Roscommon - 30 Attractions You Must Visit

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About Roscommon

County Roscommon 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 as of the 2016 census.

Types of Attractions in Roscommon

Activities Around

List of Attractions in Roscommon

Annaghmore Lough

Annaghmore Lough

Lake/ River/ Ponds

Annaghmore Lough is a freshwater lake in the west of Ireland. It is located in County Roscommon in the catchment of the upper River Shannon. Annaghmore Lough has an elevation of 64 metres. Annaghmore Lough is southwest of Owenur River. Annaghmore Lough is located about 5 km northwest of Strokestown. It lies at the centre of a group of small glacial lakes.

Arigna Mining Experience

The Arigna Mining Experience is a centre dedicated to the coal mining history of Arigna over a period of 400 years, local geology and coal, as well as new forms of renewable energy. It is Ireland's first museum dedicated to coal mining. Experience what it was like for yourself on a guided tour underground with a former coal miner who brings the history of the coal mine and previous iron mine to life.

Ballintober

Ballintober

Old Ruins

A heritage site and a powerful symbol of the medieval history of Ballintubber and surrounding areas. This large "keepless" fortress is often claimed to be the only surviving early medieval castle of an Irish ruler. It was built in the 1290s and has a roughly square plan, with enormous asymmetrical polygonal corner towers and a gateway in the eastern curtain, flanked by comparatively small projecting turrets.

Boyle Abbey

Boyle Abbey

Old Ruins

Boyle Abbey, situated in the town of Boyle, County Roscommon, is a well preserved monastery that was founded in the 12th century. Today, only small parts of the cloister remain, as the Elizabethans converted it into barracks in 1592 and the Cromwellians besieged it in 1645. Despite its ruined state, the abbey continues to be an excellent example of Ireland’s early Cistercian foundations.It was the first Cistercian monastery to be successfully founded in the province of Connacht.

Castle Island, Lough Key

Castle Island, Lough Key

Lake/ River/ Ponds

Islands

Lost in the middle of the lake of Lough Key is a small island and its castle: Castle Island. Beautiful, it once belonged to the most influential family in the Roscommon area and is one of the jewels of the lake. The only condition to admire it: take the boat. The island is sometimes referred to as Mac Dermots Island to this day. We first hear of a castle Island when the Annals of Loch Cé report that it was burned down in 1187 by lightning.

Castlecoote House

Castlecoote House

Iconic Buildings

Old Ruins

Castlecoote House is an early Georgian Palladian mansion built on the grounds of a ruined 16th century castle overlooking the beautiful River Suck. This elegant family home combines 18th century architecture, fine plasterwork ceilings and marble period fireplaces with the ultimate in 21st century comfort. It was a strategic site, and may have been the base of the Chieftains of Fuerty, the MacGeraghty clan.

Castlerea Railway Museum

It is one of the largest and most varied repository of railway heritage memorabilia in the country, with the exception of the Ulster Folk and Transport Museum. This small privately run museum displays a unique collection of the passionate railway fan Sean Browne, who began in the 1950s to collate railway memorabilia: Nearly everything from signals, lamps, bells and tokens over warning plaques, posters and time tables to station boards

Castlestrange Scribed Stone

The Castlestrange Scribed Stone is one of the best examples of its kind in Europe and provides a fascinating look at Neolithic art. Only three other stones of this type have been found in Ireland, the Turoe Stone in County Galway, the Killycluggin Stone in County Cavan and the Derrykeighan Stone in County Antrim. All four stones lie on roughly the same line connecting them on a map of Ireland. The use of the stones is not known but it is assumed they served some religious or ritual purpose.

Curlew Mountains

Curlew Mountains

Mountain Peaks

The Curlew Mountains are a range of low-lying hills situated between Boyle and Castlebaldwin in northeastern Connacht. Curlew Mountains has an elevation of 243 metres. Curlew Mountains is situated northeast of Cloonloo. Geologically, the Curlew Mountains are made of Devonian sandstone and conglomerate that is harder than the surrounding Carboniferous limestone, hence their appearance as an upland feature.

Donamon Castle

Donamon Castle

Iconic Buildings

Old Ruins

Donamon Castle is one of the oldest inhabited buildings in Ireland with the first recorded reference is in the Annals of the Four Masters for the year 1154. It was the seat of the Ó Fionnachta chief of Clann Chonnmhaigh, one of the two main branches of this Connacht family. In late 1932, an IRA unit, under the command of Seán McCool and Mick Price, took over Donamon Castle to set up an IRA training camp.

Drumanone Portal Tomb

Drumanone Portal Tomb

Monuments

Old Ruins

Drumanone is a large dolmen with 6-1/2 foot portal stones and a 6-1/2 foot doorstone. The capstone, which has slipped to cover the chamber, is almost 15 feet long and almost 10 feet wide. The sides of the chamber are each composed of a single stone. It has been estimated that the tomb was built prior to 2000 B.C.

Elphin Windmill

Elphin Windmill is a fully restored 18th-century tower mill in Elphin, County Roscommon, viewed as a rare piece of Irish industrial architectural heritage. It is a round, three stage structure with a thatched revolving roof of organic rye. The sails are positioned into the wind by means of a pole attached to a cartwheel which revolves on a circular grooved track on the ground. The mill provided corn meal for the local people, as well as milling flax.

Inchmacnerin Abbey

This is a faormal beautiful monastery and National Monument located in Lough Key, Ireland. It is located on Church Island, an island of 2.1 ha in the western part of Lough Key.

Lough Allen

Lough Allen

Lake/ River/ Ponds

Lough Allen is a lake on the River Shannon in northeastern Connacht, Ireland. Most of the lake is in County Leitrim, with a smaller part in County Roscommon. The lake lies to the south of the River Shannon's source, near the Iron Mountains, and is the uppermost of the three main lakes on the river. The other two, Lough Ree and Lough Derg are much further to the south.

Lough Arrow

Lough Arrow

Lake/ River/ Ponds

Mountain Peaks

It is one of the largest and best preserved neolithic landscapes remaining in Ireland today. Lough Arrow is surrounded by mountains on three sides - the limestone Bricklieve Mountains to the west, the sandstone Curlews to the south and the limestone Braulieves, or Arigna Mountains to the east. It is fed mainly by springs but also by a number of streams entering on the lake's western and southern sides. The lake drains north into the Unshin River.

Lough Boderg

Lough Boderg

Lake/ River/ Ponds

Lough Boderg is a lake on the River Shannon in County Roscommon and County Leitrim, Ireland. It is a large lough with a surface area of about 1,200 hectares which is on the River Shannon, between Kilmore, County Roscommon and Annaduff in County Leitrim.

Lough Funshinagh

Lough Funshinagh

Lake/ River/ Ponds

Lough Funshinagh is a lake and Special Area of Conservation in County Roscommon, Ireland, found to the west of Lough Ree. It has been called Ireland's amazing disappearing lake, due to the way it empties quickly - in as little as two days - and unpredictably, sometimes killing thousands of fish.

Lough Gara

Lough Gara

Lake/ River/ Ponds

Lough Gara is a small lake that lies to the south west of the Curlew Mountains in south Co. Sligo. While part of the lake reaches across the border into Co. Roscommon, it is mostly confined to Co. Sligo. The River Boyle, which flows through Co. Roscommon, has its source in Lough Gara. The lake lies south west of the Curlew Mountains with the town of Ballaghaderreen situated almost four miles to the southwest and the town of Boyle positioned just over four miles from its north eastern corner.

Lough Key

Lough Key

Lake/ River/ Ponds

Lough Key is a lake in Ireland. It is in the northwest of County Roscommon, northeast of the town of Boyle. The lough is believed to be named after a mythical figure named Cé. The lake is several kilometres across and contains over thirty wooded islands including Castle Island, Trinity Island, Orchard Island, Stag Island, Bullock Island, and Drumman's Island. Castle Island has had a number of structures built on it over the centuries.

Lough Meelagh

Lough Meelagh

Lake/ River/ Ponds

Lough Meelagh is a lake and is located in Roscommon, Connaught, Ireland. The estimate terrain elevation above seal level is 46 metres. It has an elevation of 46 metres. Lough Meelagh is situated southwest of Rockhill, close to Orchard Island.

Map of attractions in Roscommon

Comments

For more information about Roscommon, visit: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/County_Roscommon