 Strong heritage history of County Roscommon excluded
Local TD, Denis Naughten has described as “deeply disappointing” that the midlands & County Roscommon in particular have been excluded from the new national heritage trail “Ancient East”.
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| “County Roscommon has much to offer a visitor in terms of heritage, with the River Shannon flowing along its eastern border and with its outstanding tradition of culture and heritage, it was uniquely placed to be an integral part of any heritage route” said Denis Naughten”It is disappointing that Rathcroghan, the home of Halloween and a proposed world heritage site, in the heart of the County, which was the home of the Kings of Connacht and, at a later time, the home of the High Kings of Ireland., has been excluded from this trail”.”The Napoleonic fortifications at Shannon Bridge are also well worth viewing”.
“County Roscommon is home to some of Ireland’s most exquisite buildings. Boyle Abbey, for example, is amongst the finest Cistercian churches that survived in Ireland. King House, a magnificently restored Georgian mansion built around 1730, and Strokestown House, another superb 18th century mansion with its impressive famine museum, Castlecoote House & Clonalis House are other examples of Roscommon’s vast potential for heritage tourism”. “Not only can we offer the traditional view of heritage but also more recent heritage such as the Arigna Mining Experience that provides an alternative perspective of times past”. “The local heritage product is continually being developed with the new looped walks at Rinn Duinn, Ireland’s finest example of an abandoned walled town, and the Suck Valley way & miner’s way in Arigna, which is part of the far bigger & soon to be completed Beara Breifne way”. “These trails are able to combine heritage tourism with the ever growing demand for walking holidays”. “But is not just County Roscommon that has been ignored; other adjoining attractions such as Athlone Castle in County Westmeath & the Corlea Trackway in County Longford, significant heritage sites which could easily have tied in with the heritage route”. “It is not good enough that the centre of Ireland, the River Shannon and all it has to offer has again been ignored. We now have two well funded marketing programmes which will divert tourists away from the centre of the Country and push them towards the coast”concluded Denis Naughten |