Roscommon takes centre stage in RTE programme airing next week
Geographer Susan Hegarty, pictured underground at the Arigna Mining Experience, explores how the unique geography of the Lough Allen Basin underpinned generations of industry.
Roscommon and Leitrim will take centre stage in episode two of the new RTÉ series 'Building Ireland' next week with the story of the Lough Allen basin as Geographer Susan Hegarty explains how access to the River Shannon helped transform Leitrim into an industrial powerhouse, driving mining, transport and economic growth. Kilronan Castle and the Shannon Blueway will also be featured.
The programme will air at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, August 4th on RTÉ One and RTÉ Player.
The story of the Lough Allen Basin is one of industry, decline and reinvention. Once a major driver of economic growth in the northwest, this remote corner of Leitrim saw its fortunes rise and fall with the industries that shaped it.
Geographer Susan Hegarty explores how the unique geography of the Lough Allen Basin underpinned generations of industry. Rich deposits of iron and coal, abundant water, and access to the River Shannon helped transform Leitrim into an industrial powerhouse, driving mining, transport and economic growth. The construction of the Lough Allen Canal in the early nineteenth century connected these resources to the Shannon navigation, opening a vital route to market and helping fuel industrial expansion far beyond Leitrim.
Architect Orla Murphy traces how this industrial wealth reshaped the built environment, focusing on Kilronan Castle and the powerful Earls of Kingston. Their mining wealth transformed a country estate into one of the grandest houses in the region, before economic decline and changing land ownership brought its fortunes crashing down. Today, Kilronan stands as both a monument to past prosperity and a striking example of restoration and renewal.
Engineer Tim Joyce examines how transport infrastructure continued to reshape the region as industry evolved. Even with the canal in place, moving coal from the mountains remained a major challenge. The arrival of narrow-gauge rail transformed the economics of mining, linking Arigna to wider markets and sustaining coal production well into the twentieth century.
As heavy industry faded, the Lough Allen Basin was once again forced to adapt. Susan returns to the canal to examine its revival, from dereliction and decline to its restoration as part of the Shannon Blueway. What once moved coal and iron now supports tourism, recreation and local enterprise, reflecting how this landscape continues to shape the region today.
