Drumsna
Encyclopedia
Drumsna is a village in County Leitrim
, Ireland
. It is situated 6 km east of Carrick-on-Shannon
on the River Shannon
and is located off the N4 National primary route
which links Dublin and Sligo
. The harbour dates to 1817 and was a hive of commercial waterway activity until the more northern navigation canal to Carrick-on-Shannon
was opened in 1850. Today, the waterway is busy with anglers and touristic pursuits in the summer months but at a much more leisurely pace.
The Doon (from Dun, a fort) evidently was designed primarily to protect the seat of Connacht government at Rathcroghan 14 miles (22.5 km) to the Southwest from invaders from the north. In practice it must have been most beneficial to the people of the area immediately south of it: the area that would a millennium later become the O'Beirne country of Tir Briuin. The reason for the location of the Doon is that on the east, north, and especially the west sides of the peninsula are the only shallows that can be forded on the River Shannon north of Athlone. By blocking where invaders from the north could enter Roscommon. most readily the Doon was a major defence in the northern frontier of Connacht.
The main barrier was a massive earthen rampart across the neck of the peninsula in what are now the townlands of Ardanaffrin and Lackagh, south of the T3 main road between Longford town and Carrick-on-Shannon which crosses the bridges at Drumsna and Jamestown. The canal shown on the map is not part of the Doon; it dates from the 19th century. The main earthworks were about 6m high and 30m wide. Smaller earthworks with a ditch between them paralleled it on both its northern and southern sides, around 4m and 40m respectively from the main barrier. Its northern side was steeply scarped and faced an almost impassable bog up to 100 km wide which, however, could be crossed on two drier ridges, each leading to a large gap or gate in the barriers. The main gate was 26m wide and had gateposts that would have been 2m square. The eastern gate was 23m wide at its northern entrance funnelling to 16m. Purposes of the gates evidently were to enable refugees from the north to be screened as potential friends or enemies and cattle raided in the north to be brought to protection in the south.
There were two subsidiary barriers. One ran south from the western end of the main one along the shallows there, especially at Corry township. Its surviving remains indicate that it consisted of parallel banks and ditches. The second subsidiary barrier apparently extended north from the eastern end of the main earthworks towards Drumsna Bridge. Its purpose evidently was to keep out invaders by boat from the eastern side of the Shannon. Kane's discovery of iron-shod wooden piles implies that this barrier was a forest of large stakes made from tree-trunks.
Condit and Buckley estimated that the fortifications could have required the work of 10,000 people for two years, 50,000 to 60,000 trees, and removal of 150,000 cubic meters of earth. They suggested that they date from the Iron Age, two thousand or more years ago at the time of the Táin Bó Cúailnge
and of the troubles between Queen Medb
of Connacht and the peoples of the north. Though the Doon dates from long before the O'Beirnes became a Sept it is the most important archaeological site in Tir Briuin and one of the two most important of its particular kind in Ireland - the other is the similar Dorsey
in Armagh. As such it deserves far more attention and publicity, and indeed preservation, than it has had hitherto. And it might be renamed more geographically accurately "The Doon of Tir Briuin".
Ashfort House, near Drumsna, was originally the home of the Caulfield family. It was purchased by the Waldrons of Cartron in 1744. It was here in January 1848 that Hubert Kelly Waldron JP was murdered in a non-political incident when the local coroner attempted to serve him with a writ.
Until 1996 the main N4 Dublin to Sligo road passed through the village which was then bypassed.
After an unhappy childhood, and an unpromising start to his career, Trollope went on to write 47 novels and rise to the top of his profession as a senior civil servant in the Post Office, he also was responsible for the introduction of the pillar box
.
It was during his stay in The Ivy Tree Inn (now Taylor's Pub) Drumsna that Trollope was inspired to write his first (and some might claim) best novel; The MacDermots of Ballycloran. Trollope based his story on local characters and set the plot around the melanchony ruins of Ballycloran Castle on the outskirts of Drumsna village, these ruins still stand today.
Anthony Trollope went on to became one of the most successful, prolific and respected English language novelists of the Victorian era. Some of Trollope's best-loved works, known as the Chronicles of Barsetshire revolve around the imaginary county of Barsetshire. He also wrote penetrating novels on political, social, and gender issues and conflicts of his day. Trollope died in London in 1882 and is buried in Kensal Green Cemetery
.
After 13 years as tenants on the England land, in 1773 Robert purchased 50 acres (202,343 m²) from Mr. John England for the sum of £50. However, in 1776, he was offered a home, rent free, on the Hampton Estate owned by Captain Ridgely, whose wife was an ardent Methodist. However, his ministry was not to last much longer. On a preaching mission, in 1781, not far from his home, he succumbed to an unspecified illness and died at age 49 on the Wheeler farm in Riderwood. An early convert of Robert’s, Richard Owings, preached the funeral sermon, and Strawbridge was buried at the Wheeler Farm.
The Wesleyan historical society erected a memorial to Robert Strawbride in Drumsna in 1992.
Parke studied medicine at the Royal College of Surgeons and practised in the City of Dublin Hospital in Baggot Street. He then served in the Richmond, Whitworth and Hardwicke Hospitals, before finally getting his license from the Royal College of Surgeons of Ireland in 1878.
He served on the relief expedition to Khartoum to relieve the doomed General Gordon
in 1885 and accompanied Sir Henry Stanley
on his famous Nile Expedition of 1887.
When he died in Scotland his coffin was brought back to Ireland and drawn on a gun carriage from the Dublin docks to Broadstone station for his final journey to his beloved Drumsna. He was buried in the old village churchard, aged just 36.
A bronze statue of Parke stands on Merrion Street in Dublin, outside the Natural History Museum. On the granite pedestal is a bronze plaque depicting the incident on August 13, 1887 when Parke sucked the poison from an arrow wound in the chest of Capt. William G. Stairs to save his life. In addition to the statue, Parke's uniform and some of his personal belongings (his uniform etc) can be seen on the first floor of the Museum.
The Shannon flows through the village and there are several good fishing lakes close by. The Shannon has Bream, Rudd, Roach, Tench, Perch and Pike. Lough Aduff just outside the village is a very good Bream and Roach water with good Tench present to 5 lb (2.3 kg) . Headford is a small lake located about 1½ mile north east of the village of Drumsna, this lake has a good stock of Bream to 3 lb (1.4 kg) and some very good Tench fishing can be had here, especially during the summer months.
County Leitrim
County Leitrim is a county in Ireland. It is located in the West Region and is also part of the province of Connacht. It is named after the village of Leitrim. Leitrim County Council is the local authority for the county...
, Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
. It is situated 6 km east of Carrick-on-Shannon
Carrick-on-Shannon
Carrick-on-Shannon is the county town of County Leitrim in Ireland. It is also the smallest main county town in the country . It is situated on a strategic crossing point of the River Shannon and is the largest town in the county. The population of the town was 3,163 in 2006. It is in the barony...
on the River Shannon
River Shannon
The River Shannon is the longest river in Ireland at . It divides the west of Ireland from the east and south . County Clare, being west of the Shannon but part of the province of Munster, is the major exception...
and is located off the N4 National primary route
Roads in Ireland
The island of Ireland, comprising Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, has an extensive network of tens of thousands of kilometres of public roads, usually surfaced. These roads have been developed and modernised over centuries, from trackways suitable only for walkers and horses, to...
which links Dublin and Sligo
Sligo
Sligo is the county town of County Sligo in Ireland. The town is a borough and has a charter and a town mayor. It is sometimes referred to as a city, and sometimes as a town, and is the second largest urban area in Connacht...
. The harbour dates to 1817 and was a hive of commercial waterway activity until the more northern navigation canal to Carrick-on-Shannon
Carrick-on-Shannon
Carrick-on-Shannon is the county town of County Leitrim in Ireland. It is also the smallest main county town in the country . It is situated on a strategic crossing point of the River Shannon and is the largest town in the county. The population of the town was 3,163 in 2006. It is in the barony...
was opened in 1850. Today, the waterway is busy with anglers and touristic pursuits in the summer months but at a much more leisurely pace.
Doon of Drumsna
An extraordinary man-made prehistoric fortification was identified only relatively recently in the Shannon-surrounded peninsula that is the northern tip of Kilmore Parish, in the Barony of Ballintober North, County Roscommon. Known as the "Doon of Drumsna" (though Drumsna is in County Leitrim) it was described in 1915 by W. F. de Vismes Kane - incidentally, the leading Irish entomologist of his time - in the Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy 32c: 324-332. In the 1980s it was investigated by Dublin Office of Public Works archaeologists Tom Condit and Victor Buckley with the aid of geophysical expert Damien McGarry and a grant from the Royal Irish Academy. They published their conclusions in 1989 in the journal Emania (6: 12-14). The following is summarised from those publications.The Doon (from Dun, a fort) evidently was designed primarily to protect the seat of Connacht government at Rathcroghan 14 miles (22.5 km) to the Southwest from invaders from the north. In practice it must have been most beneficial to the people of the area immediately south of it: the area that would a millennium later become the O'Beirne country of Tir Briuin. The reason for the location of the Doon is that on the east, north, and especially the west sides of the peninsula are the only shallows that can be forded on the River Shannon north of Athlone. By blocking where invaders from the north could enter Roscommon. most readily the Doon was a major defence in the northern frontier of Connacht.
The main barrier was a massive earthen rampart across the neck of the peninsula in what are now the townlands of Ardanaffrin and Lackagh, south of the T3 main road between Longford town and Carrick-on-Shannon which crosses the bridges at Drumsna and Jamestown. The canal shown on the map is not part of the Doon; it dates from the 19th century. The main earthworks were about 6m high and 30m wide. Smaller earthworks with a ditch between them paralleled it on both its northern and southern sides, around 4m and 40m respectively from the main barrier. Its northern side was steeply scarped and faced an almost impassable bog up to 100 km wide which, however, could be crossed on two drier ridges, each leading to a large gap or gate in the barriers. The main gate was 26m wide and had gateposts that would have been 2m square. The eastern gate was 23m wide at its northern entrance funnelling to 16m. Purposes of the gates evidently were to enable refugees from the north to be screened as potential friends or enemies and cattle raided in the north to be brought to protection in the south.
There were two subsidiary barriers. One ran south from the western end of the main one along the shallows there, especially at Corry township. Its surviving remains indicate that it consisted of parallel banks and ditches. The second subsidiary barrier apparently extended north from the eastern end of the main earthworks towards Drumsna Bridge. Its purpose evidently was to keep out invaders by boat from the eastern side of the Shannon. Kane's discovery of iron-shod wooden piles implies that this barrier was a forest of large stakes made from tree-trunks.
Condit and Buckley estimated that the fortifications could have required the work of 10,000 people for two years, 50,000 to 60,000 trees, and removal of 150,000 cubic meters of earth. They suggested that they date from the Iron Age, two thousand or more years ago at the time of the Táin Bó Cúailnge
Táin Bó Cúailnge
is a legendary tale from early Irish literature, often considered an epic, although it is written primarily in prose rather than verse. It tells of a war against Ulster by the Connacht queen Medb and her husband Ailill, who intend to steal the stud bull Donn Cuailnge, opposed only by the teenage...
and of the troubles between Queen Medb
Medb
Medb – Middle Irish: Meḋḃ, Meaḋḃ; early modern Irish: Meadhbh ; reformed modern Irish Méabh, Medbh; sometimes Anglicised Maeve, Maev or Maive – is queen of Connacht in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology...
of Connacht and the peoples of the north. Though the Doon dates from long before the O'Beirnes became a Sept it is the most important archaeological site in Tir Briuin and one of the two most important of its particular kind in Ireland - the other is the similar Dorsey
Dorsey Village
Dorsy or Dorsey is a small village and townland between Belleeks and Cullyhanna in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. It has an estimated population of 130-160 people and includes about 30-35 houses.-'Dorsey ramparts':...
in Armagh. As such it deserves far more attention and publicity, and indeed preservation, than it has had hitherto. And it might be renamed more geographically accurately "The Doon of Tir Briuin".
19th and 20 centuries
In the late 19th century, Drumsna was the main trading town in Leitrim with its own jail and courthouse. It was the rest place for horse drawn carriages and the harbour was a thriving delivery port. In 1850, the construction of the canal led to a change of the Shannon navigation which altered the status of Drumsna.Ashfort House, near Drumsna, was originally the home of the Caulfield family. It was purchased by the Waldrons of Cartron in 1744. It was here in January 1848 that Hubert Kelly Waldron JP was murdered in a non-political incident when the local coroner attempted to serve him with a writ.
Until 1996 the main N4 Dublin to Sligo road passed through the village which was then bypassed.
People
- Admiral Sir Josias Rowley, 1st Baronet R.N.,G.C.B.,G.C.M.G. (1765-1842). Second son of Clotworthy Rowley & Letitia (nee Campbell) of Mountcampbell estate, Drumsna. Following a strong family tradition, Josias joined the Royal NavyRoyal NavyThe Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
at an early age and served an illustrious career during the Napolionic wars and was created a baronet after capturing the Indian Ocean islands of ReunionReunion-Geography:* Réunion, a French island in the Indian Ocean* Reunion, Colorado, United States* Reunion District, Dallas, Texas, United States* La Reunion , a 19th century French colony in today's Dallas, Texas...
and MauritiusMauritiusMauritius , officially the Republic of Mauritius is an island nation off the southeast coast of the African continent in the southwest Indian Ocean, about east of Madagascar...
from the French. A forgotten naval hero in many ways, having no family heirs to continue his baronet titles, he retired back to Mountcampbell after the wars and is buried at Annaduff church along with other members of the family including his younger brother Vice Admiral Samuel Rowley R.N.
- The writer Anthony TrollopeAnthony TrollopeAnthony Trollope was one of the most successful, prolific and respected English novelists of the Victorian era. Some of his best-loved works, collectively known as the Chronicles of Barsetshire, revolve around the imaginary county of Barsetshire...
(24 April 1815 – 6 December 1882), lived in the village for a period during the 1840s, where he wrote The Macdermots of BallycloranThe Macdermots of BallycloranThe Macdermots of Ballycloran is a novel by Anthony Trollope. It was Trollope's first published novel, which he began in September 1843 and completed by June 1845. However, it was not published until 1847...
.
After an unhappy childhood, and an unpromising start to his career, Trollope went on to write 47 novels and rise to the top of his profession as a senior civil servant in the Post Office, he also was responsible for the introduction of the pillar box
Pillar box
A pillar box is a free-standing post box. They are found in the United Kingdom and in most former nations of the British Empire, members of the Commonwealth of Nations and British overseas territories, such as the Republic of Ireland, Australia, India and Gibraltar...
.
It was during his stay in The Ivy Tree Inn (now Taylor's Pub) Drumsna that Trollope was inspired to write his first (and some might claim) best novel; The MacDermots of Ballycloran. Trollope based his story on local characters and set the plot around the melanchony ruins of Ballycloran Castle on the outskirts of Drumsna village, these ruins still stand today.
Anthony Trollope went on to became one of the most successful, prolific and respected English language novelists of the Victorian era. Some of Trollope's best-loved works, known as the Chronicles of Barsetshire revolve around the imaginary county of Barsetshire. He also wrote penetrating novels on political, social, and gender issues and conflicts of his day. Trollope died in London in 1882 and is buried in Kensal Green Cemetery
Kensal Green Cemetery
Kensal Green Cemetery is a cemetery in Kensal Green, in the west of London, England. It was immortalised in the lines of G. K. Chesterton's poem The Rolling English Road from his book The Flying Inn: "For there is good news yet to hear and fine things to be seen; Before we go to Paradise by way of...
.
Ballycloran
"I was located at a little town called Drumsna, or rather village, in the county Leitrim, where the postmaster had come to some sorrow about his money; and my friend John Merivale was staying with me for a day or two. As we were taking a walk in that most uninteresting country, we turned up through a deserted gateway, along a weedy, grass-grown avenue, till we came to the modern ruins of a country house. It was one of the most melancholy spots I ever visited. I will not describe it here, because I have done so in the first chapter of my first novel. We wandered about the place, suggesting to each other causes for the misery we saw there, and, while I was still among the ruined walls and decayed beams, I fabricated the plot of The Macdermots of Ballycloran." Anthony Trollope. Anthony Trollope is universally recognised as one of the great Victorian novelists, however when he visited Drumsna in 1843 he was in the middle of an unpromising career in the postal service, he went on to write 47 novels and rise to the top of his profession as a senior civil servant. Now we are not promising that Drumsna works this magic on everyone who visits or stays here, but we don't rule it out either. The poetic inspiration that AT took from Drumsna and the surrounds of Ballycloran Castle also inspired the people of Drumsna in their own artistic endeavor with the making of Ballycloran Revisited in 2006. Anthony Trollope was further remembered in the village with the launch of the Historic Trollope Trail by President Mary McAleese in September 2008.- Robert StrawbridgeRobert StrawbridgeRobert Strawbridge was a Methodist preacher born in Drumsna, County Leitrim, Ireland.A member of the single Protestant family in the area, he moved first to Sligo, then emigrated to Frederick County, Maryland between 1760 and 1766. He began preaching in Maryland soon after his arrival, making him...
(1732–1781), one of the pioneers of MethodismMethodismMethodism is a movement of Protestant Christianity represented by a number of denominations and organizations, claiming a total of approximately seventy million adherents worldwide. The movement traces its roots to John Wesley's evangelistic revival movement within Anglicanism. His younger brother...
in the United StatesUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, was born in Gortconnellan, Drumsna. He was a member of the only Protestant family in Drumsna. He moved first to Sligo and then emigrated to Maryland USA in the early-to-mid 1760's. Strawbridge formed the First Society of Methodism in America which met in the home of John England and the altar he built there was made with wood brought from his farm in Drumsna. A second Methodist class was formed nearby at the Andrew Poulson’s home, when the crowds became too large for the Poulson house, Robert would preach under an old oak tree in the meadow which was called "Strawbridge Oak".
After 13 years as tenants on the England land, in 1773 Robert purchased 50 acres (202,343 m²) from Mr. John England for the sum of £50. However, in 1776, he was offered a home, rent free, on the Hampton Estate owned by Captain Ridgely, whose wife was an ardent Methodist. However, his ministry was not to last much longer. On a preaching mission, in 1781, not far from his home, he succumbed to an unspecified illness and died at age 49 on the Wheeler farm in Riderwood. An early convert of Robert’s, Richard Owings, preached the funeral sermon, and Strawbridge was buried at the Wheeler Farm.
The Wesleyan historical society erected a memorial to Robert Strawbride in Drumsna in 1992.
- Thomas Heazle ParkeThomas Heazle ParkeSurgeon-General Thomas Heazle Parke was an Irish doctor, explorer, soldier and naturalist.Parke was born in 1857 at Clogher House in Kilmore, County Roscommon, Ireland, and was brought up in Carrick-on-Shannon, County Leitrim...
, African explorer and surgeon (1857–1893), was born in Clogher House, Drumsna, Co Roscommon. He received his formal education at the Reverend Edward Power's private school, which was located at 3 Harrington Street, in Dublin.
Parke studied medicine at the Royal College of Surgeons and practised in the City of Dublin Hospital in Baggot Street. He then served in the Richmond, Whitworth and Hardwicke Hospitals, before finally getting his license from the Royal College of Surgeons of Ireland in 1878.
He served on the relief expedition to Khartoum to relieve the doomed General Gordon
George Gordon
George Gordon may refer to:*George Croughly Gordon , Scottish amateur international footballer*George Henry Gordon , U.S...
in 1885 and accompanied Sir Henry Stanley
Henry Morton Stanley
Sir Henry Morton Stanley, GCB, born John Rowlands , was a Welsh journalist and explorer famous for his exploration of Africa and his search for David Livingstone. Upon finding Livingstone, Stanley allegedly uttered the now-famous greeting, "Dr...
on his famous Nile Expedition of 1887.
When he died in Scotland his coffin was brought back to Ireland and drawn on a gun carriage from the Dublin docks to Broadstone station for his final journey to his beloved Drumsna. He was buried in the old village churchard, aged just 36.
A bronze statue of Parke stands on Merrion Street in Dublin, outside the Natural History Museum. On the granite pedestal is a bronze plaque depicting the incident on August 13, 1887 when Parke sucked the poison from an arrow wound in the chest of Capt. William G. Stairs to save his life. In addition to the statue, Parke's uniform and some of his personal belongings (his uniform etc) can be seen on the first floor of the Museum.
Angling
Drumsna is widely acknowledged as an anglers paradise. The many unpolluted lakes and rivers in the area support a huge population of wild fish. Coarse fish species include Bream, Roach, Rudd, Hybrids, Tench, Pike, Perch and Eels.The Shannon flows through the village and there are several good fishing lakes close by. The Shannon has Bream, Rudd, Roach, Tench, Perch and Pike. Lough Aduff just outside the village is a very good Bream and Roach water with good Tench present to 5 lb (2.3 kg) . Headford is a small lake located about 1½ mile north east of the village of Drumsna, this lake has a good stock of Bream to 3 lb (1.4 kg) and some very good Tench fishing can be had here, especially during the summer months.
Drumsna Roman Catholic Church
Built in 1845 and part financed from the proceeds of a trip to Rome by the then Parish Priest, Father George Geraghty, the building boasts one of the largest church bells in the country. The church also contains a statue to the Virgin Mary which was the only surviving item from Belmount House when it was destroyed by fire. Sunday mass is celebrated in the church by Father John Wall at 9:30 am.Transport
- Drumsna railway station opened on 1 September 1863, and finally closed on 17 June 1963.
List of Townlands around Drumsna
- EffrinaghEffrinaghEffrinagh is a townland in County Leitrim. Effrinagh is a place about five miles east of Carrick on Shannon. It remains a quiet place in spite of its proximity to the bustle and hustle of Carrick. It is dotted with lakes and traversed by boreens the Council does not frequently maintain...
- Mountcampbell
- Foxborough
- Lavagh
- Lisduff
- DristernanDristernanDristernan is a townland in County Leitrim, Ireland....
- Gortconellan
- Lislea
- Drumnadober
- Charlestown
- Gowel
- Liscallyroan
See also
- List of towns and villages in Ireland