Overview
Loughnaneane means ‘lake of the birds’, and this 14-acre park on the western edge of Roscommon town earns it. A turlough – a seasonal lake – sits at its centre, filling with winter rain to draw wildfowl to the water, then draining back to grass and wildflowers by summer. The site is old ground: it turns up in the Táin Bó Cúailgne, and Fergus Mac Róich is said to be buried on the lake’s shores. The park itself is more recent, laid out by Murray & Associates and opened around twenty years ago. Entry is free, the paths are flat and buggy- and wheelchair-friendly, and there’s a car park at the entrance.
The carved heads and the Hill o’ Bones
The sculpture trail is what sets Loughnaneane apart from any other town park. Carved wooden heads of figures from Irish myth and Roscommon history stand among the trees – Queen Maeve and Cú Chulainn from the old epics, and the O’Connor kings Felim and Aedh, whose family ruled Connacht from here. By the pond, a carved ‘Nature Chair’ throne gives you somewhere to sit and take it in. If you only have twenty minutes, walk the trail and then find the crannóg: an ancient lake dwelling known locally as the ‘Hill o’ Bones’, and the oldest thing in the park by a wide margin.
Birds, the wetland and the meadow
The wetland is the park’s working heart. A Bird Walk, designed by the environmentalist Gordon Darcy, lets you get close to the water and watch herons, ducks and smaller birds without being seen yourself – bring binoculars and go early, when it’s quietest. To the west, a grassy area is left uncut as a wildflower meadow, and the planting through the rest of the park favours native trees and shrubs that turn over with the seasons. Because the turlough rises and falls, the same walk looks different in February and July; the wetter months are the more dramatic.
The castle view
The park’s main avenue is no accident: it was aligned to frame Roscommon Castle at one end and Roscommon’s church at the other, so the ruined fortress sits square in the view as you walk. Built by the Normans in the late 1200s, the castle was one of the most fought-over strongholds in Connacht before falling into ruin. From the park it’s a short, flat walk to the walls. The grounds are open and free – a national monument you can wander up to, with surviving gatehouse, curtain walls and corner towers to examine at close range.
Planning your visit
- Opening hours: The park is open daily. There’s no ticket office and no set hours for the castle ruins either – walk up whenever it suits.
- Admission: Free, park and castle both.
- Parking: Free car park at the main entrance, with more street parking in the town centre a few minutes away.
- Facilities: An outdoor gym and a children’s playground sit near the town-side entrance. There’s no café on site, so bring a flask or walk into Roscommon town for coffee.
- Accessibility: The main paths and viewing areas are level and fine for wheelchairs and buggies; some of the wetland-edge paths turn muddy after heavy rain.
- Dogs: Welcome on a lead. Clean up after them.
Nearby
Loughnaneane makes an easy first stop before the rest of Roscommon. Castlecoote House, a restored house among mature gardens, sits a short drive west, and the River Suck gives you walking and fishing along the Suck Valley Way. Further out, Boyle Abbey has some of the best-preserved Cistercian ruins in the country beside the River Boyle, and Lough Key Forest Park near Boyle has woodland trails and lakeside walks.