Knockcroghery

Evidence of ancient settlement in the area includes a number of ringfort sites in Knockcroghery townland itself, and in the surrounding townlands of Glebe and Lisnahoon.[9] Knockcroghery village developed close to the 14th century tower house of Galey Castle overlooking Lough Ree. By the 18th century, it had grown to include a number of small thatched homes, several shops, a blacksmith, a mill, a post office, police barracks, a church and a fair green.[4] As of the early 19th century, the village had a population of approximately 180 inhabitants.[10]

Knockcroghey clay pipe or "dúidín"

From the 18th century onwards, the village was known for the production of the tobacco clay pipe, or "dúidín".[11] By the late 19th century, there were up to 100 people involved in the manufacture and distribution of the village's clay pipes. Production ceased abruptly on 21 June 1921 when the village was burned down by the Black and Tans during the Irish War of Independence.[12] Today, a visitor centre and workshop are located on the original site of Andrew and P.J. Curley's pipe factory, where pipes are handcrafted using the original methods of production.[13][14][15]

On the evening of Thursday 26 August 1920, 36-year-old Royal Irish Constabulary Constable William J Potter, who was temporarily stationed in Kiltoom, was cycling with fellow Constable Michael McMahon, from Roscommon to Kiltoom. The Constables were ambushed by the Irish Volunteers on the Athlone side of the level crossing in Knockcroghery, who fired at them. As the pair sped past the Volunteers and tried to escape, Constable Potter was shot through the right lung and fell to the ground, where he died.[16][17][18][19] Constable McMahon survived, but resigned from the RIC shortly afterward. Constable Potter's assassination led to Kiltoom RIC barracks being abandoned.[20]

A few days later, while a fair was going on in Knockcroghery, a party of Black and Tans arrived in the village and, in retaliation for Constable Potter's death, they rounded up all the men into the village's Gaelic handball alley and beat them with bull whips. The Black and Tans also requisitioned several tins of paint from a local shop and forced the men to paint over an Irish tricolour that had recently been painted onto the wall of the handball alley. The Black and Tans then forced the men to place their hands onto the wet paint and then put their hands into their pockets and wipe them on their clothes.[21][22]

On 20 June 1921, British Army Colonel Commandant Thomas Stanton Lambert's motorcar was ambushed by the Westmeath Irish Volunteers in Glassan. The Volunteers had planned to capture Lambert and hold him until a prisoner exchange was arranged in return for General Seán Mac Eoin. When Lambert's motorcar did not stop at the barricade on the Glassan Road, the IRA men opened fire. Lambert suffered bullet wounds and died the next day. British military intelligence mistakenly believed that the killers had come across Lough Ree from the Galey Bay/Knockcroghery area.[23][24][25]

At approximately 1 a.m. on 21 June 1921, a group of Black and Tans wearing civilian clothing and masks descended on Knockcroghery from the Athlone direction, in retaliation for the attack on Colonel Commandant Lambert the day before.[26][27][28][29] They arrived in four lorries and parked at St Patrick's Church. Reportedly drunk, they fired shots into the air, ordered the people outside, and began setting fire to their homes. The residents were given no opportunity to get dressed or to save their houses or possessions.[28][30] The Black and Tans easily set fire to the thatched roofs of the cottages using petrol, and most burned to the ground very quickly.[31][32] Murray's, Flanagan's and the presbytery were not so easy to set alight, due to their slate roofs.[31][33]

Michael O'Callaghan described the scene:

the raiding forces drove up and down the village, firing shots at random, cursing loudly, and laughing at the plight of the people of Knockcroghery. The people were terrified, particularly the children, whose cries of fear added to the terrible scene.[34]

The Irish Times reported:

there were constant fusillades of rifle and revolver firing. Terrified people rushed out of their houses and made their escape through fields.[28]

One of the first houses to be targeted was that of Patrick Curley, who owned one of the two significant pipe factories remaining in the village. Two Black and Tans, apparently officers, burst his door in and put him out at gunpoint. They sprinkled his floor with petrol and set the house on fire. He and his children fled through the nearby fields.[35] Unable to set John S. Murray's roof alight, the Black and Tans set fire to the back door. Murray reacted quickly to put the fire out. Next door, Mary "The Widow" Murray refused to leave her home when ordered out by the Black and Tans.[36] She gathered her six young children around her and defied the Black and Tans to burn the house with them inside it. Eventually, an officer ordered his men to leave the family alone and the house was spared.[37][24][38] Canon Bartholomew Kelly refused to leave the presbytery until the Black and Tans began dousing his furniture with petrol. He jumped out of his bedroom window onto a shed twelve feet below, hid until they had left, and then fled through a nearby field.[39] His slate roof, together with the quick actions of women such as Jenny Quigley in bringing sand and water to extinguish the fire, saved his house from being totally destroyed.[32][40]

The flames above Knockcroghery alerted people from the area and, by daylight, the street was full of people.[41] On the evening of the burning, there had been fifteen houses on the main street of Knockcroghery, most of them single-storey thatched cottages. By the following morning, all but four (the Presbytery, John S. Murray's, the Widow Murray's and Murtagh's) had been burned to the ground.[32][28]

The Irish Times described the aftermath:

Subsequently, the children and aged persons were taken into the Presbytery (which was also attempted to be set fire to) and the Rev Mr Humphrey's Rectory, where they were kindly treated. This morning the town presents a shocking appearance, being a mass of smouldering ruins, with the occupants of the houses homeless and destitute, all their belongings being consumed in the general conflagration.[28]

Jamesie Murray remembered the assistance given to those who had lost their homes:

They came from all over to help. People brought clothes, and a fund was soon set up. The families who were now homeless were accommodated in the vicinity, many staying with relatives who lived nearby. Farm sheds were converted into temporary dwellings. Canon Kelly and others found temporary accommodation with Knockcroghery's Church of Ireland rector, Canon Humphries.[21] Later, three or four new cottages were built on the Shrah road and given to bachelors, who then took people in.[41]

The village was rebuilt over the next few years, after Ireland had gained independence from the UK, with help from grants from the Free State Government.[42] The construction work provided employment locally, at a time when it was needed.[43][44] Many of the businesses that had been destroyed were gradually re-established, but the clay pipe factory that had provided employment in the village for over 250 years was never rebuilt.[12]

St Mary's National School, Knockcroghery

Much of the architecture of the village centre dates from the 1920s when the village was rebuilt after the burning by the Black and Tans. A number of buildings, such as the church, the community centre, the parochial house, Murray's and the Widow Pat's, predate this however.[61][62] The Record of Protected Structures, as maintained by Roscommon County Council, includes Scregg House and a number of other 19th century buildings in the Knockcroghery area.[63]

The village's Anglican church was demolished with explosives in 1966. The stone from the church was reused to build a church elsewhere. The local school was temporarily evacuated for the demolition. The site formerly occupied by the Anglican church is now occupied by a petrol station.[64] The former rectory associated with the village's former Anglican church remains standing.[62]

St. Patrick's Church (Roman Catholic)

St. Patrick's Catholic Church is an example of late nineteenth-century ecclesiastical design. It features a two-stage bell tower with pinnacles and a more recently added copper spire. It was built commencing in 1879, with the church being consecrated on 18 October 1885.[46][47][49][65] In the early 1950s, the tower and spire were completed, the bell was installed and the choir gallery was built. At the same time, repair works were carried out, the church was replastered internally and wiring for electric lighting and heating was installed in anticipation of the arrival of rural electrification. In the meantime, lighting was provided by a petrol-powered generator.[49] Electricity came to the village in late 1953.[66]

The carved limestone baptismal font in St Patrick's Church came from the old church in Ballymurray (now the site of Ballymurray National School). It was initially used as a holy water font inside the front door before being moved to its current location beside the altar to be used as a baptismal font. The smaller carved limestone holy water font, which is built into the wall inside the tower door, is believed to have come from the old church in Culleen (now Cullen Hall).[67]

The stained glass windows on the Eastern side of the church depict the history of the church in Ireland, including the old thatched church in Ballymurray.[49]

During the days of Gaelic Ireland and of the Irish clans, there was a tradition similar to the first Welsh Eisteddfod in 1176. Irish clan chiefs would host feasts for their clansmen, servants, and warriors which centered around a contest between Irish-language bards, whose poetry was performed by professional singers accompanied by a harp. As in 12th-century Wales, the clan chief always chose the winner with the approval of those assembled. This tradition, which arose during the 14th century, was termed a Gairm Sgoile (Early Modern Irish: 'summoning', or 'gathering', 'of the [Bardic] school').[75]

The traditional Irish phrase, "fáilte Uí Cheallaigh" ("an O'Kelly welcome") dates from Christmas Day, 1351 when Uilliam Buí Ó Ceallaigh, Chief of the Name of Clan Ó Ceallaigh and King of Uí Mháine, (which roughly covered what is now East County Galway and South County Roscommon) invited the poets, writers and artists of Ireland to a great feast at his seat, Gailey Castle.[76][51] The feast reportedly lasted for a month.[77] It was during this feast that the poet, Gofraidh Fionn Ó Dálaigh, wrote the poem, Filidh Éireann go hAointeach, which remembers the feast.[78][79]

Knockcroghery fair was traditionally held in late August and late October of each year. The October sheep fair remained popular throughout the 19th century, with 12,000 sheep for sale in 1860.[80] The fair green was on a gentle hill in the centre of the village.[81] The lower end now forms the village green and the higher end is now the Greenhills housing estate. The fair ceased during the mid-20th century but was revived in 1993 as an annual festival held on the third weekend of September, incorporating a funfair, sheep fair and events. The revived fair continued each year until 2013.[82][83]

Remains of The Roscommon Club Boat House at Galey Bay

The Galey Bay Regatta, an annual yachting regatta, was held from 1872 until 1913 by the Lords Crofton, who owned a boathouse on Galey Bay of Lough Ree adjoining Galey castle. Many visiting houseboats were anchored in the bay during the regatta. The yachts varied from 25-ton cutters to 18-foot spritsail lake boats. The regattas were the idea of Edward Crofton and his brother Alfred. After most of the lands had been sold to the adjoining farmers, the Croftons left the area and the regattas were no more. The Croftons were supported in organising the regattas by enthusiasts who came both from Lough Ree Yacht Club and Lough Derg. Lord Crofton was always the chairman of the organising committee.[7]

Peadar Kearney, writer of The Soldier's Song (Amhrán na bhFiann), also penned the song "Knockcroghery",[84] when he was challenged to find a word to rhyme with the village's name.[85]

Saint Dominic's GAA park is home to the local GAA club and is located on the Athlone side of the village.[86]

Knockcroghery was the home of Roscommon's All-Ireland Football Championship-winning captain Jimmy Murray (5 May 1917 – 23 January 2007).[87] He captained Roscommon to their only two All-Ireland Senior Football title wins in 1943 and 1944. He was also captain in their 1946 final and replay against Kerry.[88]