Roosky, Ruskey, or Rooskey () is a village 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 ...

in the northern midlands of

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...

, near the point where counties Leitrim,

Longford Longford () is the county town of County Longford in Ireland. It has a population of 10,008 according to the 2016 census. It is the biggest town in the county and about one third of the county's population lives there. Longford lies at the meet ...

, and

Roscommon Roscommon (; ) is the county town and the largest town in County Roscommon in Ireland. It is roughly in the centre of Ireland, near the meeting of the N60, N61 and N63 roads. The name Roscommon is derived from Coman mac Faelchon who built ...

meet. The N4 road from

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 cen ...

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 cent ...

passes by the Leitrim side of the village.

History

In 1798 the local rebels defeated the army of

General Lake Gerard Lake, 1st Viscount Lake (27 July 1744 – 20 February 1808) was a British general. He commanded British forces during the Irish Rebellion of 1798 and later served as Commander-in-Chief of the military in British India. Background He was ...

on the shores of Lough Bofin as part of the 1798 rebellion. There was also a 'Pleasure House' on the shores of the same lake, including a man-made beach only accessible to people from the

Anglo-Irish Anglo-Irish people () denotes an ethnic, social and religious grouping who are mostly the descendants and successors of the English Protestant Ascendancy in Ireland. They mostly belong to the Anglican Church of Ireland, which was the establish ...

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to ...

class, which was later burned down. The Protestant church, in the centre of the village, was also attacked at this time. Roosky was a lively market village in the mid 20th Century. The bridge was the scene of conflict during the

Irish Civil War The Irish Civil War ( ga, Cogadh Cathartha na hÉireann; 28 June 1922 – 24 May 1923) was a conflict that followed the Irish War of Independence and accompanied the establishment of the Irish Free State, an entity independent from the United ...

in 1922 and was also an important focal point for the National Farmers Association strike in 1967. The portion of the 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 th ...

was formerly known as Georgia or Gorteenoran ( ga, Goirtín Óráin) and constituted 5 houses and three licensed premises in 1925. This name is not in use today.

Facilities

Our Lady of Mount Carmel, the Roman Catholic church built in 1844, holds regular masses. The village has a supermarket, a Chinese restaurant, a Garda Station and a number of pubs. The community centre is located on the site of the old primary school.

Culture

The Shannon Key West Hotel was an entertainment venue in the village, until it went into liquidation, closing its doors on 18 October 2011. Every year, the village holds the 'Rooskey Heritage Festival,' usually in July. RooskyShannon Feb 2003 171

Tourism

Roosky is a destination for anglers, as the

and the nearby loughs are well stocked with coarse fish including

roach Roach may refer to: Animals * Cockroach, various insect species of the order Blattodea * Common roach (''Rutilus rutilus''), a fresh and brackish water fish of the family Cyprinidae ** ''Rutilus'' or roaches, a genus of fishes * California roa ...

perch Perch is a common name for fish of the genus ''Perca'', freshwater gamefish belonging to the family Percidae. The perch, of which three species occur in different geographical areas, lend their name to a large order of vertebrates: the Perci ...

and

bream Bream ( ) are species of freshwater and marine fish belonging to a variety of genera including ''Abramis'' (e.g., ''A. brama'', the common bream), ''Acanthopagrus'', '' Argyrops'', ''Blicca'', '' Brama'', '' Chilotilapia'', '' Etelis'', '' Le ...

. The harbour and marina are especially busy in the summer, with cruise vessels regularly stopping here. The Rooskey Heritage Festival is also held annually in the village. This community festival includes live music and heritage displays and promotes Rooskey village as a tourist destination. There are also art exhibitions, watersport displays and markets. Proceeds raised by the festival go towards the next year's festival and community projects which have included commissioning a wooden sculpture for the village, promoting the village's rich history by using plaques near points of interest and organising events all year celebrating heritage. Outdoor activities that take place locally include watersports, horse-riding, pony-trekking and walking.

Education

The village is served by the local

primary school A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ed ...

, Our Lady of Mount Carmel N.S., which was opened in 1997.

Industry

On 8 May 2002, a fire destroyed much of the premises of the

Glanbia Glanbia plc ( ) is an Irish global nutrition group with operations in 32 countries. It has leading market positions in sports nutrition, cheese, dairy ingredients, speciality non-dairy ingredients and vitamin and mineral premixes. Glanbia produc ...

pork processing plant. Furthermore, the following year it was announced that the plant would not be rebuilt. On the Leitrim side of the village, there is also a test tube making factory.

Rail access

The nearest railway station is located on the County Leitrim side of the River Shannon at

Dromod Dromod () is a village in County Leitrim, Ireland. Dromod is a noted fishing village beside Bofin and Boderg, which are threaded by the River Shannon. Built along the River Shannon, this is a Tidy Towns winner with a modern harbour frequented ...

which is on the Dublin–Sligo railway line.

Sport

Roosky is represented in both GAA and

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is t ...

by Kilglass Gaels and Dynamo Rooskey, respectively. There are three 18-hole

golf course A golf course is the grounds on which the sport of golf is played. It consists of a series of holes, each consisting of a tee box, a fairway, the rough and other hazards, and a green with a cylindrical hole in the ground, known as a "cup". T ...

s in the area.

People

Albert Reynolds Albert Martin Reynolds (3 November 1932 – 21 August 2014) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who served as Taoiseach from 1992 to 1994, Leader of Fianna Fáil from 1992 to 1994, Minister for Finance from 1988 to 1991, Minister for Indust ...

, politician and 9th Taoiseach of Ireland, born in Roosky

References

External links

* * {{River Shannon Towns and villages in County Roscommon Towns and villages in County Leitrim Populated places on the River Shannon