Drumsna ( which translates as ''the ridge of the swimming place'') is a village in

County Leitrim County Leitrim ( ; gle, Contae Liatroma) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Connacht and is part of the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the village of Leitrim. Leitrim County Council is the local authority for the ...

, Ireland. It is situated 6 km east of

Carrick-on-Shannon Carrick-on-Shannon () is the county town of County Leitrim in Republic of Ireland, 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 ...

on 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 Sha ...

and is located off the N4 National primary route which links

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...

and

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 largest urban ce ...

. The harbour dates to 1817 and was a hive of commercial waterway activity until the more northern navigation canal to

was opened in 1850. Today, the waterway is busy with anglers and tourist pursuits in the summer months.

History

One ancient way of crossing a river was swimming - "ag Snámh" in Irish. The oldest known name for Drumsna is "Snamh-Rathainn", which appears in the

Irish Annals A number of Irish annals, of which the earliest was the Chronicle of Ireland, were compiled up to and shortly after the end of the 17th century. Annals were originally a means by which monks determined the yearly chronology of feast days. Over ...

at 1148AD. It is mentioned again at 1261AD when the "fortress" of Hugh O’Conor, king of Connacht, at ''Snamh-in-redaigh'' was burned. John O'Donovan authoritatively states its "probably Drumsna, on the Shannon, on the borders of Leitrim and Roscommon”. In 1552AD Ferdorcha MagRaghnaill of Muintir Eolais was the Irish chieftain over Drumsna. In the late 19th century, Drumsna was the main trading town in Leitrim with its own jail and courthouse. It was the resting place for horse-drawn carriages and the harbour was a thriving delivery port. In 1850, the construction of the Jamestown Canal led to a change of the Shannon navigation which altered the status of Drumsna. Throughout at least the 19th and 20th centuries, a number of annual

fair A fair (archaic: faire or fayre) is a gathering of people for a variety of entertainment or commercial activities. Fairs are typically temporary with scheduled times lasting from an afternoon to several weeks. Types Variations of fairs incl ...

s were held at Drumsna on- May 20, June 22, August 25, October 7, and December 13. There was a

Chalybeate Chalybeate () waters, also known as ferruginous waters, are mineral spring waters containing salts of iron. Name The word ''chalybeate'' is derived from the Latin word for steel, , which follows from the Greek word . is the singular form of ...

Spa near the village in the 19th century. In 1925, Drumsna village comprised 35 houses, 5 being licensed to sell

alcohol Alcohol most commonly refers to: * Alcohol (chemistry), an organic compound in which a hydroxyl group is bound to a carbon atom * Alcohol (drug), an intoxicant found in alcoholic drinks Alcohol may also refer to: Chemicals * Ethanol, one of sev ...

. Ashfort House, near Drumsna, was originally the home of the Caulfield family. It was purchased by the Waldrons of Cartron in 1744. It was here in January 1848 that Hubert Kelly Waldron JP was murdered in a non-political incident when the local coroner attempted to serve him with a writ. Until 1996 the main N4 Dublin to Sligo road passed through the village which was then bypassed.

Natural history

In the 19th century the skull of a small ancient

Irish elk The Irish elk (''Megaloceros giganteus''), also called the giant deer or Irish deer, is an extinct species of deer in the genus '' Megaloceros'' and is one of the largest deer that ever lived. Its range extended across Eurasia during the Pleist ...

was found in the Shannon, at Drumsna Bridge.

Amenities and facilities

Angling

The unpolluted lakes and rivers in the Drumsna area support a huge population of wild fish, and it is a base for angling. Coarse fish species include bream, roach, rudd, hybrids, tench, pike, perch and eels. The Shannon flows through the village and there are several good fishing lakes close by. The Shannon has bream, rudd, roach, tench, perch and pike. Lough Aduff just outside the village is home to bream, roach and tench. Headford is a small lake located about 1½ mile northeast of the village of Drumsna, this lake has a stock of bream to and some good tench fishing can be had here, especially during the summer months.

Drumsna Roman Catholic Church

Built in 1845 and part-financed from the proceeds of a trip to Rome by the then Parish Priest, Father George Geraghty, the building has one of the largest church bells in the country. The church also contains a statue to the Virgin Mary which was the only surviving item from Belmount House when it was destroyed by fire.

Transport

Drumsna railway station opened on 1 September 1863, and finally closed on 17 June 1963. Drumnsa lies beside the River Shannon with its own jetty. It is a common stopping point for boats though navigation for cruisers is not possible upstream of here. Boats are required to use the Albert Lock and Jamestown Canal which links to the Shannon upstream of

Jamestown, County Leitrim Jamestown () is a village on the banks of the River Shannon in the south of County Leitrim, Ireland. It lies some 5 km east-south-east of the county town, Carrick-on-Shannon. It was named after King James VI & I. Jamestown was built as a w ...

List of Townlands around Drumsna

Effrinagh Effrinagh (in ga, Ifreannach) is a townland in County Leitrim. Effrinagh is a place about five miles east of Carrick on Shannon. It remains a quiet place in spite of its proximity to the bustle and hustle of Carrick. It is dotted with lakes a ...

*Mountcampbell *Foxborough *Lavagh *Lisduff * Dristernan *Gortconellan *Lislea *Drumnadober *Charlestown *Gowel *Liscallyroan

People

Admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet ...

Sir Josias Rowley, 1st Bt., GCB,

GCMG The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George IV, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George III. It is named in honour ...

, RN (1765–1842). *

Rear Admiral Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star " admiral" rank. It is often rega ...

Samuel Campbell Rowley (1774 - 1846). Represented the constituency of

Kinsale Kinsale ( ; ) is a historic port and fishing town in County Cork, Ireland. Located approximately south of Cork City on the southeast coast near the Old Head of Kinsale, it sits at the mouth of the River Bandon, and has a population of 5,281 ( ...

in the last Irish Parliament before the union with Great Britain and was subsequently elected to the

Westminster Parliament The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative supremacy ...

, where he served until 1806. Younger brother of Josias Rowley. *The writer

Anthony Trollope Anthony Trollope (; 24 April 1815 – 6 December 1882) was an English novelist and civil servant of the Victorian era. Among his best-known works is a series of novels collectively known as the '' Chronicles of Barsetshire'', which revolves ar ...

(24 April 1815 – 6 December 1882), lived in the village for a period during the 1840s, where he wrote ''

The Macdermots of Ballycloran ''The Macdermots of Ballycloran'' is a novel by Anthony Trollope. It was Trollope's first published novel, which he began in September 1843 and completed by June 1845. However, it was not published until 1847. The novel was "an abysmal failure ...

''. Anthony Trollope was remembered in the village with the launch of the Historic Trollope Trail by President Mary McAleese in September 2008. * Robert Strawbridge (1732–1781), one of the pioneers of

Methodism Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's b ...

in the United States, was born in Gortconnellan, Drumsna. The Wesleyan historical society erected a memorial to Robert Strawbride in Drumsna in 1992. *

Thomas Heazle Parke Thomas Heazle Parke (1857–1893) was an Irish physician, British Army officer and author who was known for his work as a doctor on the Emin Pasha Relief Expedition. Early life Parke was born on 27 November 1857 at Clogher House in Kilmore ...

, African explorer and surgeon (1857–1893), was born in Clogher House, Drumsna, Co Roscommon.

References and notes

Notes

References

Sources

* * * * * Archival records, Scanned records * {{River Shannon Towns and villages in County Leitrim Populated places on the River Shannon Places of Conmaicne Maigh Nissi