This is great stuff. Yes I am in Ireland, and have been for two years, but although my Dad was a Mayo man I was born and brought up around London. You've given me more than enough information I expect to solve this quest. I spoke to my friend today and said the castle had to be next to the river. However, please humour me the answer to one very stupid question. What is the Discovery 47 map and where can I find it? Is that the brand name for maps and its reference number available in bookstores. Thanks very much for your help Mike PeteScherm@aol.com wrote: > Mike at mognfoxAT@iolDOT.ie writes: > > << I have a friend named Fallon who is visiting Ireland shortly and we are > going to co Roscommon to try and track down the castle ruins. This particullar > castle is not a > tourist attraction, so I am trying to get as much information together as > possible before going >> > > Mike, > > It's fortunate that you are in Ireland, as you have quick access to Discovery > map 47. The castle you want, in the townland of Milltown, is located at 876 > 448, along the eastern bank of the Ballyglass River. There is a > bottom-of-the-line "road" (classed as "Other roads" on the map legend) - being Irish, you > know what that means - which leads close to the castle, but stops on the other > side of the river. For me, I'd try that first and hope that the stream is as > shallow and fordable as it appears. Much of the stream has been straightened > by man, so it may be more of a drainage canal than a flowing stream. In any > case, if you have to go back, you can access the castle from the road to the > east...and walk a half-mile or so. I haven't been there, although I was at the > church in Commeen townland less than a mile NE in 2000. > > I don't have any information on the castle or townland, beyond a short > attempt at a Google search (I'm sure you have done that). I did find, under a hit > with -The Laigin - in the heading, the sentence "The Clann Uadach or O’Fallons > (O Fallamhain) were lords of a territory in the barony of Athlone which > comprised the parishes of Camma and Dysart, in the south of what is now County > Roscommon. The ruins of their castle are at Milltown, in the parish of Dysart." > I'd guess you've seen this before. > > I went through the Ordnance Survey letters of 1837 for Dysart and Taghboy > civil parishes, but J. O'D. doesn't mention either of them. O'Donovan gets > involved in early genealogies (as usual) for these parishes, but doesn't mention > any names which would seem possible to construe as Fallon. Roscommon is a tough > county for me to research as there is not yet an Archaeological Inventory > published for the county, and I can't find a good history of Elphin Diocese - > which covers much of the county. And all of the good stuff is in > Dublin......which I never visit on my regular Irish trips <gr>. > > - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - > Pete Schermerhorn, in the glorious Berkshire hills of western Massachusetts >

Mognfox <mognfoxAT@ioldot.ie> wrote: : stupid question. What is the Discovery 47 map and where can I find it? : Is that the brand name for maps and its reference number available in : bookstores. The Discovery maps are the modern day Ordnance Survey maps. The numbers refer to the grid reference. On the cover of each map you can see the numbers for the areas that are contiguous. If you are in Dublin you can buy them at the National Map Centre at 34 Aungier Street. Or order by mail, see http://www.mapcentre.ie/index.html -dja