St.

Johns Parish Heritage Group

The Rindoon Revival 2013

Souvenir Booklet
Be excited, be inspired - be there!

18th August 2013

Camelot on the Shannon Rindoon. Built in 1227 by King Henry III of England, populated by up to 1000 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 important medieval town sites in Ireland has recently found a new lease of life. Six hundred and fifty years after it was destroyed and forgotten, St. Johns Parish Heritage Group has facilitated the restoration and conservation 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 few dozen 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

The Rindoon Revival 2013.

At the height of it's fame in the late 13th century the Medieval town of Rindoon, in Warren townland in south Roscommon, was an important meeting place of diverse cultures. An interchange between the English and Irish, the town boasted a population of between 800 and 1,000 or about one-twentieth the size of London at the time! Had both places continued to grow apace, Rindoon would today be the second-largest city in Ireland! Instead Warren is one of a few townlands with zero population. On Sunday 18th August St. John's Parish Heritage Group will try to recreate this cultural exchange. You are cordially invited to be part of "The Rindoon Revival 2013" to witness what it might have been like when Rindoon held a religious or social festival and all the townsfolk, Irish and English, gathered to enjoy the day! Make the event part of your heritage-schedule, a family fun-day with a difference! Enjoy the beautiful scenery of Lough Ree and the historic ruins of Rindoon and feel inspired by a place where people lived on the border of two cultures. Rindoon is situated only 20 minutes from Athlone and Roscommon, and we invite you, should you wish, to get involved in the spirit of the day by attending in Medieval costume. Entertainment will be provided from 1.30 pm. Entry to the event is FREE, however we invite all adults to make a voluntary contribution to our supported charity The Carers Association (Roscommon branch). The Carers Association is Ireland's national voluntary organization for family carers in the home. Family carers provide high levels of care to a range of people including frail older people, people with severe disabilities, the terminally ill and children with special 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 The Gathering 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.2013 and Twitter: https://twitter.com/RindoonRevival.

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

+ Music with Bonnie & the Barflies and Paschal Brennan. + Prince & Princess of Rindoon Competition 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 Choir and guests.

+ Refreshments served all day +

Great entertainment for all the family.

The Rindoon Revival 2013

Area Plan.

Entrance
Entertainment area Car Park

Rindoon Medieval Town A Brief History

The deserted Medieval town of Rindoon is situated on a peninsula on the western shore of Lough Ree about nine miles north of Athlone. The surviving remains constitute one of the most important complexes of Medieval monuments in Ireland. Though there is little physical evidence to indicate settlement before the coming of the Normans, the place-name Rinn Din, "the fort of the promontory" is itself an indication of pre-Norman activity. In 1156 Ruaidhr Conor drew his boats over the ice from Galey to Rindoon during a particularly hard winter. The discovery of an 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 a bronze 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 AngloNormans in 1200/1 when John deCourcy spent a week ferrying his men across Lough Ree from Rindoon, following his defeat in Connacht. Rindoon was occupied by the Normans in 1227 when Toirdelbach Conor and Geoffrey Marisco erected a castle here on behalf of King Henry III of England. The town was also founded about this time because its market cross, bawn and ditch are mentioned 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 town possibly served as a processing station for the thousands of cattle paid in annual tribute by the Irish to the English King. At its height, the population of Rindoon is estimated to have been about 1000 people, a considerable number, for the period. (The population of London at the time was approx 20,000). The towns first account to the exchequer was in 1241. In 1259 it was assessed for 8-5-8 per annum. By 1285 this had risen to 320 per annum and the town was supplied with corn, cloth and wine from Bordeaux. Rindoon underwent a series of attacks from 1229 until 1321/3 and it is last mentioned in 1342/3 when it was described as being in Irish hands. In 1544 the Earl of Clanrickarde 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 Rindoon was back in Irish hands but in 1578 it was granted to Thomas Chester and George Goodman on condition that they maintained one English archer there. In 1605/6 it was granted to Edward Crofton 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 the town of St. John's". This and subsequent grants in 1608 indicate that the town had ceased to function 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) in association with St. Johns Parish Heritage Group have spent over a quarter of a million Euro on conservation 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 the landowners, without whose continued cooperation this Heritage Week event would not be possible.

St. Johns Parish Heritage Group.

St. Johns Parish Heritage Group is a voluntary, community based organization founded in July 2002 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, to organize the restoration of sites of local historical significance, to organize lectures, to collect materials 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 and copies are available from any member of the committee or from Liam on 087 2431240. In 2012 the Group celebrated its first decade and was honoured with an Athlone Rehab People of the Year Award for putting people at the heart of a local community. The Group also participated in 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 for the conservation works undertaken over the past five years at Rindoon. To date over a quarter of a million euro has been spent on works in the Medieval town and the value of this work is evident here today. In 2010 Rindoon Walled Towns Day was celebrated here and won the inaugural Heritage Council award for best event organized by a Community Group. Walled Towns Day was also celebrated in 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.

The Rindoon Revival 2013

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

Gold Sponsors 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-School

Lecarrow
Mary McCormack
087 7987565

The Claypipe Centre, Knockcroghery

www.oghamwish.com

Kellys Lounge
Lecarrow
www.facebook.com/ kellys.bar.77

Coffeys Bar www.facebook.com/coffeysbar.lecarrow

Market Square, Roscommon

www.permanenttsb.ie

St. Johns Parish Heritage Group on the web:

Email: stjphg@gmail.com Facebook: http://facebook.com/st.johns.heritage

Gold Sponsors

Platinum Sponsors

090-6626128
Racecourse Road, Roscommon.

Roscommon
Circular Road / Athlone Road, Roscommon.

www.xlntsigns.ie xlnt@eircom.net

090 6625468

Platinum Sponsors

P. Coffey & Sons

Cllr. Laurence Fallon
Ballagh, Knockcroghery

Lecarrow
090 6661114

090 6488232 086 8575512

Island View Canine Crche

090 6661207

Roscommon Tyre Centre

Circular Road, Roscommon. 090 6626626

Lecarrow Claypigeon Shooters

087 9007898

Ard Aoibhinn B&B

086 2624636
Goff Street, Roscommon 090 6626344

Platinum Sponsors

Hannons Hotel
Athlone Rd., Roscommon

Killinvoy, Knockcroghery

085 7085661 - 090 6661089 damien@wclquarrying.com

090 6637644 www.hannonshotel.com

Dermot Hughes Cars Ltd.

Athlone Rd., Roscommon www.dermothughescars.ie

090 6460006 info@mmarchitecture.ie

086 2621136

Main Sponsors

http://www.theyewtreeroscommon.com

Lecarrow

Luke (Ming) Flanagan TD

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