Knockcroghery (Irish: Cnoc an Chrochaire) 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. The village had a population of 388 people as of the 2022 census of Ireland.
The village lies at the foot of a stony ridge, which protects it from the east wind that sweeps in from Galey Bay. This accounts for the original name of the village, 'An Creagán', meaning 'the stoney hill'.
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 Ó Ceallaighs resisted and for their defiance were taken to An Creagán and hanged en masse on the stepped hill just north of the village, now commonly known as Hangman's Hill. The village thereafter came to be known as Cnoc an Chrochaire ('Hangman's Hill'), now Anglicised as 'Knockcroghery'.
Evidence of ancient settlement in the area includes a number of ringfort sites in Knockcroghery townland itself, and in the surrounding townlands of Glebe and Lisnahoon.
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. By the 1830s, there was one three-storey slate-roofed building, four two-storey thatched buildings and approximately 40 single-storey thatched cabins. The thatched cabins tended to be quite long, with three or four rooms. 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. The school remained in use until St Mary's National School opened in the village in 1960, and the old school became the village hall.
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.
By the late 19th century, there were up to 100 people involved in the manufacture and distribution of the village's clay pipes. Production ceased abruptly on 21 June 1921 when the village was burned down by the Black and Tans during the Irish War of Independence. 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.
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.