Overview
Most people who pull in at Rockcorry are really interested in the Dartrey estate landscape, whose woodland and lakes lie close to the village. The village itself – a stone-built street, three churches and a couple of 19th-century monuments – is a few minutes’ look, in north-west County Monaghan on the R188 between Cootehill and Monaghan. Once called Newtowncorry (Irish: Roc Corraigh), it works best as a way in to the forest rather than a destination in its own right.
History
The village was laid out in the early 19th century by the Corry family as a market town, Newtowncorry. Cornet Walter Corry built a family seat here, though the original castle is long gone. At the main crossroads stands the former Rockcorry Market House, a plain Georgian building with a pediment that marks its former public role. The National Inventory of Architectural Heritage dates it to 1805. The Corry lands, the Fairfield Estate, were bought by the Dawson family, the future Earls of Dartrey, and folded into the much larger Dartrey Estate. The grand Dartrey Castle that followed was demolished in the 1950s. The council’s village plan traces the village’s links with the Dartrey estate.
The main street took its present shape through the 19th century, and a stone brewery and mill went up on the edge of the village, the marks of a linen-producing community. The Dawson Memorial Column, a neoclassical monument on the Cootehill road, was built in the early nineteenth century in memory of Richard Dawson, a local MP who opposed the Act of Union and was known as ‘Honest Dick’. The village kept three churches too – St Mary’s at Corravacan, St James’s at Boyher and the Rockcorry Presbyterian Church – a sign of a mixed congregation.
What to see
- Rockcorry Market House – the symmetrical Georgian market house at the main crossroads, with its central arches.
- Dawson Memorial Column – the neoclassical column on the Cootehill road.
- Mill ruins – the remains of the old mill on the edge of the village.
- Edergole Court Tomb – a Neolithic burial site about 3km from the village, known locally as the Giant’s Grave.
- Historic churches – St Mary’s, St James’s and the Presbyterian church.
Dartrey Forest
The Dartrey estate grounds, with mixed woodland and lakes, lie just beyond the houses. See the dedicated Dartrey Forest page for what is there, and stay on public paths. Check arrangements for individual sites before you set out.
For a longer trip, Castle Leslie Estate is a short drive north, with its house, gardens and St Salvator’s Church.
Practical information
- Getting there – Rockcorry is on the R188; Cootehill is about 5km away and Monaghan about 15km. A car is the practical option.
- What’s open – the market house, mill ruins and Dawson Column can be seen from public roads. The churches keep service hours; ask locally about access.
- Facilities – there is no visitor centre in the village that we know of. Cootehill is the nearest larger town for cafés, shops and toilets.
- When to go – late spring to early autumn for the best walking weather; early morning gives softer light for photographs of the ruins.