County Roscommon Ireland · Co. Roscommon · Kilglass Save · Share
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KILGLASS
CO. ROSCOMMON · IE

Kilglass

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Kilglass · Co. Roscommon

A small parish on the shore of an ancient lake.

Kilglass sits on the eastern shore of Lough Gara in north Roscommon, a small parish in a landscape of water and bog. The lough itself is the draw—shallow, ringed by low hills, home to several islands.

The lake has given up its secrets twice: once in the Bronze Age, when people lived on crannogs out in the water, and again in the 1950s when the lough was partially drained and archaeologists found the traces. Bronze Age artefacts emerged from the bed, evidence of a world that existed three thousand years before you drove here.

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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.

Lake dwellings

Crannogs

Lough Gara held human settlements on artificial islands—crannogs—built in shallow water. When the lake was drained mid-twentieth century, Bronze Age material surfaced. These were not temporary shelters but permanent homes, built carefully in the water for reasons archaeologists still debate. Defence, perhaps. Or simply that water meant safety from something the land held.

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Getting there.

By car

About 20 minutes east of Roscommon town on smaller roads. North Roscommon is quiet; allow time to find it.