The Islands of Lough Key: Una Bhán and the Annals
Roscommon, Ireland
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Lady of the Lake
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200
XP
1 day
The Islands of Lough Key: Una Bhán and the Annals
200 XP
Lough Key has two islands with centuries of history you can see but not set foot on: Castle Island held the Mac Diarmada kings of Moylurg for six centuries, and Trinity Island is where the Premonstratensian White Canons wrote the Annals of Lough Cé — and where a tomb is said to be that of a chieftain's daughter who died of a broken heart. The forest park around the lake is a destination in itself, built on the bones of a Palladian estate that burned in 1957 and left its tunnels, tower and walled garden behind.
Required Activities
1
of 4
Walk the servants' tunnels under the site of Rockingham House — Nash's mansion of about 1810 burned in 1957 and came down in 1971, so you are walking under a house that is not there
2
of 4
Climb the Moylurg Tower, five storeys of concrete raised in 1973 on the footprint of the house, and pick out Castle Island and Trinity Island on the lake
3
of 4
Take the boat tour for McDermott's Castle and the 13th-century abbey ruins — neither island can be landed on, so the water is the only way to see them close
4
of 4
Walk the 300m tree canopy walk — timber and steel, rising 9m above the woodland floor, the first structure of its kind in Ireland when it opened; from the highest point look north across the lake toward the island cluster
Walk the servants' tunnels under the site of Rockingham House — Nash's mansion of about 1810 burned in 1957 and came down in 1971, so you are walking under a house that is not there
Climb the Moylurg Tower, five storeys of concrete raised in 1973 on the footprint of the house, and pick out Castle Island and Trinity Island on the lake
Take the boat tour for McDermott's Castle and the 13th-century abbey ruins — neither island can be landed on, so the water is the only way to see them close
Walk the 300m tree canopy walk — timber and steel, rising 9m above the woodland floor, the first structure of its kind in Ireland when it opened; from the highest point look north across the lake toward the island cluster
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Challenge Location
XP Breakdown
Challenge XP
200 XP
Potential total
200 XP
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