Things To See & Do In The Area
Castlerea Town
Lisalway Country Lodge is only a 9 minute drive to the town of Castlerea.
The market town of Castlerea is situated in beautiful wooded countryside on the banks of the River Suck.
Visit the sensitively restored Clonalis House, home to the O’Conor family, direct descendants of the last High Kings of Ireland.
The River Suck, natural parkland and mature trees form an integral part of a lovely 9-hole golf course at Castlerea.
The town is built on the banks of the River Suck and the River Francis, both of which are tributaries of the River Shannon.
Clonalis House
Clonalis House, located in the west of Castlerea, is the ancestral home of the Clan O'Conor, the last of the High Kings of Ireland. The O'Connor dynasty produced eleven high kings of Ireland and twenty-four kings of Connacht.
Theophilus Sandford, a member of Oliver Cromwell's army in Ireland, received a large allocation of lands confiscated from the O'Connor family as part of the Act for the Settlement of Ireland 1652. This package included Castlerea. Castlerea developed under the Sandfords, who established a distillery (at its height producing more than 91,000 litres or 20,000 imperial gallons of whiskey annually), a brewery, and a tannery. Sandford's descendants continued in power through the 19th century. The estate was later acquired by the Land Commission and the Congested Districts Board. The demesne in which it was set survives and is now enjoyed as a public park.
Suck Valley Way
Castlerea serves as the trailhead for the walk, the Suck Valley Way, with the 105-kilometre long trail beginning and ending in the town. Castlerea also serves as the trailhead for the Lung Lough Gara Way. Also, the Beara-Breifne Way also passes through the town.
Castlerea Amenities
Amenities in the town include Castlerea golf club, established in 1905 and moved to its current location in 1907. It is a 9-hole course. There is an outdoor swimming pool open to the public during summers with a modern refurbished playground adjacent, a public library, a soccer pitch and O'Rourke Park which is a GAA pitch. The demesne is a large public park accessible off Main Street and home to some trees planted by notable figures, including former US ambassador to Ireland Jean Kennedy Smith. The GAA owns a squash court and a handball court in the town. The Neighbourhood Youth Project (NYP) is a social venue for teenagers in the town. St Patrick's Church (built in 1896) is the Catholic Church of the town.
Castlerea Railway Station
The main road through the town is the national secondary road N60, from Roscommon town onward to County Mayo. Other roads include the R361 to Boyle and the R377 to Castleplunket.
The Castlerea railway station opened on 15 November 1860. The railway station resides on the Westport-Dublin main line and connects to Dublin Heuston, Ballina and Westport.
The National Famine Museum & Strokestown Park
Lisalway Country Lodge is located only 15 minutes drive from The National Famine Museum and Strokestown Park.
Visit Strokestown Park House, Gardens & National Famine Museum to discover the intimate and intriguing links between dramatically different Irish lives.
Our immersive, new National Famine Museum brings compelling stories from the Great Irish Famine powerfully to life for visitor of all ages.
State-of-the-art exhibits and interactive displays draw on local accounts and documents, as well as intriguing objects and national perspectives, to shed light on the darkest chapter in Ireland’s past.
Strokestown Park House
Take a guided tour of Strokestown Park’s Palladian mansion – a kind of time capsule that reflects the authentic details of life in the Irish country house in centuries past, for gentry and servants alike!
The atmosphere of faded grandeur in this great Roscommon house, and its original collections of art, curios, and everyday objects, set across grand rooms and servants’ quarters, offer you vivid insights into what life was like for everyone, above and below stairs.
Walled Gardens and Woodland Walk
Visit Strokestown Park’s 6-acre walled gardens and its lush mature woodlands to refresh your senses and exercise your imagination!
Wander at a relaxed pace to take in the serenity of rural Roscommon and the rich variety of outdoor spaces, from formal pleasure gardens and the fruit and vegetable gardens to Strokestown Park’s wilder woodlands. Or let children lead the way as you explore our exciting garden and woodland trails. There’s so much to discover across this impressive Estate. This attraction is in the Strokestown area.
- Address: Strokestown, Co. Roscommon
- Telephone: +353 (0)71 9633013
- Website: www.strokestownpark.ie
Rathcroghan Visitor Centre
Lisalway Country Lodge is a 9 minute drive to Rathcroghan Visitor Centre.
Rathcroghan is one of the four major Royal Sites of Ireland and is known as a place of burial and ritual gatherings. The legendary leader and Warrior Queen of Connacht, Medb, is said to have had her palace here at Rathcroghan around the turn of the first century. It is here that epic stories such as the Táin began as oral tradition. The Rathcroghan mound was the focal point for the entire region and the very visual experience from the summit makes this all the more apparent. Adjacent are the mounds of Rathnadarve (Ráth da dTarbh), Rathbeg (An Ráthbeag) and Rathmore (An Ráth Mór). The site today extends over 6.5 square kilometres and encompasses over 240 archaeological sites.
Contained within this are 60 protected national monuments, ranging from natural limestone caves, ancient burial mounds and ringforts, ritual sites, linear earthworks and medieval field systems. Oweynagat (Uaimh na ngat – Cave of the Cats) is also set within the complex. The otherworldly Battle Goddess, The Mórrigan, is said to dwell within this cave; making the cave one of three on the Island allowing movement between this tangible, real world and The Otherworld. This association was later interpreted as The Gates of Hell or Hell’s Mouth.
- Address: Tulsk, Co. Roscommon
- Telephone: +353 (0)71 9639268
- Website: www.rathcroghan.ie
Roscommon Town
Lisalway Country Lodge is 24 minute drive to Roscommon town.
Discover Roscommon, the pretty county town of County Roscommon. Admire its scenic setting in sweeping pasture lands, see the beautiful architecture of the Sacred Heart Church, visit Roscommon Castle and make time for the wildlife conservation area at pretty Loughnaneane Park.
Check out the thriving local craft scene or attend a thrilling horse race at Roscommon Racecourse.
Roscommon Castle is located on a hillside just outside the town. Now in ruins, the castle is quadrangular in shape, it had four corner D-shaped towers, three storeys high, and twin towers at its entrance gateway, one of which still retains its immensely sturdy vaulted roof. The entire castle was enclosed by a lofty curtain wall. It was built in 1269 by Robert de Ufford, Justiciar of Ireland, on lands he had seized from the Augustinian Priory. The castle had a most chequered history. It was besieged by Connacht King Aodh Ó Conchobhair in 1272.
Eight years later it was again in the hands of an English garrison, and fully repaired. By 1340 the O'Connor's regained possession of it, and, except for a few brief intermissions, they held it for two centuries until 1569, when Sir Henry Sidney, Lord Deputy seized it. It was granted to Sir Nicholas Malbie, Elizabethan Governor of Connaught, in 1578. Two years later the interior was remodelled and large mullioned windows were inserted in the towers and curtain walls. Again, in 1641 the Parliamentarian faction gained it until Confederate Catholics under Preston captured it in 1645.
It remained in Irish hands until 1652 when it was partially blown up by Cromwellian "Ironsides" under Commissary Reynolds, who had all the fortifications dismantled. It was finally burned down in 1690, and, from the closing years of the 17th-century, it gradually fell into decay. A symmetrical moat some distance from the curtain walls surrounded the entire castle and safeguarded it. It is now a national monument.
By Derfar - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=51408965
Ballintubber Village
Lisalway Country Lodge is only a 6 minute drive to the picturesque and historical village of Ballintubber.
Ballintubber is a small village nestled in the heart of rural County Rosommon in the west of Ireland.
Ballintubber became the principal seat of the O’Connors after the Anglo-Norman invasion at the end of the 12th century. It is first mentioned in the Annals of the Four Masters in 1311 and in 1315 when the leader of the rebellious sect of the O’Connors seized the castle. Ballintubber castle is the only surviving early medieval castle of an Irish ruler.
Visitors to Ballintubber will be welcomed by outstanding natural scenery, rolling hills and green meadows surround the village on every side, the river suck flows close by and boasts some of the most spectacular walking routes in the entire county.
The village itself has a beautiful 18th century Catholic Church at the heart of the community, an 18th century cemetery, old school house museum and two exceptional local bars ‘Garveys Bar’ and ‘Kennys Bar’ and amenities to cater for all tastes. You won’t get a better pint of Guinness anywhere in the country!!
Every year, Ballintubber hosts a number of events including a St Patrick's day parade which has rapidly become one of the biggest in Roscommon, regular Suck Valley walks and a community led "walk & talk" event to help counter act mental illness.
In July, the village really comes alive with the annual heritage festival taking place for most of the month. During the festival, the village welcomes guests from the United States who conduct archaeological excavations on the castle and its surrounding grounds. The festival really gives the guests an insight into Ballintubber, its history and the culture of the village in bygone times.
As a testament to the commitment of the local residents to look after the village, Ballintubber is regularly shortlisted for numerous local, regional and national tidy towns awards.
Ballintubber Rambling Loop
Trail Description
A short looped walk which starts and ends at the 13th century Ballintubber Castle. This is a shorter walking option extending from the Suck Valley Way.
Trail Information
Location: Ballintubber Village
Length: 4km
Duration: 75 mins
Difficulty: Easy to moderate in places
Dogs Allowed: No Dogs Permitted
Buggy Accessible: No
Access
Access to this land is due to the kind permission of the landowners. The walk is on working farmland and no dogs are allowed. Please follow the directional signage for this trail and please respect the environment by following the principles of Leave No Trace.
Zipit
Zipit, in Lough Key Forest Park, Boyle, is a high wire forest adventure park with a difference. A place for young and old, where children can let their imagination run wild and where adults can embrace their inner child.
You can climb high into the treetops, swing into cargo nets, even ride a bmx across a bridge, before zipping down one of our many ziplines. Come as a family, come on your own, or bring along a group. Children from age 7 to adults can enjoy up to 4 hours of excitement and adventure.
Ireland West Airport Knock
Lisalway Country Lodge is a 40 minute drive to Ireland West Airport Knock.
Email: info@irelandwestairport.com
Website: www.irelandwestairport.com
Shannon Airport
Lisalway Country Lodge is only 1hour 49 mins to Shannon Airport in Co. Clare.
Lake O’Flynn, Ballinlough
Lough O’Flynn is a 300 acre rich limestone lake located in Co Roscommon just north of Ballinlough village. There are good stocks of wild and stocked brown trout averaging about 1.5 lbs with fish to 3 to 4lbs sometimes caught. Lough O’Flynn is renowned for its prolific hatches of Mayfly and some very good fishing can be had from mid May to early or sometimes mid July on dry patterns such as Green Drake, Spent Gnat and a variety of Wulffs. The Mayfly season often runs well beyond the early part of June. Later in the season from mid June onwards the sedge season in an important period. In August and September anglers dapping a Daddy Long Legs and grasshopper can get good results.
Traditional wet flies work well on O’Flynn. These include Sooty Olive, Golden Olive, Claret and Mallard, Dabblers, Watson’s Fancy, Dunkeld just to mention a few.
Arigna Mining Experience
Lisalway Country Lodge is 49 mins drive to Arigna Mining Experience.
