Roscrea

Zstep · Veteran Member

Roscrea

Michele Erdvig · Host

Zstep,

What do you want to know about Roscrea? I haven't stayed there but have been through it many times. It is a nice town with some interesting things to see and do:

Roscrea Castle
Damer House
Round Tower
Couple of Abbeys

Michele

Zstep · Veteran Member

I'm just fishing for thoughts on the town. As my itinerary currently stands, Roscrea is a bit out of my way and if there's nothing much to see and do other than give it a look, think "I understand why they left" and then drive one, I'll probably give it a pass this time around.

Michele Erdvig · Host

Zstep,

Roscrea is a nice town and is listed as a Heritage Town. It is certainly worth stopping in to see what I listed above. It is just that most people are passing through Roscrea from one place to another. It is not a tourist hot spot! But if it is where your ancestry is that makes it a hot spot for you.

Michele

tjfitz · Member

My family on my Mother's side came from near Roscrea. They were Kirwan, Reardon and Guilmartin. Roscrea is a town with some interesting history and a huge fortress right in the middle of town. There is also a round tower in the town. Near Roscrea is an old monastic site that was flourishing around 800 AD that was once an island, but a landlord drained the lake in the 1800s. The site is said to be fatal to women who venture onto it, so you might want to be careful. I have a letter from the parish my family came from (Bournea, just a few miles south of Roscrea on the Templemore Road) that mentions the husband working for a farmer called John Maher. (The handwriting is a little difficult to decipher, but the name is written Maher of the Rootix, or something like that.) Meagher is pronounced Maher around Roscrea, so perhaps he was related to your family. Hope this helps.

tjfitz · Member

Forgot to say that letter was written from Bournea Parish in about 1865.

tjfitz · Member

I should also say that the name of the town is pronounced "ross-KRAY". I smiled when a deacon at Mass here in North Dakota mentioned Roscrea and pronounced it "ross-KREE-uh".

I can't say I knew how to pronounced the name before I visited Roscrea. My experience in Ireland has been to try to pronounce a name using American rules, and then I know that is wrong, so I try to think of another way to pronounce it!

-- Edited by tjfitz on Tuesday 23rd of March 2010 08:40:10 AM

Zstep · Veteran Member

I'm still pondering visiting the town on this trip. My family records at this point are extremely vague (My Dad was orphaned at 13 and we have only one letter from an aunt with any details) so its still possible Roscrea isn't the right place (although the Meagher name originated there and 50% of all Meagher/Mahers in Ireland live nearby supposedly). My Dad has a faint memory that Mitchelstown in Cork was where he was told they left from but his aunt definitely said Tipperary (although wasn't specific). So until I do more research, I may bide my time to visit it since its out of my way based on my current itinerary.