Roscommon

many objects contributed to its interest and importance in milesian times there were the nas thiagana or place of assembly of the clans of connaught the sacred cave which in the druidic era was supposed to be the residence of a god and the relic the venerable cemetery of the pagan kings of the west where still the red pillar stone stood over the grave of dathi and many other ancient tomb could be as clearly distinguished The relative importance of Rathkrogan we may estimate by the more detailed descriptions of the extent and income of its rivals, Kinkora and Eliak.

In an age when Roscommon alone contained four hundred and seventy fortified duns, over all which the royal wrath presided, when half the tributes of the island were counted at its gate, it must have been the frequent rendezvous of armies, the home of many guests, the busy focus of intrigue, and the very elysium of bards, storytellers, and mendicants.

on an after generation cathal the red-handed o'conor from some motive of policy or pleasure transferred the seat of government to the newly founded ballintober in the lifetime of thurlock moore and the first years of roderick when the fortunes of the o'conors were at their full hrothcroghan was the coequal in strength and splendour of auliac and king cora advancing directly from this family seat on the first tidings of murtagh's death roderick presented himself before the walls of dublin which opened its gates accepted his stipend of four thousand head of cattle and placed hostages for its fidelity in his hands he next marched rapidly to droghedda with an auxiliary force of dublin danes and there o'carroll lord of oriel louth came into his camp and rendered him homage Retracing his steps, he entered Leinster with an augmented force, and demanded hostages from Dermot McMurray.

Thirteen years had passed since his father had taken up arms to avenge the rape of Dervigoil, and had earned the deadly hatred of the abductor.

There are four changes from the team that ran out at the Aviva Stadium in a massive win over Scotland in the Women's Six Nations back in May.

That includes a first international cap for Roscommon's Jemima Adams-Verling in the back row.

Elsewhere, Niamh O'Dowd comes in at loose head in place of the retired Eleanor Perry.

There's no Sam Monaghan.

FM.

This is very exciting, right? Probably a sentence you never thought you'd hear, but the Irish Hot Air Balloon Championships return this week to Roscommon.

Did you know that? There's going to be 10,000 people.

They went last year.

Yeah, that's the interesting thing about it.

Because I guess not many other forms of transport are like that.

But as you said, if you take off in Roscommon in one field, you are going to land somewhere else.

You're not going to be able to loop back around on yourself unless you fly literally all the way around the world to the right.

I'm Will Griffith and around here we like to get a little bit lost because you never know what you're going to find.

Tonight, I'm joined by a player who has just lit up the golf world during an absolute whirlwind summer, Roscommon's Thomas Higgins.

Coming off a stellar NCAA career at Clemson University, Thomas spent 2026 absolutely dominating the elite amateur landscape.

It was a season defined by massive high-pressure moments from helping Ireland capture the home internationals to travelling to Estonia and holding the unforgettable tournament-winning putt to secure European team gold for his country.

He backed that international glory up on home soil, surviving a dramatic, deep-in-the-trees play-off escape at Portumna to be crowned the Irish amateur close champion.

He tracked that incredible peak, the fuel of missing out on a Walker Cup spot and his immediate, fearless transition into the professional ranks, from sinking electric eagle putts on his pro debut at the Amgen Irish Open to topping the leaderboard at Stage 1 of Q School in Bristol as he chases his tour card.

Tonight, we dive into that exceptional journey from the fairways of Roscommon to the high stakes pressure of the professional grind.

Before we dive in, do me a huge favour.

I enjoy it greatly.

I work in Roscommon Town with the Roscommon People newspaper.

I've enjoyed developing this engagement with the festival.

It can be a tiring three days.