Information Castlerea Ireland
Theophilus Sandford was given extensive lands in Castlerea for his service during the civil wars in England. These lands were confiscated from the O’Connor clan, and he built O’Connor House in 1640 on the site of the O’Connor castle. The Sandfords made significant contributions over the ensuing centuries to the Castlerea area. Good or ill, they set up a distillery, a tannery and a brewery. The O’Connors, their influence usurped somewhat, are an even more interesting family. It may look like something of an eyesore compared to the homes of other Gaelic or Norman nobility, but Clonalis House to the west of the town is a Victorian mansion associated with the oldest family to feature in the historical record in Europe. The O’Connor Dons can trace their history back almost as far as Christ. Their clan was the last to hold the throne of High Kingship in Ireland, and it had been held by the family over the course of Irish history by eleven of its members. The old ancestral seat of the family can be seen in the nearby ruins of a seventeenth century house that also features a medieval castle. It was only abandoned by the family in 1880 after the completion of the less aesthetically pleasing Victorian pile. However, Clonalis House is today home to numerous facsimiles of documents relating the family history, early Irish manuscripts, and an abundance of books in its library. The billiard room has been converted into a museum, with letters from the family archive including notes penned by Parnell, Gladstone and Samuel Johnson among others. A Catholic chapel is home to relics of a religious nature.
Attractions Castlerea Ireland
Boyle Abbey - Boyle
An impressive and well preserved Cistercian Monastery which was founded in the 12th century under the patronage of the local ruling family, the MacDermotts. Though mutilated during the 17th and 18th centuries when it was used to accommodate a military garrison, Boyle Abbey nevertheless retains its ability to impress the visitor as one of the most formidable of the early Cistercian foundations in Ireland. A restored gatehouse of 16th/17th century houses an exhibition.
Clonalis House - Castlerea
Clonalis is the ancestral home of the O'Connors, Kings of Connaught and the family from which the last High Kings of Ireland came. The O'Conor inauguration stone, similar to the Stone of Scone which lies in Westminster, belonged to the O'Connor clan for 1,500 years. A fascinating historic archive of over 100,000 documents is maintained at Clonalis, including a copy of the last Brehon Law judgement, handed down about 1580. A harp owned by Turlough O'Connor, the blind Irish bard, is on display in the house.
Elphin Windmill - Elphin
A fully restored, working 18th century windmill, the oldest type in the country. It was perfectly located to harness the winds sweeping over the plains of Elphin. It has a thatched revolving roof and four sails that are turned into the wind by using a tail pole attached to a cartwheel on a circular track.
King House - Boyle
The house was built in the 1720s by Sir Henry King, King House is one of the most important provincial townhouses in Ireland and Britain. It was home to the Earls of Kingston until 1788 when it became a military barracks for the Connaught Rangers Regiment of the British Army, and later for the Irish Army. Now beautifully restored, King House has a series of exciting interactive exhibitions focusing on Gaelic Ireland, the King Family and their time as landlords, the construction of the house and its military history.
Roscommon County Museum - Roscommon
The museum has a unique collection of artefacts relating to the history of the county, the town and its people. Formerly a Presbyterian Church, it was built in the 1860s. A collection of horse drawn farm machinery is also displayed in a yard behind the museum.Items on display include a ninth century inscribed slab from St. Comans foundation, Church street Roscommon, a replica of the Cross of Cong with the inscription "made in Roscommon", and a superb example of a "Sheel na Gig" figure from Rahara.
