Lough Key (Loch Cé)

A wooded lake of islands, castles and a forest park.

Lough Key is scattered with over thirty islands, several bearing monastic ruins and a romantic 19th-century folly on Castle Island. The surrounding Lough Key Forest Park is one of Ireland's finest for walking and boating.

At a glance

• Over thirty wooded islands
• Ruins and a folly on Castle Island
• Set within Lough Key Forest Park

In County Roscommon

Lough Key is in County Roscommon, Ros Comáin in Irish, which means “St Comán's wood”.

More in Roscommon

• Rathcroghan (Ráth Cruachan): The ancient royal capital of Connacht and the seat of the legendary Queen Medb.
• Boyle Abbey (Mainistir na Búille): A remarkably complete Cistercian abbey in the town of Boyle.

Other places of this kind

• Lough Neagh (Loch nEathach): The largest freshwater lake in Ireland and the British Isles.
• The Lakes of Killarney (Loch Léin): Three beautiful lakes ringed by mountains and ancient woodland at the heart of Killarney National Park.
• Lough Erne (Loch Éirne): A vast island-studded lake system in County Fermanagh, dotted with early Christian sites.
• Lough Gur (Loch Gair): A horseshoe lake in County Limerick surrounded by one of Ireland's richest ancient landscapes.
• Lough Ree (Loch Rí): A great lake on the River Shannon, dotted with islands and bordering three counties.
• Strangford Lough (Loch Cuan): A vast sea lough of tidal islands and rich wildlife.

The Irish name

The Irish form of Lough Key is Loch Cé. You can hear it spoken, and take apart names like it, in the Placename Explorer. The authoritative record for any Irish place-name is logainm.ie.