Places to Explore

• Abbeyleix

  "One of the most pleasing villages in Leinster, with each cottage having a useful garden!" Thus spoke noted 19th-century writer J.M. Brewer of Abbeyleix in 1826. Today it happily remains one of the most... (more)

• Athlone

  The mighty Shannon flows majestically through the heart of Athlone, yet for years it seemed as if the town was happy to turn its back on one of Europe's great waterways. That trend has been well and truly... (more)

• Banagher

  "Well, that beats Banagher!" This small Shannon-side town is best known in Ireland because of this common phrase, which dates from the 19th century when the town was the very worst example of a "rotten... (more)

• Birr

  Beautifully reminiscent of an English country town with its tree-lined malls and well-preserved houses, the heritage town of Birr has roots that date to the 6th century. Still, the mid-18th-century Georgian... (more)

• Castlepollard

• Cavan

  Like all the larger towns of the region, Cavan is growing and prosperous. It is perhaps best known for its crystal factory. But as one of the main transporation hubs of the Midlands, Cavan has also attracted... (more)

• Clonmacnoise

  Many ancient sites dot the River Shannon, but Clonmacnoise is early Christian Ireland's foremost monastic settlement and, like Chartres, a royal site. The monastery was founded by St. Ciaran between 543... (more)

• Fore

  You've heard of the seven wonders of the ancient world, but here in the heart of the Irish Midlands is a tiny village with seven wonders all to itself! According to Irish myth, this is the place where... (more)

• Kilbeggan

• Longford Town

• Moneygall

  The village of Moneygall (population 298) is an unassuming place on the main N7 Dublin-Limerick road, but it was thrust into the spotlight in May 2011 when President Obama paid a visit to check on his ancestors... (more)

• Mullingar

  The Irish are great ones for wrapping an insult up in a lyrical turn of phrase. Rather than describe a woman as overweight they'll say with a wink she's "beef to the ankle, like a Mullingar heifer." Of... (more)

• Portarlington

  Built on the River Barrow in the late 17th century, Portarlington was originally an English settlement. Later, a Huguenot colony developed here, and French surnames are still common in the area. Some good... (more)

• Portlaoise

  Near the heart of County Laois, the rich farmland south and west of Portlaoise, an hour by train, bus or car from Dublin, is one of Ireland's undiscovered gems. Golf, fishing, hiking, and horseback riding... (more)

• Roscrea

  Every corner you turn in this charming town will offer reminders of its rich and sometimes turbulent past. Ancient castles, towers, and churches dot the skyline, proof of a heritage that dates to the 7th... (more)

• Tullamore

  The county seat of Offaly, Tullamore is a bustling market town that has thrived during Ireland's Celtic Tiger boom in the mid-1990s and, like many parts of Ireland, has suffered in the economic downturn... (more)