Roscrea (Irish: Ros Cré, meaning 'Crea's wood')[2] is a market town in County Tipperary, Ireland.

[5] Local Link Tipperary operates bus service 854 between Roscrea railway station and Nenagh with intermediate stops in Shinrone, Cloughjordan, Moneygall and Toomevara.

[18] The town is situated strategically in a gap in the hills on one of the great ancient roads of Ireland, the Slighe Dála.

It became an important ecclesiastical centre evidenced by the beautiful west gable of a Romanesque church, a 12th-century sculptured High Cross, and a round tower also built during the 12th century.

It contains a copy of the Gospels and a Missa Infirmorum, and is enclosed in a shrine of bronze with silver plates ornamented with Celtic interlacing.

[20] The church was designed by the Roscrea architect James Sheane[21] and restored under the supervision of Sir Thomas Newenham Deane in 1879.

In 1209 King John's officials established twelve shires or counties in Leinster and Munster, one of which was Tipperary, covering areas of English settlement such as Roscrea.

The castle was rebuilt in stone between 1276 and 1281, probably as part of King Edward I's orders to secure safe storage and transport of mined silver from the Silvermines to the west of Nenagh.

Large-scale mining of silver ceased at the Silvermines in the early 14th century following disputes with local people and as a result of Gaelic resurgence in the area.

There is no surviving reference to the granting of a royal charter for the founding of Roscrea and it is likely that the town began to grow around the castle in the 13th century, adding to the existing ecclesiastical settlements.

The earls of Ormond had good relations with the local Éile (Ely) O'Carroll family, the ancient Gaelic lords of the area, and intermarried with them.

The earls were largely absent from Ireland between c. 1464–1514, being engaged in the Wars of the Roses in England, and left the running of their lands to junior members of their extended family.

Today the Catholic church of St. Cronin is built close to the site of a ruined Franciscan friary, which was founded by the O'Carrolls about 1477.

Despite attempts of the Butlers to re-conquer northern Tipperary in the 1530s a manuscript in the National Library, probably dating from the time of the Irish 'Reformation Parliament' of 1536–37 describes Roscrea as being then by 'Irishmen wasted, and not valuable'.

The whole of northern and western Tipperary freed itself from Butler power after the death of the 9th earl of Ormond in 1546 and Roscrea remained virtually uninhabited for some years.

During this time Roscrea lay on the northern edge of the County Palatinate of Tipperary (a territorial area administered from Kilkenny in which legal jurisdiction was held by Butler Earls of Ormond, rather than the King, but with royal permission).

One of the benefits was that the Earl appointed the local judges and sheriffs to administer the law in Roscrea and gave the town some protection during this turbulent period.

The conclusion of the Nine Years' War (1594–1603), again lost by the Gaelic Irish, brought some stability to Ireland however the commencement of the plantations from 1606 set the scene for the great 1641 rebellion.

During this time Roscrea was leased out by the earls of Ormond first to Gerard fitz Lewis Bryan and then Sir George Hamilton Sr. and Jr.

The town was not caught up in the Williamite Wars (1689–91) and though orders were issued to have the castle demolished to prevent it from falling into rebel hands in the future they were later rescinded.

Dawson died in considerable debt in 1844/5, Court of Chancery records from 1863 describe the estate of Roscrea in 1844 as comprising 910 hectares (2,248 acres) worth £3,882 in rent yearly.

The Union was responsible for a population of 61,374 in 1831 – it covered Bourney, Borrisnafarney, Killea, Killevinogue, Rathnaveoge, Roscrea, Agahancon, Cullenwale, Dunkerrin, Ettagh, Kilcommon, Kilmurry, Roscomroe, Shinrone, Borris-in-Ossory, Doanmore, Eirke, Kyle and Rathdowney until after boundary changes following the famine in 1853 (spellings of placenames are repeated from original records).

A new Roscrea Union workhouse was erected on a 2.4-hectare (6-acre) site around 1.5 km (1 mi) outside of the town on the Templemore road adjacent to Corville.

A large graveyard, probably containing the remains of hundreds of people who died in the Great Famine, was situated behind the workhouse to the south of Kennedy Park.

[1] See Annals of Inisfallen (AI) The main employer in the town is Glanbia which makes and distributes meats product all over the world.

[34] The new Tesco supermarket was built in close proximity to the Round Tower, leading to queries about compliance with planning rules.

Roscrea Active Citizenship Association was set up, with the stated aim of bringing together all the organisations of the town.