Roscommon

Roscommon
/ros kom"euhn/, n.
a county in Connacht, in the N Republic of Ireland. 54,499; 950 sq. mi. (2460 sq. km). Co. seat: Roscommon.

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Irish  Ros Comáin 

      market and county town (seat), County Roscommon, Ireland, lying northwest of Dublin. A monastery and school were established on the site in the 7th century by St. Coman. In the town and its environs are the remains of a Dominican abbey founded in 1253 by Felim O'Connor, king of Connacht, and a Norman castle built in 1269 by the justiciar of Ireland. The modern Roman Catholic church is noted for its mosaics and stained-glass windows. A royal charter of 1282 gave to the prior of St. Coman's Abbey the right to hold a weekly (Saturday) market, which continues to the present day. The town's monthly fairs also are well known in Ireland, and a cooperative livestock mart has been in operation since 1959. Industries include the manufacture of mosaics, textile-fabricating machinery, plastics, castings, and leather goods. The town is on the main rail line from Dublin to Westport. Pop. (2002 prelim.) 1,432.

Irish  Ros Comáin  

      county in the province of Connaught, north-central Ireland. It is bounded by Counties Sligo (north), Leitrim (northeast), Longford and Westmeath (east), Offaly (southeast), Galway (southwest), and Mayo (west).

      Most of Roscommon lies between the River Shannon (Shannon, River) and its major tributary, the River Suck. Athlone on the Shannon is the main point of entry to the county; north of it lies Lough (Lake) Ree and, farther upstream, the Loughs Bofin and Boderg. Along most of its course are extensive water meadows known as callows. Between the Shannon and the Suck the landscape is a mixture of limestone surfaces 200–400 feet (60–120 metres) high and depressions varying from peat bogs to water meadows. There are also some eskers (esker) (long ridges of post-glacial gravel) that are quarried extensively. Within this area sheep and cattle are raised, particularly on the limestone pastures; and oats, hay, and potatoes are the main crops. About three-fourths of the area is farmland, the rest peat bog. To the east of Boyle the rich limestone grasslands, known as the Plains of Boyle, are famed as cattle pastures. Farms are small, with a concentration on cattle. To the northeast of Roscommon town, the Slieve Bawn ridge rises to 846 feet (258 metres).

      A county council meets in Roscommon, the county town (seat), and there is a county manager. The area is greatly dependent on agriculture, though there is some light industry. The towns have a strong retail trade and monthly fairs, however, and coal mining in Ireland was centred at Arigna until the mine's closure. The Famine Museum (1994), located at Strokestown Park, commemorates the Irish Potato Famine of 1845–49.

      In antiquity, northwestern County Roscommon was MacDermott country, and part of the south was under O'Kelly occupation. By the Composition of Connaught (1585) a large number of lords and chieftains of the province were given tenure in their territories under English law. Because Connaught and Clare were left by Oliver Cromwell (Cromwell, Oliver) to Irish proprietors after the English conquest in the 17th century, this part of Ireland retained its Irish social pattern longer than any other, though it was affected by the penal laws, the land acts, and other social changes that were imposed upon Ireland generally. Area 984 square miles (2,548 square km). Pop. (2002) 53,774.

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  • Roscommon — • Capital of County Roscommon, Ireland; owes origin and name to a monastery founded by St. Coman in the first half of the eighth century on a ros or wooded point amidst marshes Catholic Encyclopedia. Kevin Knight. 2006. Roscommon     Ro …   Catholic encyclopedia

  • Roscommon — Administration Nom irlandais Ros Comáin Pays Irlande Province Connacht Comté Comté de Roscommon Site web …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Roscommon — Roscommon, MI U.S. village in Michigan Population (2000): 1133 Housing Units (2000): 491 Land area (2000): 1.630033 sq. miles (4.221766 sq. km) Water area (2000): 0.000000 sq. miles (0.000000 sq. km) Total area (2000): 1.630033 sq. miles… …   StarDict's U.S. Gazetteer Places

  • Roscommon, MI — U.S. village in Michigan Population (2000): 1133 Housing Units (2000): 491 Land area (2000): 1.630033 sq. miles (4.221766 sq. km) Water area (2000): 0.000000 sq. miles (0.000000 sq. km) Total area (2000): 1.630033 sq. miles (4.221766 sq. km) FIPS …   StarDict's U.S. Gazetteer Places

  • Roscommon [1] — Roscommon, 1) Grafschaft im Innern Irlands, zur Provinz Connaught gehörig; 45 QM.; vom Shannon bewässert, fruchtbar mit fettem Weideland, Viehzucht, bes. Schafzucht; Bevölkerung sehr im Abnehmen; 1841: 253,600 u. 1851: 173,800 Ew.; 2) Hauptstadt… …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

  • Roscommon [2] — Roscommon, Wenthworth Dillon, Graf von R., aus einem alten irländischen Hause stammend, geb. 1633, studirte in Caen, reiste nach Italien, wurde Stallmeister der Herzogin von York u. st. 1684. Er war didaktischer Dichter u. schr.: Essay on… …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

  • Roscommon [1] — Roscommon, Grafschaft in der irischen Provinz Connaught, grenzt im N. an die Grafschaft Sligo, im O. an Leitrim, Longford und Westmeath, im S. an King s County, im W. an Galway und Mayo und hat ein Areal von 2459 qkm mit (1901) 101,639 Einw. (41… …   Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon

  • Roscommon [2] — Roscommon, Hauptstadt der gleichnamigen irischen Grafschaft (s. oben), auf der Wasserscheide zwischen dem Suck und Shannon gelegen, wurde um eine 1257 gegründete Dominikanerabtei angelegt, hat eine Schloßruine, ein Grafschaftshaus, Gefängnis,… …   Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon

  • Roscommon — Roscommon, Grafschaft in der irischen Prov. Connaught, 2459 qkm, (1901) 101.639 E.; Hauptstadt R., (1891) 1994 E …   Kleines Konversations-Lexikon

  • Roscommon — (Raßkammön), irische Grafschaft in Connaught, vom Shannon durchflossen, fruchtbar aber holzarm, mit 173000 E. auf 45 QM.; die gleichnamige Hauptstadt hat 3300 E., altes Schloß. Boyle am See Lough Key. hat 3500 E., schöne Klosterruinen …   Herders Conversations-Lexikon

  • Roscommon —   [rɔs kɔmən], irisch Ros Comáin [ros komin],    1) Hauptstadt der gleichnamigen County in der Republik Irland, 1 700 Einwohner; Leichtindustrie.   Stadtbild:   Ruinen einer normannischen Burg (13. Jahrhundert) sowie eines 1258 gegründeten… …   Universal-Lexikon

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