Roscommon

County of the Republic of Ireland, in the province of Connacht; county town Roscommon; area 2,460 sq km/950 sq mi; population (2002) 53,800. It has rich pastures and is bounded on the east by the River Shannon, with bogs and lakes, including Lough Key and Lough Gara. The three largest lakes (loughs Allen, Boderg, and Ree) lie only partly within the county. There is agriculture, especially cattle rearing. Roscommon was established as a county in about 1580. Other important towns are Castlerea, Elphin, and Boyle.

Roscommon town contains the remains of a Dominican priory founded in 1253 by Felim O'Conor, King of Connacht, and a castle dating from the 13th century, originally built by the Normans. At Castlestrange, 10 km/6 mi from Roscommon, is a sculptured standing stone of the early Iron Age. There is a large ring fort and tumuli at Rathcroghan, in pre-Christian and early Christian times the site of the palace of the kings of Connacht, and coronation site for the high kings of Ireland. A well-preserved Cistercian abbey, founded in the 12th century, can be seen at Boyle. At Frenchpark, near Castlerea, is the birthplace of Douglas Hyde (1860–1949), President of the Gaelic League and first president of the Republic of Ireland.