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Knockcroghery ({{Irish place name|Cnoc an Chrocaire}}) is a village in County Roscommon, Ireland. It is located between Athlone and Roscommon town, near Lough Ree on the River Shannon. It is one of the closest populations centres to the geographical centre of Ireland.

History

Name

The village nestles at the foot of a stony ridge, which protects it from the east wind that sweeps in from Galey Bay. This accounts

In Cromwellian times (17th century), Sir Charles Coote laid siege to Galey Castle; the Ó Ceallaigh clan resisted, and for their defiance, they were taken to An Creagán and hanged on the stepped hill just north of the village, now commonly known as Hangman's Hill. The village thereafter came to be known as ‘Cnoc an Chrocaire,’ 'the Hill of the Hanging', now Anglicised as ‘Knockcroghery’.^[1]

The Burning of Knockcroghery

In the early hours of 19 June 1921, the Black and Tans set Knockcroghery village alight.^[2] It was an act of vengeance for the killing of a British general in Glassan two days previously by the Westmeath Volunteers. British intelligence agents mistakenly believed that the killers had come from Knockcroghery.

The Black and Tans arrived in four lorries and parked at St. Patrick's Church. Reportedly drunk and dressed in civilian clothing, they put masks on their faces, fired shots into the air and ordered the people out of their homes. They easily set fire to the thatched roofs of the cottages, using petrol. They were less successful in setting Murray's, Flanagan's and the priests' houses alight, due to their slated roofs.

Having no time to take their possessions with them, the people rushed from their houses onto the street, still in their nightshirts.^[3]^[4]

Canon Bartholomew Kelly refused to leave his house, until the Black and Tans began dousing his furniture with petrol. He jumped out of his bedroom window onto a shed twelve feet below, and hid himself until they had left. His slate roof saved his house from being totally destroyed.^[5]

Unable to set Murray's roof alight, the Black and Tans set fire to the back door. John Murray reacted quickly to put the fire out, saving the house. The occupants of the thatched houses did not have this opportunity, and their houses burned to the ground very quickly.

Michael O' Callaghan described the scene: "the raiding forces drove up and down the village, firing shots at random, cursing loudly, and laughing at the plight of the people of Knockcroghery. The people were terrified, particularly the children, whose cries of fear added to the terrible scene."^[6]

The flames above Knockcroghery alerted the people for miles around to what had happened, and by daylight, the street was full of people.^[7] On the evening of the burning, there had been fifteen houses on the main street of Knockcroghery, most of them single-storey thatched cottages. By the following morning, all but four had been burned to the ground.^[8]

Jamesie Murray remembered the assistance given to the now homeless people of Knockcroghery: "They came from all over to help. People brought clothes, and a fund was soon set up. The families who were now homeless were accommodated in the vicinity, many staying with relatives who lived nearby. Farm sheds were converted into temporary dwellings. Canon Kelly and others found temporary accommodation with Knockcroghery's Church of Ireland rector, Canon

Humphries.^[9] Later, three or four new cottages were built on the Shrah road and given to bachelors, who then took people in."^[10]

The village was rebuilt over the next few years, with help from government grants. The rebuilding provided employment locally, at a time when it was needed.

Terror at the fair

In November 1920, an RIC constable named Potter, who was stationed in Kiltoom, was cycling with another constable from Roscommon to Kiltoom. Constable Potter was shot dead on the Athlone side of Knockcroghery railway station. A few days later, while a fair was going on in Knockcroghery, a party of Black and Tans arrived in the village, and in an act of retaliation, rounded up all the men into the handball alley and beat them with bull whips. The Black and Tans seized some tins of paint from a local shop and forced the men to paint over a tricolour that had been painted onto the wall of the handball alley some time previously. They then forced the men to place their hands onto the wet paint and then put their hands into their pockets and wipe them on their clothes.^[11]

Economy

For over 250 years the village was famous for the production of the tobacco clay pipe, or "Dúidín". By the late 1800s there were up to 100 people involved in the manufacture and distribution of the village’s clay pipes. Production ceased abruptly on 19 June 1921 when the village was burned down by the Black and Tans during the Irish War of Independence. Today, a visitor centre and workshop are located on the original site of Andrew and P.J. Curley’s pipe factory, where pipes are handcrafted using the original methods of production. The clay-pipe visitors centre is located in the middle of the village and sells clay-pipes and other hand-crafted souvenirs.

Until the late 20th century, the village contained a number of shops, a butcher's, a chemist, a florist, a petrol station, a post office, four public houses, a railway station and a garda station. With the rise of the private motor car and the associated convenient access to larger towns, many of these businesses and services have closed. Today, there is one shop, three public houses, a post office, a florist and a hairdresser's.

Galey Bay Regattas

From 1872 until 1913 an annual yachting regatta was held by the Lords Crofton, who owned a boathouse on Galey Bay of Lough Ree adjoining Galey castle. These regattas consisted of many visiting house boats being anchored in the bay. The yachts which sailed varied from 25 ton cutters to 18 foot spritsail lake boats. The regattas were the idea of Edward Crofton and his brother Alfred. After most of the lands had been sold to the adjoining farmers the Croftons left the area and the regattas were no more. The Croftons were supported in organising the regattas by enthusiasts who came both from Lough Ree Yacht Club and Lough Derg. Lord Crofton was always the chairman of the organising committee.

Places of interest

Architecture

People

Knockcroghery is known by many as the home of Roscommon's famous All-Ireland winning captain Jimmy Murray (5 May 1917 - 23 January 2007). He captained Roscommon to their only two All-Ireland Senior Football title wins in 1943 and 1944. He was also captain in their 1946 final and replay against Kerry. As the 1943 final also went to a replay, he is the only man to have captained a team in five All-Ireland senior football finals. His public house is a well-known landmark and revered by lovers of Gaelic football from all parts of Ireland.

Events & popular culture

Transport

See also

References

1. ^{{cite web | title=Knockcroghery Village Design Statement 2008 | url=http://www.roscommoncoco.ie/services/planning/VillageDesignStatements/FinalKnockcrogheryVDS.pdf | page=3 }}{{dead link|date=December 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
2. ^{{cite book|last1=Cronin|first1=Denis A|last2=Gilligan|first2=Jim|editor=Karina Holton|title=Irish fairs and markets: studies in local history|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DMWRAAAAIAAJ&q=%22when+black+and+tans+burned+most+of+the+houses+in+the+village%22&dq=%22when+black+and+tans+burned+most+of+the+houses+in+the+village%22&hl=en&ei=m0olTJ6GJI-QOLOQkM4C&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CCgQ6AEwAA|accessdate=2010-06-26|year=2001|publisher=Four Courts Press|isbn=978-1-85182-525-7|page=104}}
3. ^Healy, P., God Save All Here (1999) at p.21.
4. ^Roscommon People, 24 June 2016, at p. 39
5. ^Roscommon People, 24 June 2016, at p. 39
6. ^O' Callaghan, M., For Ireland and Freedom.
7. ^Healy, P. God Save All Here (1999) at p.21.
8. ^Roscommon People, 24 June 2016, at p. 39
9. ^O'Callaghan, M. "For Ireland and Freedom: Roscommon's Contribution to the Fight for Irish Independence" (1964)
10. ^Healy, P. God Save All Here (1999) at p.21.
11. ^O'Callaghan, M. "For Ireland and Freedom: Roscommon's Contribution to the Fight for Irish Independence" (1964)
12. ^https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/books/a-history-of-ireland-in-phrases-as-gaeilge-1.3487776?mode=amp
13. ^Ballagh Montessori Pre-School {{webarchive|url=https://archive.is/20130217210906/http://www.yourlocal.ie/d/creches-co-roscommon/ballagh_montessori_pre_school_090_6488416 |date=2013-02-17 }}
14. ^St Patrick's Church Building
15. ^{{cite web|title=Knockcroghery|url=http://catalogue.nli.ie/Record/vtls000114034|publisher=National Library of Ireland|accessdate=2012-08-03}}
16. ^{{cite web | title=Knockcroghery station | work=Railscot - Irish Railways | url=http://www.railscot.co.uk/Ireland/Irish_railways.pdf | accessdate=2007-10-28}}