrote, "I have now entered upon a region totally different from Longford, and am very much pleased with the intelligence of the people." However, he had major problems with place-names. He later wrote, "I am sick to death's door of lochawns, and it pains me to the very soul to have to make these remarks, but what can I do when I cannot make the usual progress? Here I am stuck in the mud in the middle of Loughs, Turlaghs, Lahaghs and Curraghs, the names of many of which are only known to a few old men in their immediate neighbourhood and I cannot give many of them utterance from the manner in which they are spelled."[14][15]

The River Shannon running through Athlone town.
Lough Key

Government and politics
Main article: Roscommon County Council

Roscommon is governed locally by the 18-member Roscommon County Council.

For general elections, Roscommon forms part of the three-seat Roscommon–Galway constituency.

Rail transport

There are railway stations located in Boyle, Carrick-on-Shannon (Dublin-Sligo line), Roscommon, Castlerea (Dublin-Westport line), Ballinasloe (Dublin-Galway line) and Athlone (Dublin-Galway and Dublin-Westport lines).

Sport

Gaelic football is the dominant sport in Roscommon. Roscommon won the All-Ireland Senior Football Championships in 1943 and 1944 and the National Football League Division 1 in 1979, as well as Division 2 in 2015 and 2018. Roscommon have captured the Connacht Senior Football Championship on 23 occasions, the most recent being in 2019.

Roscommon's main hurling title was the 2007 Nicky Rackard Cup.

Soccer and Rugby are also popular sports in the county.

Notable people

In order of birth:

See also

References
  1. MANNION, JOSEPH (20 June 2019). "ELIZABETHAN COUNTY GALWAY: THE ORIGIN AND EVOLUTION OF AN ADMINISTRATIVE UNIT OF TUDOR LOCAL GOVERNMENT". Journal of the Galway Archaeological and Historical Society. 64: 64–89. JSTOR 24612855.
  2. "County Galway, Ireland Genealogy Genealogy - FamilySearch Wiki". www.familysearch.org.
  3. "Students Corner – Statistical Facts About Your County – Cavan". Central Statistics Office (Ireland). Archived from the original on 26 April 2016. Retrieved 15 April 2019.
  4. "Census 2016 Sapmap Area: County Roscommon". Central Statistics Office (Ireland). Retrieved 18 October 2018.
  5. Walsh, Jane (9 September 2016). "What do Ireland's county names mean?". IrishCentral.com. Retrieved 22 November 2016.
  6. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 28 February 2012. Retrieved 7 February 2016.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  7. "Roscommon tops life expectancy study". RTÉ News. Dublin: RTÉ Commercial Enterprises. 12 August 2008. Retrieved 19 August 2009.
  8. "Seltannasaggart 428m hill, Arigna Mountains Ireland at MountainViews.ie". mountainviews.ie.
  9. Ó Floinn 1987, pp. 179-187.
  10. Hourihane 2012, pp. 225.
  11. Edwards 2013, pp. 147.
  12. Karkov, Ryan & Farrell 1997, pp. 269.
  13. Kelly 1902, pp. 291-292.
  14. Hunt, Roy, "Painful progress: the slow evolution of County Roscommon society, 1850-1914". Unpublished Thesis, 2010, NUIG p. 8.
  15. John O' Donovan, "Letters containing information relative to the antiquities of the County of Roscommon, collected during the progress of the Ordnance Survey, 1837". p. 5. Special collections section, National University of Ireland, Galway, 2009, reproduced by Rev. Michael O'Flanagan, Bray 1927.

Secondary references

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