page_title: Roscrea
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Roscrea / History
caption_attribution_description: Roscrea, County Tipperary, Ireland English: South-west view of Roscrea Friary.
context_page_description: Roscrea is a historical market town in County Tipperary, Ireland. In 2016 the town had a population of 5,446. The town is one of the oldest in Ireland, having developed around the ancient monastery of Saint Crónán of Roscrea, parts of which remain preserved today.
  Roscrea is a designated Irish Heritage Town due to the extent of important historical buildings that are preserved in the town. Amongst the most notable buildings of interest are the 13th century Roscrea Castle and Damer House on Castle Street. Within the town are the remains of the ancient Romanesque doorway and gable-end of St Cronan's church. The Round Tower and the High cross of the ancient monastery are also located nearby. Also of interest in the town are the remains of the 15th century Franciscan Friary and Monaincha and Sean Ross Abbeys. One of the most famous books produced by the monastery is the Book of Dimma currently on display at Trinity College, Dublin
context_section_description: Early History & Medieval Period c. 550–1500
  Roscrea has historically been an important trading town. The settlement grew around an ancient church or monastery, founded by St. Cronan in the late 6th century. The town is situated strategically in a gap in the hills on one of the great ancient roads of Ireland, the Slighe Dála.  It became an important ecclesiastical centre evidenced by the beautiful west gable of a Romanesque church, a 12th-century sculptured High Cross, and a round tower also built during the 12th century. The round tower has a doorway 4.6 m (15 ft) from the ground and is the oldest surviving part of the ancient monastery. The usual conical cap is missing as the tower was shortened by around 6 m (20 ft) when it was used by snipers in the 1798 rebellion. The 8th century Book of Dimma, which belonged to Roscrea monastery, is preserved in Trinity College, Dublin. It contains a copy of the Gospels and a Missa Infirmorum, and is enclosed in a shrine of bronze with silver plates ornamented with Celtic interlacing. In 1812, the Romanesque church was demolished with the exception of the west gable and its stones used for the erection of the current St. Cronan's parish church of the Church of Ireland at the same site. The church was designed by the Roscrea architect James Sheane and restored under the supervision of Sir Thomas Newenham Deane in 1879.  Records show that John Wesley, one of the founders of the Methodist movement, preached in Roscrea on 26 June 1750. Roscrea was one of the main settlements in the ancient and medieval Munster kingdom of Éile (commonly anglicised as Ely) and was briefly a diocesan see in the 12th century, before the superior power of the O'Briens ensured that the Roscrea was incorporated into the diocese of Killaloe.
  King John I of England (reigned 1199–1216) is credited with having erected a castle at Roscrea in 1213, of which a circular tower and some sections of wall are still extant; such castles were built as part of a policy to consolidate the Norman conquest of the midlands.  In 1209 King John's officials established twelve shires or counties in Leinster and Munster, one of which was Tipperary, covering areas of English settlement such as Roscrea. Within county Tipperary there were fourteen baronies; Roscrea was the chief town in the barony of Ikerrin; baronies became obsolete after the Local Government Act (1898), which set up county and borough/town councils. From the mid-14th century (particularly after the Black Death) and 15th century native Irish influence the areas outside of the English Pale revived, strengthened by the intermarrying of the Norman aristocracy with the native Irish aristocracy.  The building of a castle at Roscrea was the subject of dispute between the king's representatives and the bishops of Killaloe until 1280, as the castle was built on church land without the bishop's permission.  Though the castle was built as a royal castle, it was often in the hands of the Butlers as they controlled the surrounding lands and was close to Nenagh, where the Butlers had one of their principal castles.  The castle was rebuilt in stone between 1276 and 1281, probably as part of the King Edward I's orders to secure safe storage and transport of mined silver from the Silvermines to the west of Nenagh.  Large-scale mining of silver ceased at the Silvermines in the early 14th century following disputes with local people and as a result of Gaelic resurgence in the area.  The later rectangular gate house, known as Ormonde Castle, was built by James Butler, 4th Earl of Ormond some time before 1450[15] and still stands today.  There are also references to a gaol in Roscrea castle during the period c. 1280–1315.
   There is no surviving reference to the granting of a royal charter for the founding of Roscrea and it is likely that the town began to grow around the castle in the 13th century, adding to the existing ecclesiastical settlements. There are references to 'the burgesses of Roscrea', two mills and a town oven, which is accepted as proof that Roscrea was a medieval town. In
caption: Remains of the 15th-century Franciscan Friary
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