One of our regular international visitors is writer Kathy Mangan who has family roots in Kerry but over the years she’s developed a real grá for Roscommon. Last spring after a visit to Gleesons, she wrote an article entitled, “Best under-the-radar travel experiences in Ireland 2022″, for global digital media organisation insider.com. It struck a chord in the USA, and we’re thrilled that it has just won the Silver Award for the Travel Tips & Advice category in the 2022 writing competition for the North American Travel Journalists Association.
Since we met Kathy some years ago through Tourism Ireland she’s been a wonderful ambassador for us and for Roscommon. She really deserves this award and we’re thrilled to be featured in the winning article.
This is what Kathy says about us in her article:
Roscommon is nearly at the center of Ireland, and for me, is at the heart of a warm Irish welcome.
The compact town has impressive medieval ruins and a cheerful, welcoming inn, Gleesons Roscommon. It’s an 1870s stone manse on Market Square, where proprietors Mary and Eamonn Gleeson, and their daughter Cáit, have happily helped plan my adventures. They offer a licensed local tour guide and complimentary bicycles, too.
As a foodie, I also have always appreciated their locavore approach to cuisine; the family farm provides organic lamb and award-winning breakfasts. I recommend the lamb stew with a local Sheep Stealer farmhouse ale.
Guests at Gleesons should also ask for the inn’s trail and cycling route information and maps, as the area is especially suited to walkers and cyclists. Walkers might try the four-mile looped Cloonlarge Bog Walk to spot peatland butterflies, while cyclists can target segments of the 131-mile Green Heartlands Cycle Route that conveniently cuts through town.
Additionally, take time to explore the north edge of town and the 13th-century Roscommon Castle with a double-towered gate entrance and intact walls, as well as a wildflower meadow and bird walk. On the south end of town, Roscommon Abbey, built in 1253 by the King of Connacht, has atmospheric ruins.
Kathleen Mangan is a well-respected author published in nearly 90 consumer and trade print and online publications. She has won a dozen top writing awards from North American Travel Journalists Association (NATJA), Association of Food Journalists, Travel Classics and the Caribbean Tourism Organization.
Kathy Mangan is a familiar face in Roscommon Town, staying with us at Gleesons Townhouse nearly every year as she travels the country doing research for her articles. When she’s not in Ireland, Kathy is at her home base in Maryland, USA.
