The Medieval Borderland: Geophysical Analysis of a Later Medieval Deserted Settlement and Cultural Landscape from Western Ireland

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

The Medieval Borderland: Geophysical Analysis of a Later Medieval Deserted Settlement and Cultural Landscape from Western Ireland University of Denver Digital Commons @ DU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Graduate Studies 1-1-2019 The Medieval Borderland: Geophysical Analysis of a Later Medieval Deserted Settlement and Cultural Landscape from Western Ireland Andrew Ryan Bair University of Denver Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.du.edu/etd Part of the Anthropology Commons, and the European History Commons Recommended Citation Bair, Andrew Ryan, "The Medieval Borderland: Geophysical Analysis of a Later Medieval Deserted Settlement and Cultural Landscape from Western Ireland" (2019). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 1561. https://digitalcommons.du.edu/etd/1561 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate Studies at Digital Commons @ DU. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ DU. For more information, please contact [email protected],[email protected]. THE MEDIEVAL BORDERLAND: GEOPHYSICAL ANALYSIS OF A LATER MEDIEVAL DESERTED SETTLEMENT AND CULTURAL LANDSCAPE FROM WESTERN IRELAND ______________ A Thesis Presented to the Faculty of Social Sciences University of Denver ____________ In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts ____________ by Andrew Bair June 2019 Advisor: Lawrence B. Conyers ©Copyright by Andrew Bair 2019 All Rights Reserved Author: Andrew Bair Title: The Medieval Borderland: Geophysical Analysis of a Later Medieval Deserted Settlement and Cultural Landscape from Western Ireland Advisor: Lawrence B. Conyers Degree Date: June 2019 Abstract This thesis investigates the archaeological remnants of an early 14th century settlement at Ballintober, Roscommon County, Ireland. An innovative methodology combining ground-penetrating radar, magnetic gradiometry, and archaeological excavations is utilized to reconstruct the medieval built environment, which wa s comprised of a masonry castle, nucleated settlement and wider arable agricultural landscape. By integrating the archaeological and historical records, I pose hypotheses related to the differential statuses of people at the settlement, their domestic and agricultural practices, and a timeline of their occupation and abandonment of the site. The Ballintober settlement offers a unique case study to investigate the colonial dynamics of the Irish later medieval period. My findings suggest that the built environment of this site was constructed and inhabited by its residents as an overt claim to English identity and embodied the complicated and nuanced intersection of power and ethnicity within the Irish colonial period. ii Acknowledgements I must first wholeheartedly thank my extraordinary advisor, Dr. Lawrence Conyers. I’ve never met someone so committed to his graduate students, and for that I offer him the deepest of thanks. I also must greatly thank Dr. Bonnie Clark, who has been a wonderful voice of counsel. Finally, I would like to thank the outside chair of my committee, Dr. Scott Howard. The research for this project comes entirely out of the Castles in Communities field school, to which I am extremely indebted. Thanks go out to the entire Castles in Communities directorship and student body, but I must especially thank Dr. Niall Brady, Dan Cearley, Dr. Sam Connell, Siobhan Boyd, Rachel Brody, Lauren Brooks, Colin Jaramillo, Maureen Carpenter, and Sean McConnel. Outside of the field school, I must also thank Joe Fenwick and Dr. Kiernan O’Conor of NUI Galway, Heather Gimson at Earthsound Archaeological Geophysics, Alan Garvey, landowner, the Ballintober Tidy Towns Committee, and Pyers and Marguerite O’Conor Nash, owners of the castle. Finally, I must thank my family who have endlessly encouraged my intellectual curiosity and love of learning. iii Table of Contents Chapter One: Introduction .................................................................................................. 1 Historical Background .............................................................................................. 3 Previous Work .......................................................................................................... 6 Methods and Data Analysis ...................................................................................... 7 Results and Conclusions ........................................................................................... 9 Chapter Two: Historical Background ............................................................................... 11 Medieval Ireland ..................................................................................................... 15 The Anglo-Normans ............................................................................................... 20 Irish Invasion: 1169-1185 ....................................................................................... 21 Anglo-Norman Colonization .................................................................................. 27 Connacht in the Later Medieval Period .................................................................. 34 Chapter Three: Archaeological Background ................................................................... 55 Archaeology of Medieval Settlements in Ireland ................................................... 56 Previous Archaeological Work at Ballintober ........................................................ 58 Chapter Four: Methods ..................................................................................................... 63 Geophysical Survey ................................................................................................ 63 Ground-penetrating Radar .................................................................................. 66 Magnetometry ..................................................................................................... 70 Integration ........................................................................................................... 74 Excavation............................................................................................................... 77 2016 Excavation.................................................................................................. 78 2017 Excavation: DS1 ........................................................................................ 83 2018 Excavation: DS2 ........................................................................................ 87 Cultivation Furrows ........................................................................................ 89 Boundary Ditches............................................................................................ 92 House Walls .................................................................................................... 94 Hearth .............................................................................................................. 95 Conclusions ............................................................................................................. 98 Chapter 5: Data Analysis .................................................................................................. 99 Surface Features .................................................................................................... 103 Geophysical Features ............................................................................................ 107 Tillage ............................................................................................................... 108 Road .................................................................................................................. 111 Ditches .............................................................................................................. 113 Pits..................................................................................................................... 121 Houses ............................................................................................................... 123 iv North Cluster House Type ............................................................................ 125 Additional Houses ......................................................................................... 128 House A .................................................................................................... 129 House B ..................................................................................................... 135 Crannog ............................................................................................................. 139 Conclusion ............................................................................................................ 142 Chapter 6: Data Synthesis ............................................................................................... 143 Interpretive Map Analysis..................................................................................... 144 Area 1 ................................................................................................................ 145 Area 2 ................................................................................................................ 147 Area 3 ................................................................................................................ 150 Historic Record Integration................................................................................... 153 Rural Life at Ballintober ......................................................................................
Recommended publications
  • 2015 County Roscommon Ballyfarnon
    Tidy Towns Competition 2015 Adjudication Report Centre: Ballyfarnon Ref: 291 County: Roscommon Mark: 296 Category: B Date(s): 25/06/2015 Maximum Mark Mark Mark Awarded 2014 Awarded 2015 Community Involvement & Planning 60 42 42 Built Environment and Streetscape 50 39 40 Landscaping and Open Spaces 50 40 40 Wildlife, Habitats and Natural Amenities 50 28 30 Sustainable Waste and Resource Management 50 18 20 Tidiness and Litter Control 90 61 62 Residential Streets & Housing Areas 50 28 28 Approach Roads, Streets & Lanes 50 33 34 TOTAL MARK 450 289 296 Community Involvement & Planning / Rannpháirtíocht an Phobail & Pleanáil: Ballyfarnon is most welcome to the 2015 Tidy Towns competition. Many thanks for your application form with additional information. There are a number of easy ways in which you could enhance the presentation of your application form. In the first instance it is recommended that you use the electronic form over the hardcopy. This will give you all the space you need to describe your projects clearly and succinctly. The second point is to do with your additional information. The adjudicator welcomes the use of photos but these should be limited in number and be specifically related to projects undertaken. It is best to leave long descriptions out in favour brief captions which refer back to the application form. If presenting before and after photographs one of each is quite sufficient. Your additional information was tied together rather loosely in four different collections and this presented the adjudicator with a rather unwieldy volume of material. You could use a small ring binder or, better still, insert the photos digitally into the application form, thereby eliminating the need for loose pages.
    [Show full text]
  • Phases of Irish History
    ¥St& ;»T»-:.w XI B R.AFLY OF THE UNIVERSITY or ILLINOIS ROLAND M. SMITH IRISH LITERATURE 941.5 M23p 1920 ^M&ii. t^Ht (ff'Vj 65^-57" : i<-\ * .' <r The person charging this material is re- sponsible for its return on or before the Latest Date stamped below. Theft, mutilation, and underlining of books are reasons for disciplinary action and may result in dismissal from the University. University of Illinois Library • r m \'m^'^ NOV 16 19 n mR2 51 Y3? MAR 0*1 1992 L161—O-1096 PHASES OF IRISH HISTORY ^.-.i»*i:; PHASES OF IRISH HISTORY BY EOIN MacNEILL Professor of Ancient Irish History in the National University of Ireland M. H. GILL & SON, LTD. so UPPER O'CONNELL STREET, DUBLIN 1920 Printed and Bound in Ireland by :: :: M. H. Gill &> Son, • • « • T 4fl • • • JO Upper O'Connell Street :: :: Dttblin First Edition 1919 Second Impression 1920 CONTENTS PACE Foreword vi i II. The Ancient Irish a Celtic People. II. The Celtic Colonisation of Ireland and Britain . • • • 3^ . 6i III. The Pre-Celtic Inhabitants of Ireland IV. The Five Fifths of Ireland . 98 V. Greek and Latin Writers on Pre-Christian Ireland . • '33 VI. Introduction of Christianity and Letters 161 VII. The Irish Kingdom in Scotland . 194 VIII. Ireland's Golden Age . 222 IX. The Struggle with the Norsemen . 249 X. Medieval Irish Institutions. • 274 XI. The Norman Conquest * . 300 XII. The Irish Rally • 323 . Index . 357 m- FOREWORD The twelve chapters in this volume, delivered as lectures before public audiences in Dublin, make no pretence to form a full course of Irish history for any period.
    [Show full text]
  • Intermarriage and Other Families This Page Shows the Interconnection
    Intermarriage and Other Families This page shows the interconnection between the Townsend/Townshend family and some of the thirty-five families with whom there were several marriages between 1700 and 1900. It also gives a brief historical background about those families. Names shown in italics indicate that the family shown is connected with the Townsend/Townshend elsewhere. Baldwin The Baldwin family in Co Cork traces its origins to William Baldwin who was a ranger in the royal forests in Shropshire. He married Elinor, daughter of Sir Edward Herbert of Powys and went to Ireland in the late 16th century. His two sons settled in the Bandon area; the eldest brother, Walter, acquired land at Curravordy (Mount Pleasant) and Garrancoonig (Mossgrove) and the youngest, Thomas, purchased land at Lisnagat (Lissarda) adjacent to Curravordy. Walter’s son, also called Walter, was a Cromwellian soldier and it is through his son Herbert that the Baldwin family in Co Cork derives. Colonel Richard Townesend [100] Herbert Baldwin b. 1618 d. 1692 of Curravordy Hildegardis Hyde m. 1670 d. 1696 Mary Kingston Marie Newce Horatio Townsend [104] Colonel Bryan Townsend [200] Henry Baldwin Elizabeth Becher m. b. 1648 d. 1726 of Mossgrove 1697 Mary Synge m. 13 May 1682 b. 1666 d. 1750 Philip French = Penelope Townsend [119] Joanna Field m. 1695 m. 1713 b. 1697 Elizabeth French = William Baldwin John Townsend [300] Samuel Townsend [400] Henry Baldwin m. 1734 of Mossgrove b. 1691 d. 1756 b.1692 d. 1759 of Curravordy b.1701 d. 1743 Katherine Barry Dorothea Mansel m. 1725 b. 1701 d.
    [Show full text]
  • Beirne O'beirne
    Beirne With or without the “0” prefix, the Beirnes are an important sept of North Connacht. They have inhabited northeastern County Roscom- O’Beirne mon beside the Shannon for two millennia. O’Beirne belongs almost exclusively to Connacht. One branch, allied to the MacDermots and the other leading Roscommon families, in the thirteenth century displaced the O’Monahans as chiefs of a territory called Tir Briuin between Elphin and Jamestown on the Co. Roscommon side of the Shannon. The O’Beirnes appear as such in the “Composition Book of Connacht” (1585), and in 1850 there was still an O’Beirne of Dangan-t-Beirn in that territory. The other branch possessed territory in the adjoining county of Mayo, north of Ballinrobe. At the present time, O’Beirnes are chiefly found in Counties Roscommon and Leitrim. The O’Beirnes are predominantly Gaodhail (Milesian) Celts but with blood of the Fir Bolgs (Belgae) and possibly of those Norwegian Vikings who settled on the banks of the Shannon where the O’Beirnes lived and who may have given them their surname. From historic times, some also must have blood of the French or Spanish and many of the English. The “Book of Irish Pedigrees” states that they are de- scended from Milesius of Spain through his son Heremon who reigned in Connacht circa 1700BC. It further records that in the 12th century, the O’Beirnes /O Birns were chiefs of Muintir O’Mannnachain, a ter- ritory along the Shannon from the parish of Ballintober to Elphin in Roscommon. Family Tree DNA and the researchers at the University of Arizona have identified a particular subglade for O’Beirne descen- dants that connects them to a specific area of Roscommon.
    [Show full text]
  • 'From India to Ireland', Marx on the Agrarian Commune: the Internal Dynamics of the Irish Rundale Commune
    9 200 The Ecological Dynamics of the September Rundale Agrarian Commune – 51 Eamonn Slater Eoin Flaherty No NIRSA Working Paper Series The Ecological Dynamics of the Rundale Agrarian Commune. Eamonn Slater and Eoin Flaherty∗ Department of Sociology and NIRSA ABSTRACT: In the following account we apply a Marxist ‘mode of production’ framework that attempts to create a better understanding of the complex relationships between society and nature. Most of the discussion of the dualism of nature/society has tended to replicate this divide as reflected in the intellectual division between the natural sciences and the social sciences. We hope to cross this analytic divide and provide an analysis that incorporates both natural and social variables. Marx’s work on ecology and ‘mode of production’ provides us with the theoretical framework for our examination into the essential structures of the Irish rundale agrarian commune. His analysis of modes of production includes not only social relations (people to people) but also relations of material appropriation (people to nature) and therefore allows us to combine the social forces of production with the natural forces of production. The latter relations are conceptualized by Marx as mediated through the process of metabolism, which refers to the material and social exchange between human beings and nature and vice-a-versa. However, what is crucial to Marx is how the natural process of metabolism is embedded in its social form – its particular mode of production. Marx suggested that this unity of the social and the natural was to be located within the labour process of the particular mode of production and he expressed this crucial idea in the concept of socio-ecological metabolism.
    [Show full text]
  • Pedigree of the Wilson Family N O P
    Pedigree of the Wilson Family N O P Namur** . NOP-1 Pegonitissa . NOP-203 Namur** . NOP-6 Pelaez** . NOP-205 Nantes** . NOP-10 Pembridge . NOP-208 Naples** . NOP-13 Peninton . NOP-210 Naples*** . NOP-16 Penthievre**. NOP-212 Narbonne** . NOP-27 Peplesham . NOP-217 Navarre*** . NOP-30 Perche** . NOP-220 Navarre*** . NOP-40 Percy** . NOP-224 Neuchatel** . NOP-51 Percy** . NOP-236 Neufmarche** . NOP-55 Periton . NOP-244 Nevers**. NOP-66 Pershale . NOP-246 Nevil . NOP-68 Pettendorf* . NOP-248 Neville** . NOP-70 Peverel . NOP-251 Neville** . NOP-78 Peverel . NOP-253 Noel* . NOP-84 Peverel . NOP-255 Nordmark . NOP-89 Pichard . NOP-257 Normandy** . NOP-92 Picot . NOP-259 Northeim**. NOP-96 Picquigny . NOP-261 Northumberland/Northumbria** . NOP-100 Pierrepont . NOP-263 Norton . NOP-103 Pigot . NOP-266 Norwood** . NOP-105 Plaiz . NOP-268 Nottingham . NOP-112 Plantagenet*** . NOP-270 Noyers** . NOP-114 Plantagenet** . NOP-288 Nullenburg . NOP-117 Plessis . NOP-295 Nunwicke . NOP-119 Poland*** . NOP-297 Olafsdotter*** . NOP-121 Pole*** . NOP-356 Olofsdottir*** . NOP-142 Pollington . NOP-360 O’Neill*** . NOP-148 Polotsk** . NOP-363 Orleans*** . NOP-153 Ponthieu . NOP-366 Orreby . NOP-157 Porhoet** . NOP-368 Osborn . NOP-160 Port . NOP-372 Ostmark** . NOP-163 Port* . NOP-374 O’Toole*** . NOP-166 Portugal*** . NOP-376 Ovequiz . NOP-173 Poynings . NOP-387 Oviedo* . NOP-175 Prendergast** . NOP-390 Oxton . NOP-178 Prescott . NOP-394 Pamplona . NOP-180 Preuilly . NOP-396 Pantolph . NOP-183 Provence*** . NOP-398 Paris*** . NOP-185 Provence** . NOP-400 Paris** . NOP-187 Provence** . NOP-406 Pateshull . NOP-189 Purefoy/Purifoy . NOP-410 Paunton . NOP-191 Pusterthal .
    [Show full text]
  • 1 Neolithic Population Crash in Northwest Europe Associated With
    Neolithic population crash in northwest Europe associated with agricultural crisis Sue Colledge1*, James Conolly2, Enrico Crema3 and Stephen Shennan1 [email protected]; [email protected]; Institute of Archaeology, University College London, London WC1H 0PY, UK [email protected]; Department of Anthropology, Trent University, Peterborough, Ontario K9J 7B8, Canada 3 [email protected]; McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3ER, UK *corresponding author: [email protected]; +44 (0)20 7679 4771 Abstract The focus of this paper is the Neolithic of northwest Europe, where a rapid growth in population between ~5950 and ~5550 cal yr BP, is followed by a decline that lasted until ~4950 cal yr BP. The timing of the increase in population density correlates with the local appearance of farming and is attributed to the advantageous effects of agriculture. However, the subsequent population decline has yet to be satisfactorily explained. One possible explanation is the reduction in yields in Neolithic cereal-based agriculture due to worsening climatic conditions. The suggestion of a correlation between Neolithic climate deterioration, agricultural productivity and a decrease in population requires testing for northwestern Europe. Data for our analyses were collected during the Cultural Evolution of Neolithic Europe project. We assess the correlation between agricultural productivity and population densities in the Neolithic of northwest Europe by examining the changing frequencies of crop and weed taxa before, during and after the population ‘boom and bust’. We show that the period of population decline is coincidental with a decrease in cereal production linked to a shift towards less fertile soils.
    [Show full text]
  • Legitimating the Traditional Hamlet in Ireland
    TDSR VOLUME XXIX NUMBER II 2018 23 “A Shower from the Sky”: Legitimating the Traditional Hamlet in Ireland BARRY O’REILLY Traditional hamlets constitute a largely unacknowledged component of Ireland’s settle- ment pattern. The reasons include a lack of clarity about their nature and origins, issues of nomenclature, and a longstanding misperception of their “formlessness.” Stigmatized by an association with poverty and the Great Famine (1845–49), as well as by government and landlord efforts to rationalize or eradicate them, a great number of these traditional settle- ments have disappeared from the landscape. Yet, at the same time, public discourse today fails to acknowledge them, polarizing discussion of rural settlement between dispersed (“ancient”) and urban (“alien”) modes. Research by the present writer, however, confirms that, far from being exceptional, Irish traditional hamlets have recognizable forms and types, and indeed fit well into the mainstream of European settlement. Ironically, a recent policy shift toward encouraging clustered rural housing attempts to bridge the divide, but could end up adversely affecting the distinctiveness of these historic nucleations. Perhaps the most striking aspect of reaction [in the wake of the Great Famine] is to be found in the expressed desire of most country people to have an isolated dwelling- house. The clachan or hamlet, once the centre of communal life and tradition, is despised, a symbol of squabbling poverty, and it is the wish of nearly everyone to have a house where he cannot be overlooked.1 This statement from 1957 by the eminent geographer Emyr Estyn Evans is just as rel- evant sixty years on.
    [Show full text]
  • By Mark Wareham, First Edition 15 December 2011
    Our Family’s Rich Heritage By Mark Wareham, first edition 15th December 2011 Featuring Blachford family ancestors of the – Wareham family of Shaftesbury and Shroton (Iwerne Courtney) in Dorset and the Russell, Hurdle and Tapper families of Shroton and Dodington family ancestors of the – Wareham family of Shaftesbury, Stainer family of Donhead and Shaftesbury and the Love family of Motcombe in Dorset and Mere in Wiltshire 1 Introduction My father’s Wareham family is fortunate to be able to claim ancestral connections to two lines that were landed gentry - the Blachfords of Fordingbridge and the Dodingtons of Mere. The choice of the title of this work is appropriate because I am going to look into our ‘rich’ roots in terms of historical value as well as wealth and social status. As a result of our connection to these two families we have so called ‘gateway’ ancestors, Susannah Blachford of Fordingbridge and Martha Dodington of Mere and they help us trace a family lineage back to the medieval period and beyond. The Blachford family held Sandhill Manor (now called Sandleheath) near Fordingbridge in Hampshire and the Dodington family held Woodlands Manor in Mere in Wiltshire. Page four shows the lines from my two great grandparents, Sidney’s parents Walter George Wareham and Harriet Stainer, to Susannah and Martha. One of my grandfather Sidney Wareham’s (pictured right) great x 7 grandfathers was the gentleman and Lord of the Manor of Woodlands, William Dodington and another great x 5 grandfather was the gentleman, Mr Daniel Blachford who grandson of the Lord of the Manor of Sandhill.
    [Show full text]
  • Durham E-Theses
    Durham E-Theses Lordship and patronage: John Darcy and the Dublin administration 1324-47 Mortimer, Richard Hugh Roger How to cite: Mortimer, Richard Hugh Roger (1990) Lordship and patronage: John Darcy and the Dublin administration 1324-47, Durham theses, Durham University. Available at Durham E-Theses Online: http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/6001/ Use policy The full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, without prior permission or charge, for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-prot purposes provided that: • a full bibliographic reference is made to the original source • a link is made to the metadata record in Durham E-Theses • the full-text is not changed in any way The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders. Please consult the full Durham E-Theses policy for further details. Academic Support Oce, Durham University, University Oce, Old Elvet, Durham DH1 3HP e-mail: [email protected] Tel: +44 0191 334 6107 http://etheses.dur.ac.uk 2 AUTHOR: RICHARD HUGH ROGER MORTIMER TITLE: LORDSHIP AND PATRONAGE: JOHN DARCY AND THE DUBLIN ADMINISTRATION 1324-47 QUALIFICATION: M PHIL., UNIVERSITY OF DURHAM, 1990 ABSTRACT John Darcy rose from being a landless member of a cadet branch of a minor Lincolnshire family to serve as steward and chamberlain in the king's household. Justiciar of Ireland for twelve years in total, he developed close links with both Edward JJ and Edward HI, surviving changes of regime in England in 1326 and in 1330, and served as one of the king's captains in Scotland and France.
    [Show full text]
  • Roscommon County Development Plan 2014–2020 I Variation No
    ROSCOMMON COUNTY DEVELOPMENT PLAN 2014 - 2020 STROKESTOWN AREA PLAN VARIATION NO. 1 th EFFECTIVE DATE 24 JULY 2017 Variation No. 1 of the Strokestown Area Plan 2014 -2020 TABLE OF CONTENTS Page 1. OVERVIEW 1 2. CONTEXT AND PROFILE OF STROKESTOWN 1 2.1 Location 1 2.2 Recent Development Trends 1 2.3 Development Objective 1 2.4 Overview and Strategic Vision 2 2.5 Strategic Aims of the Strokestown Area Plan 2 2.6 General Planning policies in relation to development (of all categories) in Strokestown 3 3. BUILT, ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HERITAGE 4 3.1 Archaeological Heritage 5 3.2 Natural Heritage 5 3.3 Landscape Character Assessment 5 3.4 Policies in relation to Built, Archaeological and Natural Heritage 5 3.5 Objectives in relation to Built, Archaeological and Natural Heritage 5 4. TRANSPORT AND PARKING 6 4.1 Planning Policy in relation to transport and parking 7 4.2 Objectives in relation to transport and parking 7 5. DEVELOPMENT OF CORE TOWN CENTRE AND PERIPHERAL TOWN CENTRE 8 5.1 Brown field and Backland Sites 8 5.2 Planning Policies in relation to the Core town centre and Peripheral town Centre 8 5.3 Objectives in relation to the Core town centre and Peripheral town Centre 9 6. RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT 10 6.1 Planning Policies in relation to Residential Development 13 6.2 Objectives in relation to Residential development 13 7. ECONOMIC INDUSTRIAL AND COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENT 14 7.1 Planning Policies in relation to Economic, Industrial and 14 Commercial development 7.2 Objectives in relation to Economic, Industrial and Commercial development 14 Variation No.
    [Show full text]
  • The Green Heartlands Cycling Route Na Croícheantair Ghlas
    N The Green Heartlands Cycling Route May the Road Rise to Meet You Na Croícheantair Ghlas Go n-éirí an bóthar leat Route Overview Stage 1 N61 N63 Welcome to the Green Heartlands Cycle Route - a fully marked cycling tour which takes you N60 Stage 2 through the splendour of the mid and south Roscommon countryside. Situated in the heart of Ireland, Mid and South Roscommon is a scenic paradise serviced by a network of quiet ROSCOMMON Lough Ree Stage 3 country roads ideally suited to cycling. The low level of traffic in this unspoilt rural Donamon environment offers the cyclist a pleasant and peaceful holiday experience, far removed from R366 Stage 4 N63 N61 the hustle and bustle of everyday life. Castlecoote Stage 5 The terrain of the local landscape throughout the 131 mile (211 km) circuit is generally flat R362 with occasional stretches of gently sloping hills which take the cyclist through a varied Stage 6 countryside of farmland, bog, forest, wetlands, rivers and lakes. The touring cyclist can Knockcroghery Athleague N61 experience the beauty of Lough Ree and sense the magnificence of the River Shannon - the R362 longest river in Ireland. R357 The circuit, divided into a series of daily routes, will take you through a host of small rural Lecarrow Mount Talbot Lough villages and within close proximity of the larger provincial towns of Roscommon, Athlone and Funshinagh Four Roads Ballinasloe. N63 Ballygar Lough Ree Distance: 211 kms Height gain: 1149 metres R363 Terrain: Generally flat, some gentle slopes Curraghboy Kiltoom Route type: Mainly
    [Show full text]