County Dossier
Roscommon
A western inland county of plains, rivers and ancient centres.
Roscommon is an inland county of Connacht, built around open pasture, river valleys and stretches of bog and lake country between the Shannon and the Suck.
At a glance
Roscommon at a glance
A western inland county of plains, rivers and ancient centres.
- Connacht plains and old royal sites
- Named from Saint Coman's wood
- Formed from Central Connacht territories
- Area: 983 sq miles / 2,546 km²
- Population: 64,065
- County Top: Corrie Mountain 1,385ft / 422m
County Geography
Roscommon meets Leitrim to the north, Sligo to the north-west, Mayo to the west, Galway to the south and south-west, Offaly across the Shannon to the south-east, Westmeath across the Shannon to the east, and Longford across the Shannon to the north-east. The county is shaped by the long Shannon boundary, the western and northern lake country, and the spread of the central Connacht plain.
Roscommon is easy to recognise through the Shannon edge, lake country, and central Connacht plain.
Map Reference
View Roscommon on the map
Roscommon is the county. The map shows its boundary, places, and neighbouring counties.
The county.
The county boundary.
Nearby counties and places.
Places and routes
Roscommon, Boyle, Castlerea, Ballaghaderreen, and Athlone show the county from its central plain and northern lake district to its western side and eastern Shannon edge.
Connections
The county’s routes have long crossed through Roscommon town and Boyle, run west toward Castlerea and Ballaghaderreen, and turn east to the Shannon crossings at Athlone. Movement follows the same plain, lake, and Shannon-edge pattern.
Names
- Roscommon
- County Roscommon
- County of Roscommon
- Ros Comáin
Ros Comáin is the Irish form of Roscommon. County Roscommon is the formal historical style, the county name means Saint Coman’s wood, and the older county background includes Rathcroghan and the wider royal geography of Connacht.
Roscommon was a county by the sixteenth century, and the county’s own combination of plain, lake country, and Shannon frontier has kept its form distinct ever since. That Connacht plain and river-edge geography still gives the historic county a clear shape.