The battle in the pass
On 15 August 1599, in the narrow gap the road still threads through the Curlew Mountains, Red Hugh O’Donnell’s forces ambushed and defeated an English column under Sir Conyers Clifford. It was one of the cleaner Irish victories of the Nine Years’ War. It is also the reason this place has a name beyond the district, because the hills themselves are modest: a low ridge of sandstone between Boyle in County Roscommon and Castlebaldwin in County Sligo.
That the ridge stands at all is down to the rock. The Curlews are built of hard Devonian sandstone and conglomerate, more resistant to erosion than the Carboniferous limestone around them, so they rise as a rugged spine above the softer boglands of the midlands. From the high ground the land falls away towards Lough Key and the Shannon lowlands.
Despite the English name, the mountains probably have nothing to do with the bird. The Irish An Corrshliabh is usually read as ‘the rough or rugged mountain’, though some sources give ‘steep-sided pointed mountains’; either way, the curlew of the maps looks like a later mishearing.
The Gaelic Chieftain
The Gaelic Chieftain, a charging horseback warrior in weathered metal by Maurice Harron, was put up in 1999 to mark 400 years since the battle. It stands on high ground above the pass and commemorates the Irish victory. The N4 is a busy national road with fast traffic, so do not stop on the road or verge to look at it; view it from a safe place and only use proper parking.
Walking near Boyle
There is no managed or waymarked walk on the Curlew ridge that we can point you to, so do not cross fields or enclosed land to reach the heights. For a marked walk, choose a route at Lough Key Forest and Activity Park, use the visitor entrances and designated parking, and follow the signs.
If you do head into open hill country anywhere in the area, bring a waterproof and something to navigate with, because mist can shut the view down in minutes.
Nearby
Boyle sits within easy reach of a run of older sites:
- Boyle Abbey – a Cistercian abbey founded in 1161, a few kilometres north. Check current opening before you go.
- Lough Key Forest and Activity Park – forest trails and the obvious family stop; see the Visit Roscommon guide for the marked walks.
- Arigna Mining Experience – in the nearby hills, telling the long history of coal and iron in this part of the country.
- Carrowkeel – a hilltop cluster of passage tombs over 5,000 years old.
- King House – a restored Georgian mansion in Boyle; check current opening times.
If you only have a short time, spend it in Boyle itself, with the abbey and King House close together, and read up on the battle before you look at the landscape it was fought over.