Taghmaconnell or Taughmaconnell () is a small 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 lies between

Athlone Athlone (; ) is a town on the border of County Roscommon and County Westmeath, Ireland. It is located on the River Shannon near the southern shore of Lough Ree. It is the second most populous town in the Midlands Region with a population of ...

and

Ballinasloe Ballinasloe ( ; ) is a town in the easternmost part of County Galway in Connacht. Located at an ancient crossing point on the River Suck, evidence of ancient settlement in the area includes a number of Bronze Age sites. Built around a 12th-ce ...

. It is also the name of the parish in which the village lies. The majority of people are farmers or work in the large factories and government offices in nearby towns.

is about 5.3 miles away and

is about 6.8 miles away. There are castle ruins to be seen in Castlesampson, Clonbigney and Dundonnell. The village has one of the lowest crime rates in the country.

Religion

The local church is dedicated to the memory of Saint Ronan who also had connections with the

Aran Islands The Aran Islands ( ; gle, Oileáin Árann, ) or The Arans (''na hÁrainneacha'' ) are a group of three islands at the mouth of Galway Bay, off the west coast of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, with a total area around . They constitute the histo ...

and

Clonmacnoise Clonmacnoise (Irish: ''Cluain Mhic Nóis'') is a ruined monastery situated in County Offaly in Ireland on the River Shannon south of Athlone, founded in 544 by Saint Ciarán, a young man from Rathcroghan, County Roscommon. Until the 9th ce ...

. The important focal points within the parish – all depicted on the parish banner – are Saint Ronan’s Well, the National School and the Church. The Parish Priest is Fr. Sean Neylon. The present church dates back to 1805, before this the church was built it seems that

mass Mass is an intrinsic property of a body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the quantity of matter in a physical body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physics. It was found that different atoms and different elementar ...

was celebrated in a big barn across the road in what used to be Costello's shop. The first building on the present site was erected in 1805 on land donated by

Brabazon Newcomen Brabazon Newcomen (1688 – June 1766) was an Anglo-Irish politician. Newcomen was the Member of Parliament for Kilbeggan in the Irish House of Commons The Irish House of Commons was the lower house of the Parliament of Ireland that existed f ...

. In 1860 a new church was built out of the foundations of the 1805 one. In 1961 major work was done on the church. The mortuary was built and the front door was set in. Wooden statues that were found under the altar during this renovation certainly came from Clontuskert Priory. They are now in the Diocesan Museum beside the Cathedral in

Loughrea Loughrea ( ; ) is a town in County Galway, Ireland. The town lies to the north of a range of wooded hills, the Slieve Aughty Mountains, and the lake from which it takes its name. The town's cathedral, St Brendan's, dominates the town's skyline ...

. All date back to 1200 to 1300 AD. GAA pavilion at Taghmaconnell - geograph

St Ronan’s well is situated in the town land of Shraduff in Taughmaconnell. Mass is celebrated there every year on 21 June (summer solstice). The tradition about this well is that Ronan was on his way from Aran to Clonmacnoise and stopped at a spring well to get a drink. There was a woman with a blind child at the well. Ronan blessed the well and anointed the child’s eye with the water. The child immediately had its sight restored.

Education

Taughmaconnell currently has two primary schools, one in Taughmaconnell and one in Castlesampson. At present there are four teachers in Taughmaconnell and two teachers in Castlesampson. Tríona Mc Loughlin is the current principal of Taughmaconnell NS and the school currently has 100 students, it is a

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

school. Reports show the first school in Taughmaconnell was built in 1852 and the old school is dated 1901. Mary Naughton is the current principal of Castlesampson NS and the school currently has 40 students, it is a Catholic school. Reports show the first school in Castlesampson was built in 1853 while the second came in 1881.

Sport

* Soccer – The local soccer team is Skyvalley Rovers which plays in the Roscommon and District League. The club was founded in 1971 and plays at Onagh Park close to Chapel Street the natural parish centre. The team has won 8 league titles, 7 Roscommon Cups and 10 league cups/division cups. The grounds have two full sized pitches. The pitch is also used by St Ronan’s Athletic Club and the Taughmaconnell Community Games are held there every year. * Gaelic Games – The local GAA team is

Padraig Pearses GAA Roscommon Padraig Pearses GAA Club (Irish: ''CLG Padraig Mac Phiarsaigh'') is a Gaelic Athletic Association club located in the parishes of Moore, Taughmaconnell and Creagh in County Roscommon, Ireland. They play in red and white colours and their home ...

which is located outside the parish at

Woodmount Woodmount is a townland in the civil parish of Creagh in South County Roscommon, Ireland, situated approximately 3.5 miles due east of the town of Ballinasloe (County Galway), and approximately 800 metres north off the Old N6 Athlone to Ballin ...

, just off the main Athlone-Ballinasloe N6 road. * Tug of War – The local Tug of War club was established in 2009 and is affiliated to the Irish Tug of War Association. The team trains at Cloonkeen. The team were runners up in the All-Ireland in 2012.

Community Council

The Taughmaconnell Community Council is a local council that helps assist residents of the village. It is made up of 21 representatives from every part of the village.

Notable residents

* John G. Downey – the seventh

Governor of California The governor of California is the head of government of the U.S. state of California. The governor is the commander-in-chief of the California National Guard and the California State Guard. Established in the Constitution of California, the g ...

from 1860 to 1862 and namesake of

Downey, California Downey is a city located in Southeast Los Angeles County, California, United States, southeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is considered part of the Gateway Cities. The city is the birthplace of the Apollo space program. It is also the home of ...

– was born in Castlesampson, Taughmaconnell in 1827. *

Brendan Shine Brendan Shine (born 2 June 1947) is an Irish folk and country singer, television presenter and accordion player from Athlone. He has achieved 40 chart singles in Ireland and 5 Irish number one singles, and is best known for his songs about everyd ...

, folk and country singer

References