Roscommon

Roscommon, an inland county of Connaught, Ireland, is bounded on the E. by the Shannon, and on the W., in part, by the Suck; it is 62 miles long from north to south, by 35 miles from east to west. Area, 607,691 acres, of which barely one-fifth is under crops (hay, potatoes, oats); more than one-half is permanent grass; one-sixth is waste. It belongs to the central plain of Ireland, but rises in the north into the Curlew (800 feet) and Braulieve (1377 feet) Mountains. Several lakes occur, as Allen, Boderg, and Ree, expansions of the Shannon, and Key, Gara, and Glinn in the north-west. The soil in the central districts is in general light, but fertile, and affords some of the finest sheep-pasture in Ireland in the 'Plain of Boyle.' The chief industry is the feeding of sheep and cattle, especially the former. Coal and iron exist, but are not worked; there are no manufactures. The chief towns are Roscommon, Boyle, Castlerea, Elphin, and Strokestown. Pop. (1841) 254,551; (1861) 157,272; (1881) 132,490; (1891) 114,194, of whom 110,147 were Roman Catholics. Roscommon sends two members to parliament, one for each of the divisions. It possesses a number of Celtic antiquities, raths, &c., several remains of strong castles, and some fine ecclesiastical ruins.