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Boyle town began in the early 1600s after Sir John King built his great house on the old Curlew Pass. Prior to that the only town in the area was that mentioned in the Annals on Lough Key as “the town called the Rock”. Although Boyle Abbey had been there since 1161 a group of less than 300 people lived there.

       

1729 saw the arrival of the Mail Coach which brought with it modern progress. A census twenty years later showed that the population had grown to 1009; the town contained 200 houses and a shopping area from the bridge along Green St. The business premises amounted to six shops, one distillery and three breweries.

The census had shown no details of Main St. or the road from Carrick on Shannon which had entered from Clover Hill( The Crescent).

 

Boyle Bridge was built in 1846 for the sum of £500, it replaced a five arch model which was liable to flood in the winter. A statue of William III, erected in 1754 was removed to the Pleasure Grounds from where it disappeared one night in the 1930’s.

 

By 1830 Boyle had grown to over 519 houses of with 423 were thatched. Clover Hill had undergone great change with the erection of the Courthouse and the terrace of two storey houses which give the Crescent its name.

 

The first train steamed into the town in 1862 from Longford on its way to Sligo. Two years later the streets became gas lit, these were replaced in 1901 by Hugh Stewart. Yet another modern technology to be added to the town was the Cinema which opened in the New Courthouse in 1898.

 

In 1875 the Sisters of Mercy arrived and setup Boyle first real school. Although other schools had existed on Clover Hill and Green St. these were small and poor. In September 2002 Boyles new state of the art Community College, Abbey College will open its doors, bringing education in Boyle into the 21^st century.

 

Some of the oldest businesses in the town are still with us. Feelystone, Greatmeadow have been cutting stone in the area for over 200 years. The Roscommon Herald has been running since 1859 and began under the name ‘The Roscommon Herald and Boyle and Leitrim News’. The Royal Hotel has serve the town since 1782.

 

In recent times Boyle has grown to 2220, the town has opened up the tourism market by opening Lough Key Forest Park in 1959 and King House in 1995. Recently Boyle has seen a growth in businesses  around the town these include Ansa Med(Formerly Adam Spence) Abbey Heights, Trojan Software, Elphin Street, Supervalu Shopping Centre, Elphin Street and Green Isle foods, Greatmeadow.

Attractions

Attractions, 16 Marian rd. Boyle Co. Roscommon, Ireland. +353 79 62418 johnregan123@iolfree.ie