Places of Historical Interest/Roscrea (Tipperary)

Roscrea Castle and Damer House Complex.  

This is free to roam around and visit the garden to the rear of the house, but house and castle entry and tours involve a fee. 

http://www.heritageireland.ie/en/midlandseastcoast/roscreaheritagecentre...

The Black Mills is now a museum dedicated to Monastic Roscrea.  

http://www.heritageisland.com/attractions/roscrea-heritage-town/

The Leap Castle, once the home of the Darby family, now home to renowned traditional musician Seán Ryan, is worth a visit – appointment needed.  Music sessions are hosted here from time to time.   It is haunted by the “Smelly Ghost”.  More information available: http://leapcastle.net/ .

The Timoney Stones – Megalithic Planning or Folly – either way this collection has baffled the “boffins” for many years.  Situated just 5 miles (8Km) outside the town.

More info: http://www.thestandingstone.ie/2009/08/timoney-stones-co-tipperary.html

Mount St. Joseph Cistercian Monastery

www.msjroscrea.ie

Just 3kms on the Shinrone Road (R491 - Shinrone is the ancestral home of the Kearney family – one of which became President Obama’s ancestor) lies Mount Saint Joseph Cistercian Monastery founded in 1878, once home to Richard Heaton, botanist, famed for charting The Burren Plants & their uniqueness.  Lovely walks through the grounds await exploration.

Roscrea hosts a plethora of historic sites.  A brief synopsis of some of them is to be found here:

http://www.roscreaonline.com/content.asp?section=1042