ROSCOMMON. 



BOBS. 



346 



laying waste the country, exposed De Cogan and his army to great 

 danger from famine, and compelled them to retreat. In 1201 the 

 county was ravaged by William de Burgo Fitz-Aldelm, lord of 

 Limerick ; in 1216 the castle of Athlone was erected to command the 

 ford of the Shannon ; and in 1 268 that of Roscommon was built to 

 secure the-quietness of the county. In 1315 Richard de Burgo, earl 

 of Ulster, and Phelim Conor, prince of Connaught, advanced from 

 Roscommon to repel the invasion of the Scotch under Edward Bruce ; 

 but O'Conor entered into a secret treaty with Bruce, and retired to 

 defend bis own territory against the usurpation of his kinsman Roderic, 

 whom with the aid of the English he defeated and slew. Having then 

 avowed his alliance with the Scotch, he was attacked and completely 

 defeated at Athenry in Galway by the English under William de Burgo, 

 the earl's brother, and Sir John Bellingham. This victory broke the 

 power of the O'Conors. Meanwhile the inheritance of the De Burgos 

 was conveyed by marriage to Lionel, duke of Clarence, son of 

 Edward III., whose descendants came to the throne in the person of 

 Edward IV. In the reign of Elizabeth, Connaught was divided into 

 counties, and the county of Roscommon into baronies. The O'Conors 

 remained loyal during the troubles of Elizabeth's reign, but in the 

 rebellion of 1641 the O'Conor Don took part with the UUter insurgents 

 after they had made themselves masters of the county. At the close 

 of the war his estates, with those of other chiefs, were confiscated and 

 divided among EnglUh and Scotch adventurers. At the restoration 

 however he recovered the greater part of his property, and his 

 descendants are among the few native Irish families who retain their 



The most numerous antiquities of the county are the raths, or bill- 

 forts, of which nearly 500 hajse been reckoned. They are found upon 

 natural eminences, and are formed generally of earth and hurdles, 

 but sometimes of wooden walls, resting on a foundation of earth, and 

 inclose the dwelling-place of the chieftain and his family. They are 

 regarded with reverence, and left in most cases undisturbed by the 

 plough. At Oran, between Roscommon and Castlerea, there is a 

 portion of a round tower 12 feet high, built of limestone in regular 

 courses, with finely-cut and close-fitting stones. Near Lough Glynn 

 are the ruins of a fort of unknown antiquity. The massive walls and 

 polygonal towers of Ballintobber Castle, the ancient stronghold of the 

 O'Conor Don, are in tolerable preservation. Other feudal remains are, 

 those of Roscommon Castle, the keep of Athlone Cattle, the ruins of 

 a small castle on Castle Island in Lough Key, and those of Coote Hall, 

 a fortified mansion of the middle ages, between Lough Key and the 

 Shannon. The principal ecclesiastical antiquities are the ruins of 

 Boyle, Roscommon, Tulik, and Clonshanville abbeys. There are 

 numerous remains of old churches, inclosed within cemeteries still 

 in use. 



ROSCOMMON", Ireland, the chief town of county Roscommon, and 

 the seat of a Poor-Law Union, is situated near the centre of the 

 county, on the road from Lanesborough to Tuam, in 63 38' N. lat., 

 8 8' W. long., 96 miles W. by N. from Dublin by road. The popu- 

 lation of the town in 1851 was 8364, besides 1259 inmates of the 

 Union workhouse. Roscommon Poor- Law Union comprises 18 electoral 

 flivi'ions, with an ana of 114,056 acres, and a population in 1851 of 

 84,046. An abbey was founded here for the order of Preaching 

 Friars, about 1257, by O'Conor, king or prince of Connaught ; and a 

 few years after a strong castle was built by Sir Robert de Ufford, one 

 of the early English adventurers. Of both the abbey and the castle 

 there are considerable remains ; the castle is on the north side of the 

 town, and the abbey church on the south side. The interior of the 

 church is still used as a burial-ground. Roscommon sent members to 

 the Irish Parliament, but was disfranchised at the Union. In the 

 centre of the town is the old jail, a building situated on the summit 

 of the eminence on which the town stands, but now disused as a 

 prison. The parish church has been lately enlarged. The old court- 

 bouse has been converted into a Roman Catholic chapel. There are 

 two national schools. In the town are a new court-house, a new jail, 

 and the county infirmary. Coarse pottery-ware is manufactured, 

 and friezes, coarse flannel, and woollen ntuffi are woven. On Saturday 

 is held a market, at which large quantities of grain are sold, to be 

 shipped on the canal at Lanesborough. The assizes for the comity, 

 quarter and petty sessions, and a monthly manor court, are held in 

 the town. Fairs are held four times a year. 



ROSCREA, county of Tipperary, Ireland, a market-town and the 

 eat of a Poor-Law Union, is situated on a feeder of the Lower 

 Brosna River, and on the Dublin and Limerick road, in 52 57' N. lat., 

 7* 48' W. long., distant by road 19 miles E. by N. from Nenagh, 04 

 miles S.W. by W. from Dublin. The population in 1851 was 3496, 

 besides 641 inmates of the workhouse. Rosorea Poor Law Union 

 comprises 23 electoral divisions, with an area of 118,488 acres, 

 and a population in 1851 of 33,442. The town is of great antiquity, 

 having arisen around a monastery which was founded in 620. In the 

 reign of John a castle was erected in the place as a defence against 

 the Irish. Several of the streets are wide and contain some good 

 houses. The town contains the parish church, erected in 1812 ; places 

 of woffhip for Wesleyan and Primitive Methodists, Quakers, and 

 Roman Catholics ; a National school, and others partly endowed ; and 

 a saving* bank. It has also a court house and a market-house, a fever 

 hospital, dupensary, Union workhouse, bridewell, and infantry barrack. 



Ormond Castle now forms a military store-house. An ancient round 

 tower, 80 feet high, and having a projecting roof, stands in the town. 

 The entrance to the churchyard is the gable and porch of the abbey 

 of St. Cronan, with a full-length figure of the saint. The steeple of 

 a Franciscan priory, founded in 1499, forms the belfry of the Roman 

 Catholic chapel. The town has a small manufacture of coarse woollen 

 cloths. There is a considerable sale of agricultural produce at the 

 weekly markets. Quarter and petty sessions are held. Fairs are 

 held seven times a year. 



ROSEAU. [DOMINICA.] 



ROSKHEARTY, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, a fishing village aud a 

 burgh of barony, in Pitsligo parish, is situated on the Moray Frith, 

 4 miles W. from Fraserburgh, and 46 miles N. from Aberdeen by 

 road. The population of the burgh in 1851 was 844. It consists of 

 several small streets, mostly running parallel with the beach. The 

 pariah church is a short distance inland, with a handsome school- 

 house adjacent. In the village are a Free church, a United Presby- 

 terian church, and a female school. The harbour affords convenient 

 shelter to fishing-boats, and admits vessels of 70 tons burden. The 

 inhabitants are chiefly engaged in fishing. From July to September 

 there is an active herring fishery, employing from 40 to 50 boats and 

 several sloops. In spring a number of boats go to the island of Tyreo 

 for the cod and ling fishery, and return by Glasgow, exchanging their 

 fish for coals. Fish are cured in the village for the Glasgow, Edin- 

 burgh, and London markets. Boat-building is carried on. Fairs are 

 held on the first Tuesday of Maj, July, and October. 



ROSENAU. [HUSOABT.] 



ROSETTA, or EL RASCHID, a town and port of Lower Egypt, ia 

 situated in 31 25' N. lat, 30 23' E. long., on the left or west bank 

 of one of the principal branches of the Nile, and about four miles 

 from its mouth. The country around Koaetta is a complete garden. 

 The town contains several large mosques; the streets, which are 

 exceedingly narrow, not more than two yards wide, lie parallel to 

 each other in a line with the river, and are irregularly intersected by 

 others which are shorter. Between the houses and the Nile there is 

 a wide space, which is the promenade of Rosetta. The houses, 

 which are built of a dingy red brick, are two or three stories high ; 

 the bazaars are narrow, dirty, and dark. Rosetta formerly carried on 

 a considerable trade both with Europe and the Levant, and at one 

 time its population amounted to 25,000 persons, but the opening of 

 the Mahmoudieh Canal, connecting Alexandria with the Nile, ban 

 deprived the town of nearly the whole of this traffic, though it still 

 has many thriving manufactories for sailcloth, leather, and iron, 

 with which it supplies the dockyards at Alexandria. The population 

 now does not exceed 4000. In 179S the French took Rosetta, and 

 in 1807 it was besieged by the English. Here was found the < Rosetta 

 Stone,' now in the British Museum. 



ROSHAN. [BADAKSHAH.J 



ROSHEIM. [RHix, BAB.] 



ROSLIN. [nanvMBHxnJ 



ROSOY. [Aw.] 



ROSS, Herefordshire, a market-town, and the seat of a Poor-Law 

 Union, in the parish of Ross, is beautifully situated on the left bank 

 of the river Wye, in 51 54' N. lat, 2 33' W. long., distant 14 miles 

 S.S.E. from Hereford, and 120 miles W.S.W. from London. The 

 population of the town of Ross in 1851 was 2674. The living is a 

 rectory in the archdeaconry and diocese of Hereford. Ross Poor-Law 

 Union contains 30 parishes and townships, with an area of 55,568 

 acres, and a population in 1851 of 15,502. 



The town of Ross has a neat and interesting appearance ; it is lighted 

 with gas, and paved. The town-hall, a building of some antiquity 

 and interest, is in the centre of the town. The parish church is 

 believed to be of the date of 1316. The church is chiefly noted for 

 its fine spire, alluded to by Pope in connection with John Kyrle, 

 ' the Man of Ross.' The spire bos been several times struck by 

 lightning. From the floor of Kyrle' s pew in the church three elm- 

 trees spring up. In the church is a monument with an inscription to 

 the memory of John Kyrle. The Wesleyan Methodists, Baptists, 

 Independents, and Quakers have places of worship. There are 

 National and British schools, a Blue-Coat school, a mechanics insti- 

 tution, a savings bank, and a dispensary. The market-day is Thurs- 

 day. Fairs are held six times in the year. A county court is held 

 in the town. A railway intended to connect Gloucester with Hereford 

 through Ross, has been partly constructed. Ross is much resorted to, 

 by tourists. 



ROSS, or ROSSCARBERY, county Cork, Ireland, a market-town,, 

 and the seat of a diocese, is situated on a rocky eminence at the head, 

 of Ross Bay, in 51" 35' N. lat, 8 69' W. long., distant by road 

 39 miles S.W. from Cork, and 197 miles S.W. from Dublin. The 

 population in 1851 was 1044. The cathedral is on old building several 

 times altered. A modern tower, with a stone spire 50 feut high, rises 

 from the we.it end. There are a Roman Catholic chapel, a court- 

 house, a market-house, some corn-stores, a dispensary, aqd a bridewell. 

 Many of the inhabitants are employed in weaving. A market is held 

 on Wednesday. Fairs are held on September 19th and December 19th. 

 Some remarkable excavations, containing regular apartments, hire been 

 at different times laid open in the neighbourhood of the church. 



OC the see of Ross nothing certain is knowu till after the inv*jpn. 



