Knockcroghery () is a village and townland in County Roscommon, Ireland. It is located on the N61 road between Athlone and Roscommon town, near Lough Ree on the River Shannon. The townland of Knockcroghery is in the civil parish of Killinvoy and the historical barony of Athlone North.
Knockcroghery developed as a largely linear settlement close to Galey Castle, a 14th-century tower house overlooking Galey Bay. By the 18th century, the village comprised a number of small houses, shops, blacksmith, mill, church and a fair green. For a number of centuries, the village economy was focused on the making of clay tobacco pipes, with eight kilns employing approximately 100 people by the 19th century. In the early 20th century, much of the village was burnt in a reprisal attack by the Black and Tans during the Irish War of Independence, and a number of buildings in the village centre date from a subsequent rebuilding exercise.
As of the early 21st century, it is classified as a "key village" for planning purposes by Roscommon County Council, with Knockcroghery acting as a commuter village for Athlone, Roscommon town, Longford town and Ballinasloe.
thumb|upright|Galey Castle ruin with stairs, doorways and windows visible
In 1651, during Oliver Cromwell's invasion of Ireland, Charles Coote laid siege to Galey Castle, the seat of the Irish clan Ó Ceallaigh.
The area's first appearance in the historical records is in the year 1156, when the king of Connacht, Ruaidrí Ua Conchobair, established a harbour at Galey Bay, which was an ideal location due to the natural shelter provided by the enclosed bay and its proximity to the over-land route from Athlone to Roscommon, which followed a similar route to the present-day N61 road. A defensive fort was later constructed at Galey Bay, and associated human settlements developed nearby, including at the present-day townland of Galey, close to the current site of St Dominic's GAA club. The original road to Galey Bay ran along the present-day local road past St Dominic's club, before turning north towards the bay. In the late 19th century, the current road was constructed along the route from Curry, and replaced the old road entirely, most of which is now buried and identifiable only by the route of some hedgerows on private land. The new road is believed to have been constructed by the Crofton family in order to access their boathouse at Galey Bay more directly from their residence in Mote Park.
Knockcroghery village developed as another settlement associated with the fort at Galey Bay, along the main over-land route between Athlone and Roscommon.
A mill and adjacent stores were constructed on the river at the northern end of the village, but these had fallen into decay by the 1830s.
As of the early 19th century, the village had a population of approximately 180 inhabitants.
By the 19th century, the village had grown to include a number of small thatched homes, several shops, a blacksmith, a mill, a post office, police barracks, a church and a fair green. An Anglican church was built in the early 19th century and a school was opened in the 1830s. While the school was being completed, classes were held in the nave of the church.
Clay pipe industry
thumb|Knockcroghey clay pipe or ""
From the 18th century onwards, the village was known for the production of the tobacco clay pipe, or "dúidín".
The development of the clay pipe industry in the village is attributed to a man familiar with the process having moved to the village and having taught it to others. Knockcroghery was not a particularly favourable location for such an industry, given that the nearest source of suitable clay was some three kilometres away and the fuel for the kilns was more expensive there than in other parts of the country.
By 1832, approximately eight kilns were operating in Knockcroghery and between them were producing an average of 70,000 pipes per week.
The pipes produced in Knockcroghery in the 1830s were said to be of good quality but with small bowls and short stems. As a result, they were held in low regard in the larger towns and were principally used for handing out at wakes, given that a smaller amount of tobacco was required to fill each pipe for guests. Today, a visitor centre and workshop are located on the original site of Andrew and P.J. Curley's pipe factory, where pipes are handcrafted using the original methods of production.
There had also been a crockery industry in the village until the mid to late 19th century, until imports from Staffordshire made the business unviable.
Irish War of Independence
Terror at the fair
On the evening of Thursday 26 August 1920, 36-year-old Royal Irish Constabulary Constable William J Potter, who was temporarily stationed in Kiltoom, was cycling with fellow Constable Michael McMahon, from Roscommon to Kiltoom. The Constables were ambushed by the Irish Volunteers on the Athlone side of the level crossing in Knockcroghery, who fired at them. As the pair sped past the Volunteers and tried to escape, Constable Potter was shot through the right lung and fell to the ground, where he died. Constable McMahon survived, but resigned from the RIC shortly afterward. Constable Potter's assassination led to Kiltoom RIC barracks being abandoned.
A few days later, while a fair was going on in Knockcroghery, a party of Black and Tans arrived in the village and, in retaliation for Constable Potter's death, they rounded up all the men into the village's Gaelic handball alley and beat them with bull whips. The Black and Tans also requisitioned several tins of paint from a local shop and forced the men to paint over an Irish tricolour that had recently been painted onto the wall of the handball alley. The Black and Tans then forced the men to place their hands onto the wet paint and then put their hands into their pockets and wipe them on their clothes.
Burning of Knockcroghery
On 20 June 1921, British Army Colonel Commandant Thomas Stanton Lambert's motorcar was ambushed by the Westmeath Irish Volunteers in Glassan. The Volunteers had planned to capture Lambert and hold him until a prisoner exchange was arranged in return for General Seán Mac Eoin. When Lambert's motorcar did not stop at the barricade on the Glassan Road, the IRA men opened fire. Lambert suffered bullet wounds and died the next day. British military intelligence mistakenly believed that the killers had come across Lough Ree from the Galey Bay/Knockcroghery area.
At approximately 1 a.m. on 21 June 1921, a group of Black and Tans wearing civilian clothing and masks descended on Knockcroghery from the Athlone direction, in retaliation for the attack on Colonel Commandant Lambert the day before. They arrived in four lorries and parked at St Patrick's Church. Reportedly drunk, they fired shots into the air, ordered the people outside, and began setting fire to their homes. The residents were given no opportunity to get dressed or to save their houses or possessions. The summer having been particularly dry, the Black and Tans easily set fire to the thatched roofs of the cottages using petrol, and most burned to the ground very quickly. Murray's, Flanagan's and the presbytery were not so easy to set alight, due to their slate roofs.
Michael O'Callaghan described the scene: