County Roscommon (Irish: Contae Ros Comáin) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the province of Connacht and the Northern and Western Region. It is the 11th largest Irish county by area and 26th 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 70,259 as of the 2022 census.
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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.
Geography
County Roscommon has an area of 2,548 square kilometres (984 sq mi). 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.
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 26th 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, people from Roscommon have the longest life expectancy of any county on the island of Ireland.
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 (1,404.20 ft).
Largest towns by population
According to the 2022 census:
Roscommon 6,555
Athlone* 4,595 (Part of Athlone (Monksland) is in Co. Roscommon)
Boyle 2,915
Ballaghaderreen 2,387
Castlerea 2,348
Ballyleague* 1,733 (includes Lanesborough, County Longford)
Strokestown 850
Roosky* 787 (A small part of Roosky is in County Leitrim)
*Not all of the population resides within County Roscommon
Baronies
There are nine historical baronies in County Roscommon.
North Roscommon
Boyle (north Roscommon including Boyle and Arigna).
Frenchpark (north-west, including Ballaghaderreen and Frenchpark).
Roscommon (mid-north-east, including Strokestown and Tulsk).
Castlereagh (west, including Castlerea and Ballinlough).
Ballintober North (east including Rooskey and Tarmonbarry).
South Roscommon
Ballymoe shared with County Galway includes Ballymoe, Creggs and Glenamaddy.
Ballintober South (south-mid-east, including Roscommon).
Athlone (mid-south, including Knockcroghery and part of Athlone).
Moycarn (far-south, including part of Ballinasloe).
History
Rathcroghan (Irish: Rath Cruachán), near Tulsk, a complex of archaeological sites, the home of Queen Medb (Irish: Méadhbh, anglicised 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.
Roscommon was first defined as a county (or shired) 1292, just over 100 years after the Anglo Norman invasion of Ireland in 1169. County Roscommon as an administrative division has its roots in the Middle Ages. 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 alongside 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. The workshop has been linked to St. Assicus of Elphin.
Ordnance Survey
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."
Places of interest
A greenway is planned connecting Athlone to Ballyleague.
Arigna Mining Experience
Boyle Abbey
Clonalis House
Elphin Windmill
Lough Key Forest Park
McDermott's Castle
Meehambee Dolmen
National Famine Museum
Rathcroghan
Roscommon County Museum
Strokestown Park
Government and politics
Roscommon is governed locally by the 18-member Roscommon County Council, a body created under the Local Government (Ireland) Act 1898.
The 1898 Act also divided the county into the rural districts of Athlone No. 2, Ballinasloe No. 2, Boyle No. 1, Carrick-on-Shannon No. 2, Castlerea, Roscommon, and Strokestown. The rural districts were abolished in 1925. Boyle and Roscommon were administered locally by town commissioners. Roscommon town commissioners were abolished in 1927. After becoming a town council in 2002, in common with all other town councils in Ireland, Boyle Town Council was abolished under the Local Government Reform Act 2014.
For general elections, Roscommon is completely within the three-seat Dáil constituency of Roscommon–Galway. For European elections, the county is part of the Midlands–North-West constituency.
Rail transport
There are railway stations located in Boyle (Dublin–Sligo line), Carrick-on-Shannon (Dublin–Sligo line), Roscommon (Dublin–Westport line), 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 25 occasions, the most recent being in 2026, beating Galway in Dr. Hyde Park. In March 2025 Roscommon won back promotion to Division 1.
Roscommon's main hurling title was the 2007 Nicky Rackard Cup.
Association football and rugby are also popular sports in the county.
Notable events
The last known fatal duel to take place on the island of Ireland occurred at Ballygill Bridge over the River Suck on the Roscommon Galway border near Ballinasloe on May 28th 1841, and it was between two young local Roscommon men. The duel, using pistols, involved near neighbors Malachy Kelly of Tonalig and Owen Lynch of Rathpeak whose dispute arose from an incident at a recent horse race. Lynch prevailed in the duel, and Kelly succumbed to his injuries one week later. Lynch was brought to trial, but found not guilty.
Notable people
Feidlim Ua Conchobair (died 1265), King of Connacht
Uilliam Buí Ó Ceallaigh (died 1381), Taoiseach of Uí Maine and Chief of the Name, who hosted the famous feast of 1351 that created the phrase "Fáilte Uí Cheallaigh" ("an O'Kelly Welcome"), lived in Galey Castle, near Knockcroghery
Charles O'Conor (1710–1791), historian and antiquarian of the O'Conor Don family
Matthew O'Conor Don (1773–1844) historian born in Ballinagare
Arthur French, 1st Baron de Freyne (1786–1856), Member of Parliament and landlord of Frenchpark House
Sir John Scott Lillie (1790–1868) CB, decorated Peninsular War veteran, inventor and political activist in England
James Curley (1796–1889), Jesuit and astronomer, born in Athleague
William Wilde (1815–1876), surgeon, innovator and father of Oscar Wilde, born in Castlerea
Michael Dockry (born 1817), member of the Wisconsin State Assembly
Thomas Curley (1825–1904), American Civil War colonel, farmer and Wisconsin legislator, born in Tremane, near Athleague
John Gately Downey (24 June 1827 – 1 March 1894), seventh governor of California from 14 January 1860 to 10 January 1862
Henry Gore-Browne (1830–1912), Victoria Cross recipient, born in Newtown
Bernard J. D. Irwin (1830–1917), 1st Recipient of The Medal Of Honor