Ballyfarnon (historically ''Bellafernan'', from ) is a village in northern

County Roscommon County Roscommon () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is part of the province of Connacht and the Northern and Western Region. It is the List of Irish counties by area, 11th largest Irish county by area and Li ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. Built on the River Feorish at the foot of Arigna Mountain, it lies between Loughs Skean and Meelagh with

Lough Arrow Lough Arrow () is a freshwater lake in the northwest of Ireland. This large, scenic lake covers an area of and lies mostly in County Sligo with a smaller part in County Roscommon. It is a popular trout fishing lake. Geography Lough Arrow lies ...

Lough Allen Lough Allen () is a lake on the River Shannon in northeastern Connacht, Ireland. Most of the lake is in County Leitrim, with a smaller part in County Roscommon. The lake lies to the south of the River Shannon's source, near the Iron Mountains ...

, Lough Bo and Lough-na-Sool nearby. It lies on the Sligo/Leitrim R284 regional road on the border with

County Sligo County Sligo ( , ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Northern and Western Region and is part of the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht. Sligo is the administrative capital and largest town in ...

. The first church at Kilronan,

Keadue Keadue, officially Keadew (), is a village in County Roscommon, Ireland. It is on the R284 and R285 regional roads close to the borders of County Leitrim and County Sligo. Keadue is the burial place of the great Irish harper, Turlough O'Ca ...

, County Roscommon, was built in the 8th century by St. Ronan and his daughter St. Lasair. It was replaced in 1339 by one built by Fergal O'Duigenan which was burned down in 1340 and replaced three years later by the church, one gable of which stands today. Sheltered by that gable is the vault of the McDermott Roes, in which

Turlough O'Carolan Turlough O'Carolan ( ; 1670 – 25 March 1738) was a blind Celtic harper, composer and singer in Ireland whose great fame is due to his gift for melodic composition. Although not a composer in the classical sense, Carolan is considered by som ...

was interred in 1738. This gable is a memorial to the Gaelic Literary tradition from the 13th -18th century as represented by the O'Duigenans, hereditary erenachs of Kilronan (lay abbots who held church land from generation to generation), and chroniclers (as well as bards and ollavs-hereditary poets) to the

MacDermot Mac Diarmada (anglicised as McDermott or MacDermot), also spelled Mac Diarmata, is an Irish surname, and the surname of the ruling dynasty of Moylurg, a kingdom that existed in Connacht from the 10th to 16th centuries. The last ruling king was T ...

s, Princes of Moylurg, down to

, sometimes styled "The Last of the Bards". The O'Duigenans maintained a school of history on this site.

Kilronan Castle

Kilronan Castle, which was also known as Castle Tenison, is a 19th-century castle dating from two different periods. The earlier part was built by Thomas Tenison, consisting of a 3-storey-over-basement, 3-bay symmetrical castellated block with slender corner turrets, pinnacled buttresses and tracery windows. This was built in about 1820, and may incorporate a Palladian style Georgian house. The later part is two storeys high, is irregular, and of rubble stone with a baronial tower. The castle was inherited by Florence (née Tenison) wife of the

Henry King-Tenison, 8th Earl of Kingston Lieutenant-Colonel Henry Ernest Newcomen King-Tenison, 8th Earl of Kingston (31 July 1848 – 13 January 1896), was an Irish peer and Conservative politician. Early life and education Henry Newcomen King was born 31 July 1848 to Anne Gore- ...

whose husband assumed the additional name of Tenison. The Tenisons were early photographers. In particular Edward King-Tenison travelled in Spain in the 1850s, where he took pictures of its castles and scenery. E.K. Tenison took photographs of Kilronan Castle in 1859 which were printed with albumen. In 1814 the castle was occupied by Thomas Tenison. The castle is a now a hotel.

Amenities

A memorial to a local musician and songwriter, Josie McDermott, lies in the village centre, and a memorial garden on the Feorish bank is dedicated to all who attended fair days in the village for centuries, and who worked in Arigna Coal Mines overlooking the village. Kilronan Castle Hotel can be seen on walks to Lough Meelagh, the former home of the Earl of Kingston, and Alderford House, the last home of Turlough O'Carolan, is adjacent to the village. Turlough O'Carolan is buried in nearby Kilronan Abbey. There is also a primary school, church, and GAA grounds in the area. There are two pubs in the village, although one is not open full-time. There is a garage/petrol-station(convenience shop), a grocery shop, a furniture shop, a steel building manufacturer and hardware store. St. Lasair's well is a spring-fed

holy well A holy well or sacred spring is a well, Spring (hydrosphere), spring or small pool of water revered either in a Christianity, Christian or Paganism, pagan context, sometimes both. The water of holy wells is often thought to have healing qualitie ...

outside the village.

References

{{County Roscommon Towns and villages in County Roscommon

Kilronan Castle

Amenities

See also

References