Frenchpark
Páirc an Fhéinéadaigh

STOP 04 / 04

Páirc an Fhéinéadaigh · Co. Roscommon

Small village, unlikely home to Douglas Hyde, first President of Ireland. He is buried in the churchyard.

Frenchpark is a small village of about 722 people in west Roscommon. It is not on a main road. It does not announce itself. But it is the birthplace of Douglas Hyde, first President of the Irish Free State and then the Republic of Ireland.

Douglas Hyde was born on January 17, 1860, in the townland of Tibohine, near Frenchpark. His father was Church of Ireland rector in the parish. Hyde became a scholar, a poet, a founder of the Gaelic League (an organization dedicated to the revival of the Irish language), and a figure in the founding of the Abbey Theatre — the National Theatre of Ireland. He served as the first President of Ireland from 1938 until his resignation in 1945, dying in 1949. He is buried in the Church of Ireland graveyard at Frenchpark, a short distance from the townland where he was born.

There is a dignity in this — a small village producing a figure of historical importance, and the figure choosing to be buried in the small village. Frenchpark does not trade on this. The village remains what it was. That is the right choice.

Population

~722

Founded

Medieval

Coords

53.7500° N, 8.0833° W

01 / 04

At a glance.

Three things every local will eventually mention. Read these and you've already understood more than most day-trippers do.

01 Douglas Hyde

1860–1949. Born in the area, first President of Ireland.

Hyde was born on January 17, 1860, in the townland of Tibohine, near Frenchpark. His father was Church of Ireland rector. He co-founded the Gaelic League. President 1938–1945. He is buried in the Church of Ireland graveyard at Frenchpark.

Stories & lore → 02 The church

Church of Ireland, graveyard with history.

The graveyard at Frenchpark holds Douglas Hyde. Walk among the stones. The names and dates tell the stories of the parish.

Walks & outings →

02 / 04

Stories & lore.

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

1860–1949

Douglas Hyde

Douglas Hyde was born on January 17, 1860, in the townland of Tibohine, near Frenchpark. His father was Church of Ireland rector. Hyde became a scholar of Irish language and folklore, a poet, and a significant figure in Irish cultural revival. He co-founded the Gaelic League, an organization dedicated to reviving Irish identity through the Irish language. He was involved in the founding of the Irish Literary Theatre, which evolved into the Abbey Theatre — the National Theatre of Ireland. In June 1938, he became the first President of the newly independent Irish state, serving until his resignation in June 1945. He died on July 12, 1949. He is buried in the Church of Ireland graveyard at Frenchpark, in the parish where his father served. That he chose to be buried in this small village, rather than in Dublin or elsewhere, is a statement about where his roots lay.

Church of Ireland

The graveyard

The Church of Ireland graveyard at Frenchpark holds the grave of Douglas Hyde. It also holds the graves of generations of parish people — farmers, teachers, merchants, families who lived and died in the parish. The stones are weathered. The names go back centuries. This is where history lands, in a small place, in a quiet graveyard where a President and a farmer can lie together.

03 / 04