Take a digital tour of the remarkable historical site at Rindoon

It's one of the best preserved abandoned medieval towns in Europe and it's right on our doorstep on the shores of Lough Ree.

TOP: An illustration of goods being brought into the walled town of Rindoon in the 13th century by traders.

The town and castle of Rindoon near Lecarrow in Roscommon were founded in 1227 as a royal borough and fortress, not long after the castle in Athlone was first constructed.

At its height, Rindoon had a population of some 600 people.

Present day remains include a castle, jetties in the harbour, medieval house foundations, a 500m long town wall, the parish church, windmill, a fishpond and a hospital.

And as part of National Heritage Week, you can watch as one of Ireland's foremost archaeologists gives an online tour of the site.

St. John's Parish Heritage Group has been working with PJ Grady the landowner, and the Irish Walled Towns Network for many years now to manage and conserve the upstanding remains of Rindoon Medieval Walled Town.

This year for National Heritage Week they are revisiting a previous project and invite you to take a virtual tour of Rindoon with Dr. Kieran O'Conor from NUI Galway in a series of seven short videos which can be downloaded from YouTube.

Here's one of the videos:

You can see the others by searching here: https://www.heritageweek.ie/projects/a-virtual-tour-of-rindoon-with-dr-kieran-oconor