The Midlands Travel Guide

Irish schoolchildren were once taught to think of their country as a saucer, with mountains edging the rim and a dip in the middle. The dip is the Midlands—or the Lakelands, as it's sometimes called—and this often-overlooked region comprises nine counties: Cavan, Laois (pronounced leash), Westmeath, Longford, Offaly, Roscommon, Monaghan, Leitrim, and Tipperary. Ask people from other parts of Ireland what the purpose of the Midlands is and they will jest that the region exists simply to hold the rest of the country together.

Hotels

The Midlands Hotels

The Irish bed-and-breakfast offers great value in the Midlands—farmhouses and homes geared to paying guests provide direct contact with local families...read more

Restaurants

The Midlands Restaurants

The Midland town of Birr may be known as the "bellybutton of Ireland" because of its central location, not because this region is regarded as one of the...read more

Hotels

The Midlands Experiences

  • Top Reasons to Go

    Stately Clonmacnoise: Atmospheric and still spirit-warm, this great early Christian monastery survived Viking, Norman, and English invaders over... Read more

  • Cruising on the Shannon

    Whether you opt for a one-hour or one-week journey—and choose between a guided boat tour or private boat hire—cruising on the River... Read more

  • Goldsmith Country

    All that glitters may not be Goldsmith, but that hasn't prevented the Irish tourist board from promoting the Northern Lakelands to the burgeoning... Read more

  • Getting Bogged Down

    Like the Eskimos with their 100 different words for snow, the natives of the Midlands retain a historic attachment to their vast boglands and... Read more

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