Rosses Point (Irish: Ros Cheide, meaning 'promontary of the hill/assembly (trans. Cheide uncertain)'[2] or Irish: An Ros[3]) is a village in County Sligo, Ireland and also the name of the surrounding peninsula.
Rosses Point
Irish: An Ros | |
|---|---|
Village | |
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  Rosses Point Location in Ireland | |
| Coordinates: 54°18′33″N 8°33′58″W / 54.3092°N 8.5661°W | |
| Country | Ireland |
| Province | Connacht |
| County | County Sligo |
| Population | 883 |
| Time zone | UTC+0 (WET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-1 (IST (WEST)) |
| Irish Grid Reference | G631401 |
Rosses Point is at the entrance to Sligo Harbour from Sligo Bay with Oyster island being the long thin landmass notable when entering the village from Sligo town and Inishmulclohy (or Coney Island) being the second and larger island that is encountered.
History and places of interest
editLighthouses
editMetal Man Lighthouse
edit
The Metal Man lighthouse, a 3.7 metre (12 ft) high guardian statue placed offshore at the point by local seafarers in 1821 is maintained by the Commissioners of Irish Lights.[4][5]
Oyster Island Lighthouse
editThe freestanding 12m Oyster Island Lighthouse is prominently visible at the end west end of Oyster Island from the R291 road into Rosses Point.[6][7]
Lower Rosses Lighthouse
editThe Lower Rosses Light is an 8m high square structure on wooden staves to guide boats down the Needles Channel to Drumcliff bay. Originally built in 1908 it is now solar powered. It can be seen at the northern end of the Rosses Point Peninsula.[8][9]
Waiting on Shore monument
edit
The "Waiting on Shore" monument, appropriately situated near the RNLI lifeboat station, depicts a woman holding her arms out to sea. A plate at the base includes the following:
Lost at sea, lost at sea
Or in the evening tide
We loved you, we miss you
May God with you abide.
Spanish shipwrecks
editIn 1985 at Streedagh Strand, north of Rosses Point, marine archeologists uncovered the wrecks of three ships of the Spanish Armada, La Lavia, La Juliana, and Santa Maria de Vison, which a storm drove onto this coast in September 1588.[10][11]
The poet William Butler Yeats and his brother, the artist Jack Butler Yeats, spent their summer holidays at Elsinore House, in Rosses Point.
Elsinore House was the seat of the Middleton Family where the Yeats brothers spent many a summer with their cousins. The house was built by the smuggler John Black or Black Jack. It is said to be still haunted by the ghosts of smugglers tapping on the windows at night. The house has fallen into disrepair and, even though restoration plans have been proposed, it remains derelict.[13][14] In 2016 a Heritage Council funded conservation study was proposed as a first step in securing the future of the historic Elsinore House.[15]
Pier and lifeboat station
editThe Royal National Lifeboat Institution Sligo Bay Lifeboat Station is built next to the pier which harbours a number of fishing vessels.
Amenities
editRosses Point is home to the Sligo Yacht Club, who hold sailing courses for children and adults in the summer months.[citation needed] Also held annually is the West of Ireland Championship which is hosted by County Sligo Golf Club.[citation needed]
Rosses Point has several Blue Flag strands which safe for swimming. Sea angling and boat charters also operate from the area with boats also servicing Coney Island and Inishmurray, and ecotourism cruises.[citation needed]
Events
editThe Rosses Point Shanty Festival is held annually on a weekend around mid June with profits to the RNLI. As well as songs and music there are duck, boating and swim, races, poetry recitals and a cake dance.[16]
Transport
editRosses Point is 8 km from Sligo town along the R291 road. Bus Éireann route S2 provides an hourly bus service during the day.[citation needed]
The Urban Cycle Sligo travel scheme route 006 links Rosses Point to Scotsmans Walk in Sligo Town with dedicated cycle lanes in the R291 road.[17]
Notable people
edit- Peter Mair (1951–2011), political scientist, born Rosses Point[18]
- W. J. M. Starkie (1860–1920), scholar and education reformer, born Rosses Point[citation needed]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Sapmap Area - Settlements - Rosses Point". Census 2016. Central Statistics Office. Retrieved 7 March 2018.
- ^ "Annala Uladh: Annals of Ulster otherwise Annala Senait, Annals of Senat". Archived from the original on 17 December 2013. Retrieved 1 June 2021.
- ^ "An Ros/Rosses Point". Placenames Database of Ireland. Government of Ireland - Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht and Dublin City University. Retrieved 18 March 2017.
- ^ "Metal Man (Co Sligo)". Commissioners of Irish Lights. Retrieved 29 March 2017.
- ^ Murphy, Willie. "The Metal Man". Retrieved 29 March 2017.
- ^ "Oyster Island Lighthouse, Rosses Point, County Sligo". Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht. Retrieved 28 March 2017.
- ^ "Oyster Island Lighthouse". Commissioners of Irish Lights. Retrieved 28 March 2017.
- ^ "Lower Rosses". 6 May 2015. Retrieved 29 March 2017.
- ^ "Lower Rosses Point". Commissioners of Irish Lights. Retrieved 29 March 2017.
- ^ "The Spanish Armada in Sligo". Retrieved 21 November 2012.
- ^ Birch, Steven; McElvogue, D. M. (1999). "La Lavia, La Juliana and the Santa Maria de Vison: three Spanish Armada transports lost off Streedagh Strand, Co Sligo: an interim report". International Journal of Nautical Archaeology. 28 (3): 265–276. doi:10.1111/j.1095-9270.1999.tb00836.x.
- ^ "Elsinore House, Rosses Point". An Taisce. Retrieved 28 March 2017.
- ^ "Condition of Yeats's holiday home a 'scandal'". The Irish Times. 2 August 2012. Retrieved 21 November 2012.
- ^ "Stories behind the book: haunted houses and pirate smugglers in Sligo". Royal Dublin Society. 28 January 2010. Archived from the original on 3 April 2012. Retrieved 21 November 2012.
- ^ Henderson, Luke (24 August 2016). "First step taken to save Elsinore House". Sligo Weekender. Retrieved 20 November 2018.
- ^ "Rosses Point Shanty Festival". Rosses Point Shanty Festival. Retrieved 29 March 2017.
- ^ "Route 006: Rosses Point to Sligo Town". Urban Cycle Sligo. Retrieved 3 May 2017.
- ^ "Political scientist of worldwide repute". The Irish Times. 20 August 2011. Archived from the original on 3 May 2012. Retrieved 8 June 2023.
External links
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