Roscam is a medieval ecclesiastical site and

National Monument A national monument is a monument constructed in order to commemorate something of importance to national heritage, such as a country's founding, independence, war, or the life and death of a historical figure. The term may also refer to a sp ...

located in

Galway Galway ( ; , ) is a City status in Ireland, city in (and the county town of) County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay. It is the most populous settlement in the province of Connacht, the List of settleme ...

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 ...

Location

Roscam is located east of the Galway city centre, immediately north of Oranmore Bay. It is just to the south of the Galway neighbourhood of Roscam, which takes its name from the site.

History

Roscam stands on the site of a very early (5th century) monastery, with legend linking it to

Saint Patrick Saint Patrick (; or ; ) was a fifth-century Romano-British culture, Romano-British Christian missionary and Archbishop of Armagh, bishop in Gaelic Ireland, Ireland. Known as the "Apostle of Ireland", he is the primary patron saint of Irelan ...

. It was also associated with Odran, a brother of

Ciarán of Clonmacnoise Saint Ciarán of Clonmacnoise (c. 516 – c. 549), supposedly born Ciarán mac an tSaeir ("son of the carpenter"), was one of the Twelve Apostles of Ireland and the first abbot of Clonmacnoise. He is sometimes called Ciarán the Youn ...

(6th century). The 6th-century Saint Aedus (Aidus) transferred the bones of

Brión mac Echach Muigmedóin Brión (or Brían), son of Eochaid Mugmedón, was a legendary and possibly historical Irish king, fl. 4th/5th century. Biography The older half-brother of Niall Noígíallach ( Niall of the Nine Hostages) and one of the three brothers whose de ...

to Roscam. It was attacked by

Viking Vikings were seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway, and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded, and settled throughout parts of Europe.Roesdahl, pp. 9� ...

s in AD 807. The

round tower A fortified tower (also defensive tower or castle tower or, in context, just tower) is one of the defensive structures used in fortifications, such as castles, along with defensive walls such as curtain wall (fortification), curtain walls. Castle ...

is dated to the 11th century and appears to have never been completed. The ruined tower once marked the limit of

O'Halloran O'Halloran is the surname of the ultimate and at least two distinct Gaelic- Irish families, one in County Galway and another in south-east County Clare linked to the Dál gCais. On occasions it is translated as "stranger" or "from across the sea" ...

(Ó hAllmhuráin, Clann Fhearghaile) territory. The church was built in the 15th century. Roscam is said to have been used as a

duelling A duel is an arranged engagement in combat between two people with matched weapons. During the 17th and 18th centuries (and earlier), duels were mostly single combats fought with swords (the rapier and later the small sword), but beginning in t ...

site in the medieval era; at the time, it was well outside of what was then the city of

and was easily accessible by boat.

Ruins and monuments

There is a limestone

( tall),

bullaun A bullaun (; from a word cognate with "bowl" and French ''bol'') is the term used for the depression in a stone which is often water filled. Natural rounded boulders or pebbles may sit in the bullaun. The size of the bullaun is highly variable ...

s and a church in length. The whole site is surrounded by a large

enclosure Enclosure or inclosure is a term, used in English landownership, that refers to the appropriation of "waste" or "common land", enclosing it, and by doing so depriving commoners of their traditional rights of access and usage. Agreements to enc ...

References

{{Reflist Round towers Archaeological sites in County Galway National monuments in County Galway Buildings and structures in Galway (city) Religion in County Galway