Cootehall (, also ''Cloigne'') is a village in

County Roscommon "Steadfast Irish heart" , image_map = Island of Ireland location map Roscommon.svg , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Ireland , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 = Connacht , subdi ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. It is located on the

River Boyle The Boyle River is a river in Ireland. Forming part of the Shannon River Basin, it flows from Lough Gara on the Sligo/Roscommon border and thence through the town of Boyle to Lough Key. From there is continues eastwards through the village of ...

, between

Boyle Boyle is an English, Irish and Scottish surname of Gaelic, Anglo-Saxon or Norman origin. In the northwest of Ireland it is one of the most common family names. Notable people with the surname include: Disambiguation *Adam Boyle (disambiguation), ...

and

Carrick-on-Shannon Carrick-on-Shannon () is the county town of County Leitrim in Ireland. It is the largest town in the county of Leitrim. A smaller part of the town lies in County Roscommon. The population of the town was 4,062 in 2016. It is situated on a stra ...

near

Lough Key Forest Park Lough Key Forest Park is an 800-hectare park on the southern shore of Lough Key, 40 km south east of Sligo Town and 3 km east of Boyle, County Roscommon, in the Republic of Ireland. Formerly part of the Rockingham Estate laid out ...

in the north of the county. Cootehall lies 4 kilometres off the N4 road from

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

Sligo Sligo ( ; ga, Sligeach , meaning 'abounding in shells') is a coastal seaport and the county town of County Sligo, Ireland, within the western province of Connacht. With a population of approximately 20,000 in 2016, it is the List of urban areas ...

and between the R284 and R285 regional roads. The Boyle River, which flows through Cootehall, connects the village with

Lough Key Lough Key ( gle, Loch Cé) is a lake in Ireland. It is in the northwest of County Roscommon, northeast of the town of Boyle. The lough is believed to be named after a mythical figure named Cé. Name The name ''Lough Key'' comes from the Irish ' ...

to the west and the

River Shannon The River Shannon ( ga, Abhainn na Sionainne, ', '), at in length, is the longest river in the British Isles. It drains the Shannon River Basin, which has an area of , – approximately one fifth of the area of the island of Ireland. The Shan ...

to the east. Village street, Cootehall - geograph

History

Cootehall was formerly called Urtaheera, or O'Mulloy's Hall, and was, early in the 17th century, together with the manor attached to it, the property of William, styled "the Great O'Mulloy;" but in the war of 1641 it came into the possession of the English Cromwellian, Chidley Coote, nephew of the first Earl of Mountrath, and from that family took its present name. Sir Charles Coote Snr (d.1642) was Provost Marshal of Connacht from 1605. His big opportunity for enrichment came when he was appointed to a Commission for land titles. Under this disguise, he acquired Clegna on the left bank of the Boyle River which he renamed Cootehall and here built the finest standing example of English Colonial Architecture in the north of the county.

House

In the 17th and 18th centuries, the house, also called "Cootehall", was built and occupied by the Coote family. The piper

Turlough O'Carolan Turlough O'Carolan ( ga, Toirdhealbhach Ó Cearbhalláin ; 167025 March 1738) was a blind Celtic harper, composer and singer in Ireland whose great fame is due to his gift for melodic composition. Although not a composer in the classical sense, ...

is recorded as having visited the house and composed tunes for the occupants. At some point in the 18th century, the house was occupied by Maurice O'Connor. Maurice O'Connor bought Coote Hall from the Coote family for £75,000 or £76,000 around 1725. In the 19th century, Coothall was part of the Kilronan Castle Estate which belonged to the Tenison family. A detailed survey of Coothall was made in 1862 for E.K. Tenison. The house at Coothall was occupied by Mr Barton as a tenant of the Kilronan Estate. Lady Louisa Tenison mentioned Coothall in her will of 1878 which is currently in the

National Archives of Ireland The National Archives of Ireland ( ga, Cartlann Náisiúnta na hÉireann) is the official repository for the state records of Ireland. Established by the National Archives Act 1986, taking over the functions of the State Paper Office (founded 17 ...

. The house survives to the present day. Celtic Tiger Growth Cootehall was a hamlet until the 2000s when a number of housing developments were built during the

Irish property bubble The Irish property bubble was the speculative excess element of a long-term price increase of real estate in the Republic of Ireland from the early 2000s to 2007, a period known as the later part of the Celtic Tiger. In 2006, the prices peaked ...

. It is now a larger village in terms of the number of houses, with a mix of different housing types which suit the locality, within a well designed central triangle, and attractively situated on the Boyle river adjacent 2 small lakes.. New housing at Cootehall - geograph

People

* Writer

John McGahern John McGahern (12 November 1934 – 30 March 2006) was an Irish writer and novelist. He is regarded as one of the most important writers of the latter half of the twentieth century. Known for the detailed dissection of Irish life found in w ...

's father was based in the police station in Cootehall which inspired his novel ''

The Barracks ''The Barracks'' was the first novel by Irish writer John McGahern (1934-2006). Critically acclaimed when it was published in 1963, it won the AE Memorial Award from the Arts Council of Ireland and the Macauley Fellowship.Gonzalez, Alexander G ...

''. * The politician Seán Doherty was born and raised in Cootehall. * Former president of Ireland, Mary McAleese resides close to the village.

References

{{County Roscommon Towns and villages in County Roscommon

History

House

People

See also

References