Above: View In Connaught

County Roscommon lies between Mayo and the Shannon. It is on the whole a level county, and includes some of the finest and richest grazing lands in Ireland. It contains numerous lakes, among which arc Loughs Allen and Ree.
Roscommon, the county town, lies inland. It has a fine old abbey and the ruins of a Norman castle. It has a large cattle trade. Boyle, on the Boyle, makes flax and trades in provisions.

County Galway, south of Mayo, lies round Galway Bay. It is washed by the Atlantic, and has a most rugged coast, broken into every form of bay, inlet, creek, island, peninsula, and headland. The chief features are Slyne Head, Galway Bay, and South Arran Isles.

On the west are the Connemara Mountains. The Twelve Pins are a number of conical peaks near each other. The chief river is the Shannon, and the largest lakes are Loughs Comb, Mask, and Derg.

Galway, on Galway Bay, is the county town, and the chief town in Connaught. It is well situated for commerce, but has not yet taken a high position as a sea-port. It
may, however, at some future time become a leading place for vessels crossing the Atlantic. Galway has one of the Queen’s Colleges, of which there are three in Ireland – Galway, Belfast, and Cork. Ballinasloe has the largest horse, sheep, and cattle fairs in Ireland. Tuam, on the Clare, has a cathedr