Castleplunket
Lios Lachna

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Lios Lachna · Co. Roscommon

A small village at a junction, named for a family who took Ciegna off the map.

Castleplunket is a small village in north-central County Roscommon, at the junction of the R367 and R377 roads, about ten kilometres east of Castlerea. The village takes its name from the Plunkett family and a castle they held — the name itself written both as Castleplunket and Castleplunkett in different records.

The village has a national school, businesses including a pub, and a community orientation that marks small places where roads meet. It sits between larger centres, a stopping point rather than a destination, but solid ground nonetheless.

Population

Approx. 100

Coords

53°46'00"N 8°20'00"W

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Stories & lore.

The reason to come back. The things every local will eventually tell you about, usually after the second pint.

A family and a castle

The Plunkets

The Plunkett family held lands here and built the castle that gives the village its name. By the time records get clear about it, the place had been renamed from Ciegna to Castleplunkett — Irish to English place names, as happened across the country. The castle is gone. The name remains.

The painter born here

Roderic O'Conor

The Irish painter Roderic O'Conor was born in Castleplunket in 1860 and died in 1940. He lived much of his life in France, where he was part of the post-impressionist movement. But this small village in north Roscommon is where he started.