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Lough Key is the site of the famous legend of Úna Bhán McDermott & Tomás Láidir Mac Coisdealbha. Lough Key Forest & Activity Park. References: "Lough Key" by Jim McGarry. Lough Key website (see link below). Roscommon County Council website (see home page). |
There are two mythical accounts of the origin of the name Lough Cé (in English Lough Key). John O'Donovan records that it got its name from a woman, Cé, the daughter of Manannan Mac Lir. These were a family of giants from Sligo and she was enchanted, whereupon she fled to Lough Key and was befriended by a man called Kielty. After a year there she returned to Sligo where she fell under the protection of Oisín, whose act of kindness turned her into a beautiful woman. Both of them then travelled to Tír na nÓg. The second account is found in the Book of Lecan, a fifteenth century account by Gilla Isa Mac Firbishigh, a Sligo man, chronicler of the O'Dowds. According to his poem the lake is named after a druid of Nuada, son of Echtach, son of Ederlam and a hero of the warrior group, the Tuatha de Danann. After he had returned from a great battled, injured and bleeding, he sat on a rock at Corr Sliagh. But when he stood up to go the great lake burst up around him, drowning him in the process. The area was the home of many great families, the most notable of which were the MacDermotts. This family was descended from Eochy Moyvane, High King of Ireland, who died in 366 AD. The McDermotts were one of the three great clans of Connacht, the others being the O'Conors and the O'Rourkes. They were supreme rulers of The Plains of Boyle, with their headquarters at The Rock (now called Castle Island) on Lough Key. They were finally displaced about the time of the Williamite Wars. Mc Dermott is still one of the most common names in Co. Roscommon. The area was later planted by the King Family - later Lord Lorton and Rockingham house became the seat of the family in the area. The house was burned down in 1957. The Forest Park, comprising 850 acres, was taken over by the Forestry and Wildlife Service in 1959. They looked after the forest and harvested it from a commercial point of view, but certain areas were open to the public, including the gardens, and a nature trail was eventually developed. The Moylurg Tower was built as a tourist attraction on the site of the old house. The Forestry and Wildlife Service later became Coillte. In recent years Roscommon County Council has become involved in the development of Lough Key into a tourist destination. Within the past few years new attractions have been added, including a tree-canopy walkway which was opened in 2007. Parking and picnic facilities are available. The illustrations on this page show a variety of documents relating to Lough Key. At the top are a booklet (right) and a Folder with map, from the late-mid-twentieth century (probably the 1970's or so). Below these are books, booklets, leaflets and brochures produced in the last twenty years or so to advertise the various attractions to be found in the area. The "Coillte" document (right) is a fold out map.
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"The Castle of Heroes" by James P. McGarry (1965)
Images are not to scale. |
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