The Quaker community of Ballymurray, Co. Roscommon, 1717–1848 Jacqueline née Creaven d’Towey
This volume considers the arrival of The Society of Friends/Quakers to Ballymurray in 1717, their relationship with local landowners the Croftons of Mote Park, and the challenges they encountered until the final discontinuance of Ballymurray Quaker meeting in 1848. They were unique as the only long-term pre-Famine Quaker community west of the Shannon. The book assesses attempts to build a prosperous community through the introduction of Quakers and their attempts to establish a linen industry. Although the community survived for 130 years, they were always a minority, dependent on the larger Protestant population of Roscommon for marriage partners. As a community, they never flourished due to the small marriage pool, their dependence on agriculture, the lack of manufacturing opportunities and the restrictions placed upon them by their religion.
Jacqueline née Creaven d’Towey is a genealogist with a certificate in Genealogy from UL History of Family 2018 and a MA Local History University Limerick 2022. Her dissertation focused on the Quaker community of Ballymurray from 1717 to 1848 and their relationship with the local landlords and wider community of strong farmers of the area. Other areas of research interest are Lady Augusta Crofton Dillon/ Lady Clonbrock, the linen manufacture of South Roscommon and early transportation of goods between the midlands and the east coast.
Boyle Abbey is a National Monument in State Care in the town of Boyle, Co. Roscommon. It was the principal Cistercian house in the kingdom of Connacht in the medieval period and its ruins today are among the best preserved of the order to be found in the country. Since 1892 it has been in the guardianship of the Commissioners of Public Works who have maintained the site. In the 1980s the Office of Public Works (OPW) undertook conservation works which involved archaeological excavation. Subsequently, in 2006 the OPW commenced a major programme of conservation works on the abbey, which involved dismantling and restoring the north aisle wall of the church, which had bowed. This was one of the largest stone conservation projects undertaken by the state and involved a multi-disciplinary team of experts, including engineers, architects and archaeologists who worked closely together to oversee the entire project through to completion. These works have produced a vast body of new information on the history, architecture and archaeology of Boyle Abbey, which is presented in this volume.
Kilmeane Co. Roscommon – The Graveyard and the Grave Memorials, Mary B. Timoney, Editor
The style of this book is that of the Ballintober Old Graveyard and The Grave Memorials of Co. Roscommon. Like the Ballintober book, there is a catalogue of the Kilmeane memorials, including inscriptions, photos and references to those listed in the census of Elphin 1749. The Kilmeane memorials are compared to those of the nearby graveyards of Killinvoy, Athleague, Rahara and St. Coman’s and then extending out to other Roscommon graveyards. References are also made to memorials in other Irish graveyards.
Contributors include Dr. David McGuinness, Dr Daniel Curley, Seamus Lough, Martin A. Timoney, P. David Sweetman, John Macklin, Albert Siggins, Eilish Feeley, Jaqueline née Craven d. Towey.
Mary B. Timoney, originally from Waterford and living in south Sligo, has been researching graveyard memorials since 1984. She received an M. A. from UCC in 2001 for her study of ‘The Decorated Box Tombs of the Skreen School, Co. Sligo, c. 1780 – 1850’. In 2005 she published ‘Had Me Made, A Study of the Grave Memorials of Co. Sligo from c. 1650 to the Present’ and ‘Ballintober Old Graveyard’ in 2018. She has lectured and published on grave memorials in Co.s Cavan, Monaghan, Roscommon and Sligo as well as on the Association for the Preservation of the Memorials of the Dead, Ireland, and on the care of graveyards.
Moygara Castle, County Sligo and the O’Gara’s of Coolavin – Kieran O’Conor, editor
Moygara Castle, with its four towers, gatehouse and high curtain walls, is one of the most impressive masonry-built monuments in north Connacht. Constructed in the late fourteenth/early fifteenth century by the O’Garas, the castle functioned as a centre of their lordship of Coolavin.
This study of Moygara Castle marshals various fields of expertise – history, archaeology, architecture, geography, genealogy, geophysical survey and DNA analysis – to provide much-needed information about life in later-medieval Gaelic Ireland.
Contributors include Kevin Barton, Jason Bolton, Anne Connon, Phyl Foley, Paul M. Kerrigan, Máire Ní Chearbhaill, Kieran O’Conor, Maura O’Gara-O’Riordan, Christopher Read and Rory Sherlock.
Kieran O’Conor is senior lecturer in the School of Geography and Archaeology, National University of Ireland, Galway.
Dive into the ancient mysteries of Halloween and wander into Oweynagat, where three fearsome cats, the Morrígan, and otherworldly creatures bring chaos to the world we know!
Follow Nera, a brave warrior, as he risks everything on Samhain night, drawn by the promise of a golden sword! Join him as he descends into the depths of the Cave of the Cats, where spine-chilling creatures and magic waits beyond the veil.
Learn about the origins of Halloween (Samhain), from the legends of the Jack-o’-Iantern to the pumpkins glowing on windowsills today, and of the tradition dressing-up in scary attire-because you never know…
Visit the royal capital of Cruachain under the rule of Queen Medb, and get swept up in the chaos of Bricriu’s Feast. From Ireland’s Iegendary heroes to its most terrifying creatures, this book brings these ancient tales to life in a thrilling adventure you’ll never forget!
This colourful children’s book brings to life the story of the burning of Knockcroghery in 1921 by the Black and Tans and the resilience of the local community as they deal with the aftermath of their destroyed village. Told through the eyes of young Sally Finnegan, it is vividly illustrated and contains interesting facts on the Crofton estate at Mote Park, the Clay Pipe industry and the backdrop of revolutionary Ireland.
Excavations at Tlachtga, Hill of Ward, Co. Meath, Ireland
by Stephen Davis and Caitríona Moore
Initial remote sensing survey at Tlachtga, Co. Meath in 2011–12 highlighted the presence of multiple, partially overlapping phases of enclosure at the site. Three subsequent seasons of excavation provided critical interpretive evidence, with over 15,000 fragments of animal bone, human remains, charred plant material, evidence of metalworking, and a hoard of Anglo-Saxon silver coins dating to the late 10th century AD.
The main activity at the site spans four broad periods and two main phases of monumental construction: a late Bronze Age to early Iron Age ‘Hillfort Phase’ (1100–400 BC) and a late Iron Age to early medieval (AD 400–600) ringfort phase associated with a smaller foundation enclosure – the ‘Southern Enclosure’. This ringfort phase was remodeled later in the early medieval period (9th–10th century AD) and augmented by a phase of mound construction in the mid-10th century AD. This is contemporary with the deposition of the coin hoard east of the main complex in an apparent craft-working area. The final phase of the central mound indicates the construction of a timber stockade, most likely in the 12th century, again with significant craft activity.
This volume represents the excavation of at least four loci within the broader monumental landscape of Tlachtga, charting its progression from Bronze Age hillfort to pre-Anglo Norman power display mound.
The Elusive Mrs. Walcott: An 18th Century Entrepreneur and the Rookwood Estate, is a compelling
work that seamlessly combines local history with genealogical facts. Drawing on an impressive array
of primary sources, including leases, wills, land, church and state records, historian and genealogist
Nuala Farrell-Griffin explores her Farrell and Flaherty ancestors and their connection to Lettice
Caulfield Walcott. Known primarily as the woman at whose sole expense the Roscommon Infirmary
was built in 1783, and is obliquely commemorated on a stone plaque in the Foyer as, “Mrs. Walcott,
sister to the Lord Chief justice Caulfield of Donamon”. Naula’s meticulous research brings this
remarkable woman, and several of her ‘attached relatives’ to life.
Rathcroghan and Carnfree (Celtic Royal Sites in Roscommon), by Prof. Michael Herity. This guide is based on a survey of the antiquities in an area of 100 square kilometres around Cruachain and Carnfree begun before 1980.
The results of the survey have been published in four articles in the Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland (1983, 1984, 1987, 1988).
Gerald of Wales was among the most dynamic and fascinating churchmen of the twelfth century. A member of one of the leading Norman families involved in the invasion of Ireland, he first visited there in 1183 and later returned in the entourage of Henry II. The resulting Topographia Hiberniae is an extraordinary account of his travels.
This accessible translation preserves the directness and lively storytelling of the original and includes maps, illustrations and notes.
The Burning of Knockcroghery Village, Co. Roscommon, 1921
Regina Donlon
On the evening of 20 June 1921, Colonel-Commandant Thomas Stanton Lambert was assassinated at Benown near Glasson in Co. Westmeath. Hours later, the small village of Knockcroghery in south Co. Roscommon was set ablaze by the British forces, seemingly in an act of retribution for Lambert’s murder. The burning was an unfortunate case of mistaken identity, however, that ultimately resulted in the decimation of the local economy and heralded the end of clay-pipe production in the area. This study explores the complex world of rural Ireland against the backdrop of the Irish War of Independence, while demonstrating how local communities were impacted by evolving national narratives. Although it later emerged that the Knockcroghery company of the Irish Republican Army was not involved in Lambert’s killing, this study examines how the social and economic fabric of that community was altered as a result.
This DIGITAL VERSION of ‘A Dictionary of Roscommon Biography’ contains 5000 individual entries which describe the careers of people in all fields of endeavour, including politics, religion, law, literature, journalism, business, trades, medicine, sport, engineering, painting, music and entertainment and is a must for anyone with an interest or connection with Co. Roscommon.
Upon your purchase of this digital copy, Rathcroghan Visitor Centre will forward your contact details to the author, who will then personally email your electronic copy in PDF format.*
*please note that by purchasing this version, you agree to the sharing of your contact details with the author Mike Lennon in order to facilitate the file transfer.
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Due to a Health & Safety review, we are not currently bringing visitors into the cave during our site tours until further notice.
