Liam Donohoe Dunne
With National Heritage Week 2026 well underway, I sat down with Martin Lynch, a volunteer at Roscommon County Museum on Roscommon town square, to discuss the importance of the week, the events taking place locally and the need to preserve Roscommon’s heritage and culture for future generations.
I began by asking Mr Lynch why he believed it was important to have a National Heritage Week.
“Well, I believe it’s very important. The main focus of National Heritage Week is to generate interest in cultural and natural heritage,” he said.
“It’s all about getting people to increase their awareness of it and become involved in protecting and preserving it for future generations, and also reminding people that we have an amazing heritage in this country going back thousands of years.”
With this year’s Heritage Week focusing on the theme of ‘Heritage at Risk’, I also asked Mr Lynch if there were particular aspects of Ireland’s heritage that he believed were currently under threat.
“I would imagine that quite a lot of it would be under threat, such as old buildings that aren’t
being preserved or kept to a proper standard,” he said.
“Also, the natural environment, forests and boglands, as well as bird preservation areas — all of that would be at risk where they’re not being properly maintained.”
Our conversation concluded on one of the more colourful stories associated with Roscommon’s past, when I asked Mr Lynch to name a favourite tale from local history.
He chose the story of Lady Betty, the legendary 18th-century Roscommon woman who, according to local folklore, faced a death sentence before taking on the role of executioner at Roscommon Gaol in an effort to secure a pardon. Her story subsequently became one of the best-known and most notorious tales in Roscommon folklore.
National Heritage Week offers an opportunity not only to revisit stories such as Lady Betty’s, but also to consider the buildings, landscapes, traditions and local knowledge that form part of Roscommon’s inheritance.
It is ultimately a reminder of the rich heritage that surrounds us — and of the importance of ensuring it is preserved and passed on to future generations.
