Info - The picturesque village of Rooskey is located on the Leitrim Roscommon border 8 miles north-west of Longford town. Three counties meet in Rooskey - Longford, Leitrim and Roscommon which make it an ideal touring base for exploring the area. Situated as it is on the River Shannon, it is not surprisingly an excellent angling centre with easy access to a number of lakes nearby. It is a favourite stopping point with Cruiser traffic as there are a number of good restaurants and pubs in the village. The village is an important boating harbour on the River Shannon with many attractive mooring places just out of earshot of the main Sligo - Dublin road . There are some lovely walks here and in particular a refreshing river walk to Rooskey Lock.
Rooskey is an ideal touring location, midway between Dublin and Donegal with either place near enough to take in on a day trip. Amenities in the area include golf, tennis, horse riding, pony trekking, and angling.

History - The original navigation through the village of Rooskey was through a lock on a canal to the west of the river, built in the 1760's. The present lock was built in the 1840's by the Shannon Commissioners, along with the weir and road bridge. The original opening span of the bridge was replaced in recent years by a lifting section.

Our bit - Rooskey is the first bridge lock combination you come to travelling south from Carrick. If planning your trip it should be noted that there are no mooring upstream of the bridge at Rooskey (apart from the concrete island where you wait for the bridge to lift, beware lethal currents here) so ensure that you make the last opening of the bridge.
There are plenty of moorings on both sides of the river between the bridge and the lock. Complete with a lock keeper who doubles as the bridge raiser, and as they are a fair distance apart, he spends his time cycling like mad between the two! Be warned, he will give you a microsecond to get your boat through the bridge