| Roscrea Ros Cré
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| — Town — | |
| Roscrea Castle | |
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Roscrea
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| Coordinates: | |
| Country | Ireland |
| Province | Munster |
| County | North Tipperary |
| Elevation | 126 m (413 ft) |
| Population (2006)[1] | |
| • Urban | 4,910 |
| Irish Grid Reference | S132894 |
Roscrea (Irish: Ros Cré) is a small heritage town in North Tipperary, Ireland. The town has a population of 4,910.[1] Its main industries include meat processing and pharmaceuticals. It is a civil parish in the historical barony of Ikerrin. It is also an Ecclesiastical parish in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Killaloe.[2]
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The town is located in the south midlands, 44 miles (71 km) from Limerick City and 76 miles (122 km) from Dublin City. It is at the crossroads of the N7 road between Dublin and Limerick and the N62 between Athlone and Horse and Jockey where it connects to the main M8 motorway between Dublin and Cork. Roscrea was bypassed following the completion of the M7 Dublin - Limerick motorway in December 2010. Both cities are easily accessible from the town with continuous motorway/dual carriageway in either direction from Roscrea. Other neighbouring towns on the road that were also bypassed were Moneygall and Nenagh.
Roscrea is well connected by bus routes with two Bus Éireann lines going through the town. Route 12 connects Dublin and Limerick while route 71 connects Athlone to Cork.[3] A private bus contractor, JJ Kavanagh and Sons, provides extra bus services[4]. Roscrea is connected to the Irish railway network on a branch from Limerick to Ballybrophy (where it joins the main Cork-Dublin line). At one time there was a branch from Roscrea to nearby Birr in County Offaly. Roscrea railway station opened on 19 October 1857.[5]
A January 2012 national newspaper article suggests that Irish Rail is expected to seek permission in the near future from the National Transport Authority to close the railway.[6]
Two miles from the town is a Cistercian monastery, Mount St. Joseph Abbey, and a boarding school for boys, Cistercian College.
Notable architectural features include the round tower, Roscrea Castle, the Damer House complex and the "Fancy Fountain". The latter feature was re-located from the old "Market Square" at the foot of Main Street to its present site in Rosemary Square.
The town is close to the Slieve Bloom Mountains. It is positioned where in ancient times, the five main routes in Ireland, or the Slighe Dhála, converged.
Historically Roscrea has been an important trading town. Roscrea grew around its ancient monastery, founded by St. Cronan in the 7th century.[7] The west gable of a romanesque church, a sculptured High Cross, and a round tower of the 12th century, all at the Church Street, are the visible remainings.Lord Killanin; Michael V. Duignan (1967). The Shell Guide to Ireland. London: Ebury Press. p. 415.</ref> The round tower has a doorway 15 feet (4.6 m) from the ground and is the oldest surviving part of the ancient monastery. The usual conical cap is missing as the tower was shortened by c. 6 metres (20 ft) when it was used by snipers in the 1798 rebellion.[8] The 8th century Book of Dimma, which belonged to Roscrea monastery, is preserved in Trinity College, Dublin. It contains a copy of the Gospels and a Missa Infirorum, and is enclosed in a shrine of bronze with silver plates ornamented with Celtic interlacing. In 1812, the Romanesque church was demolished with the exception of the west gable and its stones used for the erection of the parish church of the Church of Ireland at the same site.[8] The church was designed by the Roscrea architect James Sheane[9] and restored under the supervision of Sir Thomas Newenham Deane in 1879.[10]
The Catholic Church is built close to the site of the old Franciscan Friary, which was founded by the O'Carroll, Chieftain of the district, before 1477.[11] Some portion of the walls of the old Friary has been retained in the modern church building. The altar portrays the crucifixion. Roscrea was the seat of a bishopric until the 12th century, when it was joined to the Diocese of Killaloe. Monahincha Priory, to the east of the town, displays 12th century Romanesque features, especially the rich chancel arch.
King John I of England is credited with having erected a castle at Roscrea, of which a circular tower and some sections of wall are still extant. The later rectangular keep, known as Ormonde Castle, was built by James Butler, 4th Earl of Ormond some time before 1450[12] and still stands today. More than 300 standing stones may be found in an area covering100 acres (0.40 km2) located to the south east of Roscrea, near the County Laois border, in the Timoney Hills. Two miles to the south west is the ruined Ballinakill Castle, built by Piers Butler of Paulstown in 1580.
Local historians argue that the placename comes from the Irish Ros Cré meaning "wood of Cré"; Cré being a historic female name. However, those specialising in the Irish language and its literature would argue that this is too narrow an interpretation and is innacurate. The Irish name for the town, as agreed by An Brainse Logainmníochta (the State body for verifying Irish placenames) is indeed Ros Cré. Ros is an ambiguous word in the Irish language which can mean either "a wood" or "a promontory". It is regarded by local historians that the latter would be inaccurate given that promontories or, more accurately, promontory forts, are associated with coastal locations such as Dún Aonghusa. However, when we take the literal and most common meaning for of the word "cré" it allows us to explore a possible alternative to the meaning of the word. In his authoritative dictionary Dinneen defines the word "cré" as "earth, clay, dust". So there are several meanings we could attribute to the name "Ros Cré". "Wood of Cré" or "Promontory of Cré", both with Cré as the ancient girls name, or alternatively "An Earthen Wood" or "An Earthen Promontory" both with Cré as earthen or clay. Given how uncommon the ancient name Cré was, based on the balance of probabilities it is likely that the true meaning really is "An Earthen Promontory". The balance of probabilities further leans towards this meaning when we consider that historically the town of Roscrea originally developed on an island called Móin na hInse, which is located just outside the modern day town. This would have provided for the use of a promontory fort in a similar way to their usage in coastal areas.
The main employer in the town is Glanbia which makes and distributes meats product all over the world. In 2008 Glanbia sold off its pig meat operations. The 2 former Glanbia plants in Roscrea are now part of the Rosderra Irish Meats Group. It still uses the Glanbia brand under licence.[13] Taro Pharmaceuticals is a sterile pharmaceutical injectables manufacturing plant in the town that employs approximately 30 people. Some people travel to Nenagh to work in the Procter & Gamble factory there. Some make lengthy commutes to Dublin or Limerick for work.[14] Shannon Development has a business park near Ashbury in the town. This houses local businesses like Walsh Printers and JS Hygiene (Upholstery cleaning). The other business park is at Benamore on the Dublin road.
The town is home to several educational institutions. Primary Schools include Scoil Chrónáin Naofa Dromakeenan,[15] Scoil Eoin Naofa, Scoil Íosaf Naofa Corville, Sacred Heart Primary School, Dunkerrin N.S., Lismackin N.S. and the school for Persons with Intellectual Disabilities St Anne's. The solitary secondary school in the town is Coláiste Phobal Ros Cré.[16] This school was formed when the Sacred Heart Convent, the Christian Brothers School and the Tech amalgamated to form one public school in 1999. Just outside Roscrea is the Cistercian College. This is a private school located on the grounds of the Mount St Joseph Cistercian Monastery. Third-level courses, accredited by FETAC are provided at the Colaiste. The nearest Third-Level Institute is Tipperary Institute in Thurles.[17]
Roscrea Rugby Club has been twinned with Holybush in Wales for over 50 years.[18] There are also some football (soccer) teams in the town — Killavilla Utd F.C. and Streamstown Celtic F.C.. Killavilla Utd. has recently developed new playing facilities at Villa Park just outside Roscrea.
Roscrea GAA has won some trophies in its time including the recent U12 County Final win, played in Semple Stadium in Thurles. In Gaelic football, the local club is called "Inane Rovers".
Roscrea has an 18 hole parkland golf course (Roscrea Golf Club est. 1894) and also tennis facilities. There is an athletics club, a badminton club and many more sporting clubs. A swimming pool and leisure centre complex opened in September 2009.
Roscrea is home to a scout troop, Roscrea Scout Troop, founded in 1971, covering all sections from Beaver Scouts to Rover Scouts. The troop is part of the Slieve Bloom Scout County[19] in the South-Eastern Province in Scouting Ireland.
The international speaking organisation, Toastmasters also have a branch in town. Recently, Roscrea Active Citizenship Association was set up, with the stated aim of bringing together all the organisations of the town.