placenamesRoundfort
Lios na Maothaile
Roundfort’s public buildings trace community investment from an early nineteenth-century chapel to a new school opened in 2007.
The name
These Irish name elements are associated with this record in the Logainm glossary.
An element’s translation is a clue, rather than a complete explanation of the name. Its form and meaning depend on local history and the full Irish name.
Recorded forms
- Lios na Maothaile · Irish · main form · non-validated name
- Roundfort · English · main form
Place & story
The parish chapel
The church at Roundfort began under Father James McHale, appointed parish priest in 1821. A parish account reported during its bicentenary preparations dates the foundation stone to 1825 and consecration to 7 June 1826. Originally dedicated to Saint Michael the Archangel, the church received its present dedication to Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception in 1962, following extensive renovation. [2]
A gateway from Bloomfield
The gateway outside the church has an earlier history elsewhere. The National Inventory of Architectural Heritage records its transfer from the Bloomfield House estate and installation at Roundfort in 1962. Octagonal limestone piers have rusticated surfaces and decorative cornices, framing cast-iron gates and railings. The reused entrance brought an element of estate craftsmanship into the village street and the church grounds. [3]
The first national school
Roundfort’s school history dates its first national school to 1876–77 at Lisnamoyle. The single-room building accommodated 108 pupils and taught boys and girls together. Reading, arithmetic, geography and drawing formed part of its curriculum; older pupils also encountered bookkeeping, agriculture or needlework. In 1935 the school moved a short distance to new premises at Rathard, where three teachers were employed. [4]
Changing school buildings
During the 1960s, the Rathard school acquired piped water and central heating. The wall dividing boys’ and girls’ play areas was partly removed, with surviving sections adapted as ball alleys; former turf stores became cloakrooms and toilets. A further replacement school opened on 3 September 2007, supported by public funding and local contributions. Its community history records another classroom addition in 2013. [4]
Geographic information
- Place type
- Population centre
- County
- Mayo
- Barony
- Kilmaine
- Civil parish
- Kilcommon
- Within
- Hollymount
- Within
- Rahard
- Within
- Lisnamoyle
- Within
- Tawnaghbaun
- Coordinates
- 53.63824, -9.10254
- Logainm ID
- 114396 ↗
Sources & further reading
- Logainm.ie — Roundfort. Place names and geographic record, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
- Roundfort church bicentenary preparations, 26 May 2026 · Mayo News Reporter, reporting parish history
- Catholic Church of the Immaculate Conception gateway, NIAH31311902 · National Inventory of Architectural Heritage
- History: Scoil Chomáin Naofa, Roundfort National School · Roundfort National School
Name record retrieved 2026-10-25 · Source record modified 2026-07-01. How this page was prepared.