The R392 road is a regional road in

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 ...

linking Lanesborough, County Longford on the N63 to

Mullingar Mullingar ( ; ) is the county town of County Westmeath in Ireland. It is the third most populous town in the Midland Region, with a population of 20,928 in the 2016 census. The Counties of Meath and Westmeath Act 1543 proclaimed Westmeath ...

, County Westmeath. Its route takes it in an arch (NW to SE) roughly west of the Royal Canal, which it crosses three times. The main town en route is Ballymahon, where it crosses the N55 and the River Inny. The R392 closely follows the route of a portion of an ancient ceremonial route known as the Slighe Assail, from

Rathcroghan Rathcroghan () is a complex of archaeological sites near Tulsk in County Roscommon, Ireland. It is identified as the site of Cruachan, the traditional capital of the Connachta, the prehistoric and early historic rulers of the western territory ...

, in County Roscommon (the ancient capital of the kingdom of

Connaught Connacht ( ; ga, Connachta or ), is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the west of Ireland. Until the ninth century it consisted of several independent major Gaelic kingdoms (Uí Fiachrach, Uí Briúin, Uí Maine, Conmhaícne, and Delbhn ...

), to the

Hill of Tara The Hill of Tara ( ga, Teamhair or ) is a hill and ancient ceremonial and burial site near Skryne in County Meath, Ireland. Tradition identifies the hill as the inauguration place and seat of the High Kings of Ireland; it also appears in I ...

, in county Meath (the ancient capital or Ireland and residence of the High King of Ireland. As such it formed one of the legendary Five Roads of Tara. This largely accounts for the remarkable straightness of the R392 compared to other Regional roads in Ireland. The route also closely passes the Hill of Uisneach, an even older royal and spiritual site than Tara located between the villages of Moyvore and

Loughnavalley Louaghnavalley or Loughnavally () is a village in County Westmeath, Ireland. It is located at the crossroads of the R389 and the R390, to the west of Mullingar. The Hill of Uisneach stands to the west of the town, near the village of Killar ...

and place of origin of the festival of Bealtine. West of Ballymahon, before crossing the River Shannon, the R392 runs adjacent and parallel to the

Corlea Trackway __NOTOC__ The Corlea Trackway () is an Iron Age trackway, or ''togher'', near the village of Keenagh, south of Longford, County Longford, in Ireland. It was known locally as the ''Danes' Road''. It was constructed from oak planks in 148–14 ...

, an ancient wooden trackway across a peat bog found by Bord na Mona workers in the 1980s and excavated fully in 1991. This link with the

indicates the R392 route to be one of the oldest routes in Ireland, possibly even in Europe. The road is long.

References

Roads Act 1993 (Classification of Regional Roads) Order 2006
–

Department of Transport The Department for Transport (DfT) is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for the English transport network and a limited number of transport matters in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland that have not been devolved. The d ...

{{Roads in Ireland Regional roads in the Republic of Ireland Roads in County Westmeath Roads in County Longford

See also

References