Souvenir Booklet 2013

7/27/2019 Souvenir Booklet 2013

1/12

St. Johns Parish Heritage Group

Be excited, be inspired - be there!

18th August 2013

The Rindoon Revival 2013

Souvenir Booklet


2/12

Camelot on the Shannon Rindoon. Built in 1227 by King Henry III of England, populated by up to1000 people in its heyday, a local saw would have it - Rindoon was, as Athlone is and as Lanesboro

might one day be! Destroyed, ruined and forgotten in less that 150 years, one of the most importantmedieval town sites in Ireland has recently found a new lease of life. Six hundred and fifty years afterit was destroyed and forgotten, St. Johns Parish Heritage Group has facilitated the restoration andconservation of the Medieval town walls and the parish church. In addition, a looped walk has been

constructed which has opened up this tranquil farmland peninsula to the interested visitor. From a fewdozen academic visitors a year in 2007 to 6,500 visitors in the year 2011, Rindoon is a national

treasure, just waiting to be explored!

Copyright St. Johns Parish Heritage Group. August 2013.

Booklet produced by Liam Byrne 087 2431240


3/12

The Rindoon Revival 2013.

At the height of it's fame in the late 13th century the Medieval town ofRindoon, in Warren townland in south Roscommon, was an important

meeting place of diverse cultures. An interchange between the Englishand Irish, the town boasted a population of between 800 and 1,000 orabout one-twentieth the size of London at the time! Had both placescontinued to grow apace, Rindoon would today be the second-largestcity in Ireland! Instead Warren is one of a few townlands with zeropopulation.

On Sunday 18th August St. John's Parish Heritage Group will try torecreate this cultural exchange. You are cordially invited to be part of"The Rindoon Revival 2013" to witness what it might have been likewhen Rindoon held a religious or social festival and all the townsfolk,Irish and English, gathered to enjoy the day! Make the event part of yourheritage-schedule, a family fun-day with a difference! Enjoy the beautifulscenery of Lough Ree and the historic ruins of Rindoon and feel inspiredby a place where people lived on the border of two cultures. Rindoon issituated only 20 minutes from Athlone and Roscommon, and weinviteyou, should you wish, to get involved in the spirit of the day by attendingin Medieval costume. Entertainment will be provided from 1.30 pm.

Entry to the event is FREE, howeverwe invite all adults to make avoluntary contribution to our supported charity The Carers Association(Roscommon branch). The Carers Association is Ireland's nationalvoluntary organization for family carers in the home. Family carersprovide high levels of care to a range of people including frail olderpeople, people with severe disabilities, the terminally ill and children withspecial needs.A donation of 2 per adult is suggested.

This event is organized by St. John's Parish Heritage Group as Rindoon

Walled Towns Day 2013, as part of Heritage Week 2013 and TheGathering 2013. Thank you for making this a day to remember.

The Rindoon Revival - Be excited, be inspired you were there!

Follow us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rindoon.revival.2013and Twitter: https://twitter.com/RindoonRevival.
https://www.facebook.com/rindoon.revival.2013https://twitter.com/RindoonRevivalhttps://twitter.com/RindoonRevivalhttps://twitter.com/RindoonRevivalhttps://www.facebook.com/rindoon.revival.2013


4/12

Schedule

Entertainment from 1.30 pm to 2.50 pm including .....

+ Music with Bonnie & the Barflies and Paschal Brennan.

+ Prince & Princess of RindoonCompetition for 6 to 12 year olds.+ Dog Agility Display

+ Medieval butter making.

+ Stocks and sponges.

+ Kick-ball.

+ Tug of War.

+ Pottery demonstration.

+ Archery demonstration.

+ Amateur drama.

+ Rindoon Wall talks ....... and much more.

From 2.50 pm to 3.00 pm we gather for The Family Photograph.

Once boasting a population of 1,000 people, how many will represent

Rindoon in 2013?

Then at 3.15 pm the entertainment finale .....

+ The Roscommon Solstice Choirand guests.

+ Refreshments served all day +

Great entertainment for all the family.


5/12

Entrance

Entertainment area

Car Park


Area Plan.


6/12

Rindoon Medieval TownA Brief History

The deserted Medieval town of Rindoon is situated on a peninsula on the western shore of LoughRee about nine miles north of Athlone. The surviving remains constitute one of the mostimportant complexes of Medieval monuments in Ireland. Though there is little physical evidenceto indicate settlement before the coming of the Normans, the place-name Rinn Din, "the fort ofthe promontory" is itself an indication of pre-Norman activity. In 1156 Ruaidhr Conor drewhis boats over the ice from Galey to Rindoon during a particularly hard winter. The discovery ofan Early Christian cross-slab in the graveyard adjoining the Medieval hospital of the Fratres

Cruciferi indicates that this was an early church site and it was also here that two hand bells and abronze crucifixion plaque, now in the National Museum of Ireland, were found.

Rindoon's possibilities as a bridgehead into Connacht first came to the attention of the Anglo-Normans in 1200/1 when John deCourcy spent a week ferrying his men across Lough Ree fromRindoon, following his defeat in Connacht. Rindoon was occupied by the Normans in 1227 whenToirdelbach Conor and Geoffrey Marisco erected a castle here on behalf of King Henry III ofEngland. The town was also founded about this time because its market cross, bawn and ditch arementioned in 1236 when Phelim Conor attacked the town. No charter of incorporation survives

but references to a portreeve indicate that it was administered by a corporation. The townpossibly served as a processing station for the thousands of cattle paid in annual tribute by theIrish to the English King. At its height, the population of Rindoon is estimated to have been about1000 people, a considerable number, for the period. (The population of London at the time wasapprox 20,000).

The towns first account to the exchequer was in 1241. In 1259 it was assessed for 8-5-8 perannum. By 1285 this had risen to 320 per annum and the town was supplied with corn, cloth andwine from Bordeaux. Rindoon underwent a series of attacks from 1229 until 1321/3 and it is lastmentioned in 1342/3 when it was described as being in Irish hands. In 1544 the Earl ofClanrickarde petitioned for the land of St. John's of Rindoon. The castle may have been in ruins

by this time because the grant eventually made to Christopher Davers and Charles Egingham

mentioned only the hospital of the Crutched Friars and cottages in the town. By 1574 Rindoonwas back in Irish hands but in 1578 it was granted to Thomas Chester and George Goodman oncondition that they maintained one English archer there. In 1605/6 it was granted to EdwardCrofton as "the monastery of St. John the Baptist, alias the Crotched Friars of St John the Baptist... a slated church, belfry, cloister and all other buildings, gardens ... six waste cottages in thetown of St. John's". This and subsequent grants in 1608 indicate that the town had ceased tofunction and was now simply an estate (Rindoon Management Plan 1998)).

In the past five years The Irish Walled Towns Network (part of The Heritage Council) inassociation with St. Johns Parish Heritage Group have spent over a quarter of a million Euro onconservation work at Rindoon. St. Johns Parish Heritage Group would like to thank all those

who have helped, in any way, with this project. We would like especially to thank thelandowners, without whose continued cooperation this Heritage Week event would not bepossible.


7/12

St. Johns Parish Heritage Group.

St. Johns Parish Heritage Group is a voluntary, community based organization founded in July2002 with the aim of promoting and developing local heritage in its widest sense. The Group is

non-political and non-sectarian and the ethos is to promote research into local heritage, toorganize the restoration of sites of local historical significance, to organize lectures, to collectmaterials with a view to publishing local history and to collect funds towards these aims.

Three volumes of local history under the title The Rindoon Journal have been published andcopies are available from any member of the committee or from Liam on 087 2431240. In 2012the Group celebrated its first decade and was honoured with an Athlone Rehab People of theYear Award forputting people at the heart of a local community. The Group also participatedin Roscommon County Council art@work and Pride of Place competitions last year.

St. Johns Parish Heritage Group was selected by The Heritage Council to act as paymaster forthe conservation works undertaken over the past five years at Rindoon. To date over a quarter ofa million euro has been spent on works in the Medieval town and the value of this work is evidenthere today.

In 2010 Rindoon Walled Towns Day was celebrated here and won the inaugural Heritage Councilaward for best event organized by a Community Group. Walled Towns Day was also celebratedin 2011.

St. Johns Parish Heritage Group is a vibrant, active group, committed to enhancing local

heritage. We look forward to many more years of active community involvement.


8/12

Thank you to our sponsors, please support them if you can.

Gold Sponsors

Market Square, Roscommon

www.permanenttsb.ie


Abbey Hotel

Conference & Leisure Centre.

090 6626021

www.abbeyhotel.ie

Michael OBrien

Engineering Works

Carrigeenmore, Knockcroghery.

090 6489047 or 086

2341013

Rinn Dn

Montessori

Pre-SchoolLecarrow

Mary McCormack

087 7987565

The Claypipe Centre, Knockcroghery

www.oghamwish.com

Kellys Lounge

Lecarrow

www.facebook.com/

kellys.bar.77Coffeys Bar www.facebook.com/coffeysbar.lecarrow

St. Johns Parish Heritage Group on the web:

Email: [email protected]

Facebook: http://facebook.com/st.johns.heritage


9/12

Gold Sponsors

Circular Road / Athlone Road,

Roscommon.

090 6625468

Platinum Sponsors

090-6626128

Racecourse Road, Roscommon.

www.xlntsigns.ie

[email protected]

Roscommon


10/12

Platinum Sponsors

Cllr. Laurence Fallon

Ballagh, Knockcroghery

090 6488232

086 8575512

P. Coffey & Sons

Lecarrow

090 6661114

Roscommon

Tyre Centre

Circular Road, Roscommon.

090 6626626

087 9007898

Goff Street, Roscommon

090 6626344

Lecarrow ClaypigeonShooters

Ard Aoibhinn B&B

086 2624636

Island View Canine

Crche

090 6661207


11/12


12/12

Main Sponsors

Luke (Ming)

Flanagan TD

St. Johns Parish Heritage Group would like to thank all of you.Without you this event could not have happened.

http://www.theyewtreeroscommon.com

Lecarrow

Souvenir Booklet 2013

Documents

Transcript of Souvenir Booklet 2013