ROSCOMMON, a county in the province of Connaught in Ireland, bounded on the north by Sligo and Leitrim; on the east by the river Shannon, which separates it from Longford and Westmeath; on the south by Galway; and on the west by Mayo. It is of a very irregular form, extending about 60 miles from north to south, at both which extremities its breadth is greatly contracted; from east to west its greatest extent is about 87 miles; and it contains 869 square miles, or 556,847 English acres, divided into six baronies and 56 parishes. Of these parishes, 50 belong to the see of Elphin, and the rest to those of Tuam, Clonfert, and Ardagh. Roscommon, the county town, situated near its centre, is in north latitude , west longitude , about 89 English miles W. N. W. of Dublin.
This is for the most part a flat country; in some places sprinkled with rocks, in many interrupted by extensive bogs; but having few hills, except in its northern quarter, where the Curlew Mountains form its boundary with Sligo. In this quarter, at Arigna, coal and iron-works were carried on a few years ago, but afterwards discontinued. The soil is for the most part rich, incumbent upon limestone, and adapted to either tillage or grazing. The rivers are the Shannon and the Suck. The Shannon flows along the eastern boundary for about 60 miles, and is there navigable for small vessels. In its course it forms several fine lakes, of which the most considerable are Loughs Ree, Baffin, and Allen. The Suck, in like manner, separates this county from Galway on the south and west. Both flow south, and almost parallel to each other, till the Suck, turning to the east, joins the Shannon a little to the north of Clonfert. There are several other lakes, the largest of which is Lough Key, on the north side, distinguished for its beautiful scenery of wooded islands and surrounding groves.
Here, as in most parts of Ireland, the estates were once very large; but they have been broken down in some instances, by the granting of leases in perpe-
tuity; a practice which has given rise to a class of landholders, interposed between a few great proprietors on the one hand, and a numerous body of cultivators on the other.
Roscommon is chiefly a grazing county, and feeds some of the best long-horned cattle and long-woolled sheep in Ireland, but there are few dairies. During the late war its fine green pastures, under this management, afforded a very ample rent, and tillage was therefore conducted on a small scale; but the plough has been more in request since the peace, both here and in other parts of Ireland; and the soil of such rich grazing lands requiring nothing more than the common operations of tillage to yield large crops, the growth of corn throughout Ireland has been greatly increased. Yet within these few years agriculture was here in a very backward state. "In Roscommon," says Mr Wakefield, "I heard of horses being yoked to the plough by the tail, but I had not an opportunity of seeing this curious practice. I was, however, assured by Dean French, that it is still common with two-year-old colts in the spring." Potatoes, oats, and flax, are the principal crops.
There are no large towns here. The principal towns are, Boyle, Roscommon, the county town, Stoketown, and Elphin, the birth-place of Oliver Goldsmith; none of which are so considerable as to be represented in Parliament; though Roscommon, Boyle, and Tulske, the latter a wretched village, had each two representatives in the Irish Parliament. The county itself, in which the Catholic interest predominates, sends two members to the Parliament of the United Kingdom. In 1791 the population was estimated to be 86,000, nearly all Catholics; and by the census of 1821 the number is 207,777. The English and Irish languages are spoken in most parts of the county with equal facility.—See the general works quoted under the former Irish counties. (A.)