Tulrush is a small

townland A townland (; Ulster-Scots: ''toonlann'') is a traditional small land division used in Ireland and in the Western Isles of Scotland, typically covering . The townland system is of medieval Gaelic origin, predating the Norman invasion, and mo ...

on the

River Suck The River Suck ( ) is a river within the Shannon River Basin in Ireland, 133 km (82.5 mi) in length. It is the main tributary of the River Shannon. It meets the Shannon a kilometre south of the village of Shannonbridge. Name The riv ...

near

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 ...

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 ...

. It is approximately in area and located in the historical

barony Barony may refer to: * Barony, the peerage, office of, or territory held by a baron * Barony, the title and land held in fealty by a feudal baron * Barony (county division), a type of administrative or geographical division in parts of the British ...

of Moycarn 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 ...

. As of the 2011 census, Tulrush townland had a population of 16 people. As it is on the eastern bank of the River Suck, Tulrush is a part of County Roscommon. It is a part of

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 ...

of Creagh, which spans into

County Galway County Galway ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Northern and Western Region, taking up the south of the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht. The county population was 276,451 at the 20 ...

. Tulrush was listed alongside Galway townlands in ''

Griffith's valuation Griffith's Valuation was a boundary and land valuation survey of Ireland completed in 1868. Griffith's background Richard John Griffith started to value land in Scotland, where he spent two years in 1806–1807 valuing terrain through the examin ...

'' of 1868. Tulrush is bounded on one side by the River Suck, main tributary to the

River Shannon The River Shannon ( or archaic ') is the major river on the island of Ireland, and at in length, is the longest river in the British Isles. It drains the Shannon River Basin, which has an area of , – approximately one fifth of the area of I ...

which it joins approx further on at Shannonbridge. Two River Suck fords (one at Pollboy and the other named "Riley's") were local crossing points. These fords were used in 1691 during the

Williamite War in Ireland The Williamite War in Ireland took place from March 1689 to October 1691. Fought between Jacobitism, Jacobite supporters of James II of England, James II and those of his successor, William III of England, William III, it resulted in a Williamit ...

by the army of the Jacobite general Marquis de St Ruth, moving from the

Siege of Athlone Athlone was besieged twice during the Williamite War in Ireland (1689–91). The town is situated in the centre of Ireland on the River Shannon and commanded the bridge crossing the river into the Jacobitism, Jacobite-held province of Connacht ...

to take part in the

Battle of Aughrim The Battle of Aughrim () was the decisive battle of the Williamite War in Ireland. It was fought between the largely Irish Army (Kingdom of Ireland), Irish Jacobitism, Jacobite army loyal to James II of England, James II and the forces of Will ...

, where he was defeated by the Williamite general Godert de Ginkell. In the 18th and 19th centuries, the River Suck ford between Tulrush and Pollboy was crossable for carts via a wooden bridge and widely used to access the mill on the Pollboy side. This mill was demolished in the 1990s to facilitate the new N6 motorway and riverboat passage. A village/community of houses existed in the 19th century on the edge of Tulrush Bog and near Tulrush Hill. The last residents left there in the 1950s. Ownership and control of the majority of the land in Tulrush rested with a landlord, the remnants of whose house are still visible overlooking the River Suck and facing towards Ballinasloe. Hamilton Barrett, the last landlord, died in the early 1940s, and his lands (approx of grazing, arable, callow) were taken over by the Land Commission and divided between four local families. The

M6 motorway The M6 motorway is the longest motorway in the United Kingdom. It is located entirely within England, running for just over from the Midlands to the border with Scotland. It begins at Junction 19 of the M1 motorway, M1 and the western end of t ...

passes through Tulrush with an entry ramp, near this point.

References

Townlands of County Roscommon {{Roscommon-geo-stub