Overview
If you have an hour in Rossinver, spend it on the 1.5 km river walk to Fowley’s Falls – it’s the best thing here and the least demanding. The village itself is small, on the southern edge of Lough Melvin in north County Leitrim, and it trades on three things: a very old church site, that waterfall on the Glenaniff River, and a lake with a couple of fish you won’t easily find elsewhere. It makes a quiet base for the Leitrim glens, well clear of the busier tourist towns.
History and heritage
Rossinver’s church history goes back to the early 7th century. Tradition has Saint Máedóc of Ferns – St Mogue – founding a church here before his death around 632 AD, and appointing the Connachta nobleman Fearghus Mac Ailill as hereditary abbot. The site carries a few names as a result: it’s recorded historically as Gubalaun Abbey and as St Mogue’s Church as well as Rossinver Abbey.
The stone church you see today is the last in a line of buildings on the same footprint. The east window keeps distinctive 13th-century tracery, evidence of a major medieval rebuild. The graveyard is the part worth slowing down for: scattered through the grass are a 9th-century grave slab, early-Christian cross-slabs, a rock-art slab and a fragment of trefoil-headed arcading – a rough timeline of unbroken religious use from the early medieval period into the Middle Ages. After the 16th-century Reformation the abbey was dissolved and left to fall, and recent work has gone into stabilising the masonry rather than rebuilding it.
What to see and do
Fowley’s Falls
A 1.5 km river walk follows the Glenaniff River to the falls, where the water drops over exposed blue limestone into the run towards the lake. The path is well enough kept and suits most fitness levels, but it turns muddy after rain and the limestone by the water is slick – stay on the marked path and keep dogs close. There’s free parking near the trailhead, and it’s roughly a 45-minute round trip at an easy pace.
Rossinver Abbey
The grounds are open year-round and free. You can walk among the weathered walls and look over the medieval stonework, and there are quiet, uninterrupted views across Lough Melvin from the site – a good spot to stop rather than a thing to do.
The Organic Centre
Founded in 1995 on a 19-acre site beside the village, The Organic Centre is a long-running hub for sustainable growing. Its ecologically designed main building has a living grass roof and won an An Taisce award for the most appropriate building in the countryside; around it are demonstration gardens, polytunnels and the Grass Roof Café for light refreshments. It runs workshops on composting, permaculture and seasonal gardening. One caveat worth flagging: the centre’s website was down at the time of writing, so check it’s open and confirm any course before making a special trip.
MacClancy Castle
A short walk along the lakeshore brings you to the ruins of MacClancy Castle, traditionally linked to survivors of the 1588 Spanish Armada who sheltered in the area; a plaque marks the site. Little more than low foundations survive, but the outlook straight over the open water carries the story well enough.
Wildlife and angling
Lough Melvin’s cold, clear water holds two rare trout – the Gillaroo and the Sonaghan – alongside common brown trout, which is the real draw for anglers. Both rare species are managed under strict rules; before fishing, sort out the appropriate licence and read the Lough Melvin fisheries management plan for seasonal closures and permitted tackle. The shoreline and surrounding woods bring in herons, mute swans and other waterbirds, with early morning the best time to see them.
Practical information
- Getting there: Rossinver is off the N16, roughly 15 km from Manorhamilton and about 45 km from Sligo, and it’s well signposted.
- Public transport: Bus Éireann route 470 runs on Fridays, linking Rossinver to Manorhamilton for onward connections to Sligo – useful, but plan around that single day.
- Opening hours: The abbey, graveyard and Fowley’s Falls trail are open at all times, free of charge. The Organic Centre keeps its own hours – confirm before travelling.
- Parking: Free parking near the abbey and at The Organic Centre, with room for cars and small vans.
- Accessibility: The abbey grounds are uneven grass and stone, and the falls trail has roots and wet sections – not suitable for wheelchairs or pushchairs.
- Safety: The limestone by the falls is very slippery when wet, and heavy rain can raise the river fast. Check the forecast, and don’t let children or dogs near the water’s edge above the drop.