Roscrea

Roscrea grew around an ancient religious foundation associated with Saint Crónán, at a passage through the hills of northern Tipperary. A round tower and churches recall its early ecclesiastical importance, while the medieval castle guarded the town and its approaches. In the sixteenth century the O'Carrolls and the Butlers fought for control of Roscrea and its district. The castle was contested again during the wars of the 1640s, and Parliamentarian troops took it in 1650. Its gatehouse and towers remained landmarks beside the older monastic site.