TaghmaconnellTaughmaconnell/Teach Mhic Conaill

Placenames Database of Ireland The Placenames Database of Ireland (), also known as , is a database and archive of place names in Ireland. It was created by Fiontar, Dublin City University in collaboration with the Placenames Branch of the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, ...

also known as Taughmaconnell (), is a small village in

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. It is situated between

Athlone Athlone (; ) is a town on the border of County Roscommon and County Westmeath, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is located on the River Shannon near the southern shore of Lough Ree. It is the second most populous town in the Midland Region, Ir ...

and

Ballinasloe Ballinasloe ( ; ) is a town in the easternmost part of County Galway, Ireland. Located at an ancient crossing point on the River Suck, evidence of ancient settlement in the area includes a number of Bronze Age sites. Built around a 12th-centur ...

. The village lends its name to the parish and

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

in which it is located. The local economy is predominantly based on agriculture, with many residents being farmers. Additionally, some villagers work in large factories and government offices in the nearby towns. The village has one of the lowest crime rates in the country. Athlone is to the east, and Ballinasloe to the south-west. There are castle ruins to be seen in Castlesampson, Clonbigney and Dundonnell.

Religion

The local church in Taghmaconnell is dedicated to Saint Ronan, who also had connections with the

Aran Islands The Aran Islands ( ; , ) or The Arans ( ) are a group of three islands at the mouth of Galway Bay, off the west coast of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, with a total area around . They constitute the historic barony (Ireland), barony of Aran in ...

and

Clonmacnoise Clonmacnoise or Clonmacnois (Irish language, Irish: ''Cluain Mhic Nóis'') is a ruined monastery in County Offaly in Republic of Ireland, Ireland on the River Shannon south of Athlone, founded in 544 by Saint Ciarán of Clonmacnoise, Ciarán, ...

. The important focal points within the parish include Saint Ronan’s Well, the National School, and the Church, all depicted on the parish banner. The current Parish Priest is Fr. Sean Neylon. The present church dates back to 1805, before this the church was built it seems that

mass Mass is an Intrinsic and extrinsic properties, intrinsic property of a physical body, body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the physical quantity, quantity of matter in a body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physi ...

was celebrated in a big barn across the road in what used to be Costello's shop. The first building on the present site was erected in 1805 on land donated by

Brabazon Newcomen Brabazon Newcomen (1688 – June 1766) was an Anglo-Irish politician. Newcomen was the Member of Parliament for Kilbeggan (Parliament of Ireland constituency), Kilbeggan in the Irish House of Commons from 1713 to 1727.E. M. Johnston-Liik''MPs in D ...

. In 1860 a new church was built out of the foundations of the 1805 one. In 1961 major work was done on the church. The mortuary was built and the front door was set in. Wooden statues that were found under the altar during this renovation certainly came from Clontuskert Priory. They are now in the Diocesan Museum beside the Cathedral in

Loughrea Loughrea ( ; ), is a town in County Galway, Ireland. It lies to the north of a range of wooded hills, the Slieve Aughty Mountains and Lough Rea, the lake from which it takes its name. The town's cathedral, St Brendan's, dominates the urban sk ...

. All date back to 1200 to 1300 AD. GAA pavilion at Taghmaconnell - geograph

St Ronan’s well is situated in the townland of Shraduff in Taughmaconnell. Mass is celebrated at the well annually on 21 June, the summer solstice. According to local tradition, Saint Ronan, on his way from Aran to Clonmacnoise, stopped at the spring well for a drink. A woman with a blind child was present at the well. Saint Ronan blessed the well and anointed the child’s eye with its water, miraculously restoring the child's sight.

Education

Taughmaconnell currently has two primary schools, one in Taughmaconnell and one in Castlesampson. At present there are four teachers in Taughmaconnell and two teachers in Castlesampson. Tríona Mc Loughlin is the current principal of Taughmaconnell NS and the school currently has 100 students, it is a

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

school. Reports show the first school in Taughmaconnell was built in 1852 and the old school is dated 1901. Mary Naughton is the current principal of Castlesampson NS and the school currently has 40 students, it is a Catholic school. Reports show the first school in Castlesampson was built in 1853 while the second came in 1881.

Sport

* Soccer – The local soccer team is Skyvalley Rovers which plays in the Roscommon and District League. The club was founded in 1971 and plays at Onagh Park close to Chapel Street the natural parish centre. The team has won 8 league titles, 7 Roscommon Cups and 10 league cups/division cups. The grounds have two full sized pitches. The pitch is also used by St Ronan’s Athletic Club and the Taughmaconnell Community Games are held there every year. * Gaelic Games – The local

GAA Gaa may refer to: * Gaa language, a language of Nigeria * gaa, the ISO 639 code for the Ga language of Ghana GAA may stand for: Compounds * Glacial (water-free), acetic acid * Acid alpha-glucosidase, also known as glucosidase, alpha; acid, an e ...

team is Padraig Pearses GAA Roscommon which is located outside the parish at Woodmount, just off the main Athlone-Ballinasloe N6 road. * Tug of War – The local Tug of War club was established in 2009 and is affiliated to the Irish Tug of War Association. The team trains at Cloonkeen. The team were runners up in the All-Ireland in 2012.

Community Council

The Taughmaconnell Community Council is a local council that helps assist residents of the village. It is made up of 21 representatives from every part of the village.

Notable residents

* John G. Downey – the seventh

Governor of California The governor of California is the head of government of the U.S. state of California. The Governor (United States), governor is the commander-in-chief of the California National Guard and the California State Guard. Established in the Constit ...

from 1860 to 1862 and namesake of

Downey, California Downey is a city located in Southeast Los Angeles County, California, United States, southeast of Downtown Los Angeles. It is considered part of the Gateway Cities. The city is the birthplace of the Apollo space program and Taco Bell. It is ...

– was born in Castlesampson, Taughmaconnell in 1827. * Brendan Shine, folk and country singer

References