County Roscommon is blessed with a number of stately homes and ‘landed estates’ and Mount Talbot native, Paul Connolly’s new book, aptly titled ‘The Landed Estates of County Roscommon’, goes a long way in capturing the history and folklore behind each of these grand properties.
An example of the attention to detail and interesting background provided by Paul can be found in this brief taster pertaining to Mount Talbot House taken from the book:
‘The house was abandoned in 1922 and the contents were sold at auction in 1924. The chairs were recently offered for sale with a guide price of over six figures, these chairs contain the Talbot and Crosbie crest. The area around the stag’s head contained red Moroccan velvet (from items listed in insurance document in IAA).’
Readers will also be fascinated by the activities of characters such as Lanty Moore, who once lived at Coolougher House, west of Castlerea.
As Paul describes: ‘The house was built in 1789 and was part of the Sandford estate. A rent collector for the Sandford’s called Lanty Moore lived at Coolougher. Lanty was deported to Australia after the authorities found out he was a member of the Young Irelanders’.
Paul Connolly’s ‘The Landed Estates of County Roscommon’ will be officially launched by Roscommon County Council Tourism Officer Eimear Dowd this Saturday at 6 pm (November 3rd) at Gleeson’s Townhouse in Roscommon town. It will then be available priced €30 from various outlets as well as online worldwide through the Úna Bhán shop on the grounds of King House in Boyle.
