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The Midlands, an area of lakes, rivers, canals, pasturelands, and bogs, is a unique, water-centred natural environment with its own fauna and flora.
COUNTY MONAGHAN
What's on in Monaghan
Monaghan Town
The county town of Monaghan is a thriving agricultural centre, which owes much to the industrious Scottish Presbyterians who developed a prosperous linen business in the town in the eighteenth century. A crannog off Glen Road is the sole reminder of the town’s Celtic beginnings.
Main attractions:
Market House
A charming eighteenth century house with the original oak beams still visible. Today it is the tourist office.
Rossmore Memorial
A large nineteenth century Victorian drinking fountain with an ornate stone canopy supported by marble columns.
County Museum
The County Museum tells the story of Monaghan’s linen and lace-making industries. The pride of its historical collection is the Cross-of Clogher, an ornate bronze altar cross which dates from around 1400. Open Tuesday to Saturday and public holidays. Phone: 047-81928
Old Cross Square
A Presbyterian Church built in 1903 and a sundial stand in the Old Cross Square. It is the birthplace of Charles Gavan Duffy who helped found the Irish Tenant League and set up The Nation newspaper along with Thomas Davis.
St. Macartan’ Cathedral
Built between 1861 and 1892 by J.J. McCarthy, this hard grey limestone church is constructed in the French Gothic style.
Castle Leslie
In Castle Leslie you can gaze at jewellery which belonged to the wife of King George IV; a baby’s dress worn by Winston Churchill; a wide range of art treasures and antiques; and an eerie haunted room.
Lough Muckno Leisure Park
A 900-acre park with woodland, lake and grounds, where you can take part in sporting activities ranging from angling, trekking, canoeing and water-skiing. There is also an adventure centre and a nine-hole golf course.
Iniskeen
Iniskeen is best known as the home of one of Ireland’s greatest poets, Patrick Kavanagh (1904-1967). The Patrick Kavanagh Rural and Literary Resource Centre is situated in the historic St. Mary’s Church, next to the cemetery where Kavanagh is buried.
COUNTY LOUTH
What's on in Louth
County Louth could be renamed the Church County. Every town and village in this county claims its origin from connections with either St. Patrick, one of his disciples or some Christian order. Louth figures prominently in many ancient sagas, particularly the famous Tain Bo Chuaille (Castle Raid of Cooley).
Drogheda (Droichead Atha)
In the fourteenth century this historic Norman port near the mouth of the River Boyne was one of Ireland’s most important towns. In 1641, Sir Phelim O’Neill tried to overrun the centre. In 1676 Oliver Cromwell and his army carried out their most brutal massacre here, when 2,000 citizens were killed and many of the survivors were transported to the Barbados.
Main attractions:
St. Lawrence Gate
The narrow streets and well-preserved thirteenth century barbican defensive structure of St. Lawrence’s Gate stem directly from the Norman area.
St. Peter’s Church
This Catholic Church is worth visiting to see the embalmed head of the martyred archbishop Oliver Plunkett. He was arrested in 1679 for treason, tried in London and executed in 1691. In 1975, he was canonized and earned the title of Saint.
Millmount Museum
South of the river lies Millmount, a converted army barracks which recounts the history of the town and its environs. Open daily (Sundays p.m.only) except Mondays and for ten days at Christmas. Phone: 041-9833097.
Hostels:
Green Door Hostel
13 Dublin Road,
Drogeda
Tel. 041-9834422
Fax. 041-9846236
www.greendoorireland.com
eMail. greendoorhostel@hotmail.com
Termonfeckin and Clogher Head
Termonfeckin was the seat of the Protestant Primates of Armagh from the Middle Ages until the middle of the seventeenth century. On the site of a sixth century monastery there is a high cross dating from the tenth century.
Dundalk
At the head of the bay, Dundalk is a vibrant manufacturing town and the home of the famous singing group the Corrs.
Main attraction:
County Museum
Housed in an eighteenth century distillery in the town, the County Museum recounts the history of the county including a section on some of Louth’s traditional industries such as beer making.
Carlingford
Located between the mountains the Cooley Peninsula and the waters of Carlingford Lough, Carliingford is a picturesque fishing village. In the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries it was an industrious port, but the opening of the Newry Ship Canal at the beginning of the eighteenth century meant that much trade moved to Newry.
Main attractions
King John’s Castle
Built by the Normans to protect the entrance to the lough , King John's Castle still dominates the village, along with other impressive fortified buildings.
Holy Trinity Heritage Centre
Housed in a medieval church, the Heritage Centre traces the history of the port from Anglo-Norman times. Cruises are available around the lough from the village quayside where there is a smart new international marina. Phone: 042-93733454.
Carlingford Adventure Centre
The Adventure Centre provides information for walkers and organizes tours of the area. Phone: 042-9373100.
Hostels:
Carlingford – Adventure Centre & Holiday Hostels
Tholsel Street,
Carlingford
Tel. 042-9373100
Fax. 042-9373651
eMail. info@carlingfordadventure.com
Collon
Laid out in the English style of the late eighteenth century, the village is made up of two rows of two storey houses with a market green at one end.
Main attractions:
Mellifont Abbey
Established in 1142 by St. Malachy, Mellifont Abbey became a Cistercian model in Ireland. William of Orange used Mellifont as his headquarters during the Battle of the Boyne in 1690. Today it is a ruin, although you can still appreciate the scale of the original complex. Still standing is a unique thirteenth century lavabo, where monks came to wash their hands in a fountain before meals. Open daily from May to October; November to April by appointment. Phone: 041-9826459.
Monasterboice
One of the oldest monasteries in Ireland, Monasterboice was founded by St. Buithe, possibly as early as the fourth century. Vikings attempted to take it in the year 989AD. The ruins of the abbey contain two thirteenth century churches, a fine round tower and three sculptured high crosses. Open daily.
Muiredach’s Cross
This is an outstanding tenth century cross, dedicated to the memory of the Abbot of Monasterboice who died in 923AD. The West Cross dates from the same era, though it is not so well preserved, and the North Cross is supported by a modern stem. Historians and archaeologists suggest that these crosses, with their engraved passages from the Bible, were originally painted in strong colors, but any hint of pigmentation has been eroded by hundreds of years of exposure to the elements.
Ardee
During the Battle of the Boyne, King James II made Ardee his military headquarters.
Main attractions:
Ardee Castle and Hatch’s Castle
It was here along the River Dee that the legendary Cu Chulainn single-handedly fought the armies of the south to defend Ulster in the epic ‘Cattle Raid of Cooley’, in an era when livestock was valued as much as gold.
COUNTY MEATH
What's on in Meath
Known as "The Royal County". The fertile Boyne Valley in County Meath was settled during the Stone Age and became the most important centre of habitation in the country. The area is an archeological treasure trove spanning 5000 years of Irish history, from the neolithic to the present.
County Meath’s “must sees”
Tá Trail
The Tá Trail is the route that the armies of Queen Maeve and Cúainn followed, where they rested and where they fought, as outlined in the epic tale An Tá Bóailgne “The Cattle Raid of Cooley”. This saga is over twelve centuries old and is one of the most famous legends in the great library of Irish myths and legends.
Loughcrew
Located between the towns of Kells and Oldcastle. Loughcrew is probably the oldest known graveyard in the world – predating the Pyramids of Egypt by 2000 years! It is the largest known complex of megalithic structures in Ireland.
Hill of Tara
The Hill of Tara has been home to druids, warriors and was the seat of the High Kings of Ireland. Kings, poets and heroes used to gather at Tara every three years, where they would make laws, settle disputes and review the poems and stories that every poet kept in his head. The largest section of the hill is part of the ‘Royal Enclosure’ where the Stone of Destiny can be found. It is a standing stone and was brought to Ireland by the magical Tuatha Déanaan. It cried out when the true High King stood upon it. One legend claims that it was lent to the Scots and became the famous "Stone of Scone" before the the English stole it in 1297 and took it to Westminster Abbey in London to reside under the Coronation Throne. Another legend claims that the Scots THOUGHT they were loaned the Stone of Destiny, and the English THOUGHT they stole it, but that the real Stone of Destiny remains on the hill until this day.
Abbey church
The Abbey church in Drumlane was founded in the early thirteenth century, but was significantly altered about 200 years later. It features some fine Romanesque carvings.
St. Mary’s Abbey
This is a twelfth century Augustinian abbey. It was damaged by fire in 1368, and part of the abbey was turned into a manor house in 1415 for the then Viceroy of Ireland, Sir John Talbot. Jonathan Swift’s companion Esther Johnson later purchased the castle. In later years it served the Protestant community as a school; and the Duke of Wellington was a pupil here as a boy.
BrúBóe
BrúBóe comprises the spectacular passage tombs of Knowth, Dowth and Newgrange.
These cairns were built around 3200BC and so they are older than Stonehenge in England and the Pyramids of Egypt. Built by Neolithic communities about 5000 years ago, the passage graves have clear astronomical alignments such as the Winter Solstice Sunrise at Newgrange and the Equinox Sunrise at Loughcrew. Large stones outside these monuments are decorated with Megalithic Art, with spirals, concentric circles, triangles, images and zigzags.
Newgrange
The mound of Newgrange was built about the year 3200BC as a burial site for local chiefs. This circular tumulus had a standing stone on top up to the seventeenth century, and just twelve standing stones remain of a circle which used to surround the mound.
On the morning of the Winter Solstice, the sunlight enters the tiny opening in the passage grave of Newgrange,and gradually illuminates the central chamber of the grave. However at any time of the year the mound is a fascinating experience with it's own, timeless, almost alien beauty.
Trim
Trim Castle
Trim Castle is the largest remaining Anglo-Norman castle in Europe and stands at the edge of the area once known as The Pale. This area was an Anglo-Norman stronghold and “beyond the Pale” were the Irish Gaels, hence the expression to be placed "beyond the pale".
Trim Castle has another, more recent, claim to fame as a significant part of the "Scotland" Mel Gibson, as William Wallace, fought to free in the movie "Braveheart" (most of which was filmed in Ireland).
Also in Trim are The Yellow Steeple, a 14th century tower that was once part of the Augustinian Abbey of St. Mary and the ruins of Newtown Cathedral.
In the early 1700’s, Jonathan Swift lived in the area and finished writing ‘Gulliver’s Travels’ in Cullcagh House nearby.
Hostels:
Bridge House Tourist Hostel
Bridge Street,
Trim
Tel. 046-9431848
Fax. 046-9567864
eMail. silvertrans@eircom.net
Slane
Slane Village
The picturesque village of Slane, only 1.5 miles from the hostel itself, is situated around a cross-roads on each corner of which stands a large Georgian house.
Slane is the birthplace of the poet Francis Ledwidge (1887-1917) and the Ledwidge Cottage Museum commemorates the writer.
Six miles from the village is the site of the 1690 Battle of the Boyne, in which the troops of William of Orange defeated the Jacobites of James II.
Slane Castle
The Castle gates are at the bridge crossing at Slane, and one of the first things you see in Slane when coming from Dublin and are are a wonderful work of architecture in their own right (the path beyond them, to the Castle, is private).
The castle itself was built by the Fleming family after the Normon Conquest. A portion of that original castle has been incorporated into the larger Georgian building commissioned in 1785 by the first Marquess Conyngham. It is principally the work of James Gandon, James Wyatt and Francis Johnston, some of Ireland’s most distinguished architects. The famous Gothic Ballroom was designed by Thomas Hopper.
The Coyningham family bought the castle after the Battle of the Boyne when the estate was confiscated by the victorious King of England. This family has held it ever since. The current owner, Lord Mountcharles' stewardship of the castle is marked by the rock concerts he has promoted on the castle lawn, the natural shape of the landscape provides a natural amphitheatre upon which the eighty thousand or so music lovers may view the concert stage below them. A tragic fire gutted much of the castle in late 1991, including its famous ballroom ceiling. The castle was reopened in 2001, after a ten-year restoration programme.
The castle fire kept concerts from being held in Slane until 1998.
Hill of Slane
A short walk across Slane Farm will bring you to the hill of Slane where St. Patrick lit his Paschal fire, ceremoniously announcing the arrival of Christianity in Ireland.
Mellifont Abbey
In a sequestered valley four miles from the village of Slane stands the remains of the once magnificent and celebrated monastic foundation of Mellifont.
Hostels:
Slane Farm Hostel
Harlinstown House,
Slane
Tel. 041-9884985
Fax. 041-9884985
www.slanefarmhostel.ie
eMail. info@slanefarmhostel.ie
Kells
“Kells” comes from the Irish “Ceanannas Mómeaning “Great Fort”. It was a royal residence prior to the founding of a religious settlement there by St. Colmcille in the year of 550. A few centuries later, the monks of Iona in Scotland (whose monastery had also been founded by St Colmcille) took refuge there, fleeing from Viking raids. Settled in Kells, they produced the intricate work of the Four Gospels, The Book of Kells around the year 800AD. It is one of the most beautifully illuminated manuscripts in the world. The original is now located in Trinity College Dublin. One of these is in St. Columba's church and one in the Town Hall and the third in the Kells Community School.
The "High Crosses" of Kells are artifacts on a larger scale. There are five of them. Four are situated in the churchyard of St. Columba's church and the fifth formerly stood at the central junction of the various roads which meet in Kells. After a number of "near misses" from less less exhalted traffic it became structurally unsound and has been removed to be restored. At this point in time it is not certain whether it will be restored to it's original site.
St. Colmcille’s House still exists. It is a tiny oratory that dates from the 10th century. The Kells Round Tower, dating from Viking times, has windows facing each of the town gates in anticipation of a Norse attack.
Hostels:
Kells Holiday Hostel
The Carrick, Kells
Tel. 046-9249995
Fax. 046-9240683
www.kellshostel.com
eMail. hostels@iol.ie
COUNTY CAVAN
What's on in Cavan
County Cavan proved surprisingly resistant to Anglo-Norman invasion, and the O’Reillys — the ruling family of west Cavan — managed to resist colonization by the English up until the late sixteenth century. Today Cavan is a busy market town and the commercial centre of the county. The main town buildings are the Church of Ireland and the Courthouse, both by built John Bowden in the nineteenth century. The Catholic cathedral was built in 1942.
Main attractions:
Lough Oughter
Lough Oughter is the largest lake in Cavan and very popular for coarse fishing. There is a great variety of trees surrounding the lake, including ash, birch, oak, beech, sycamore, and alder, and for walkers there are marked trails flanked by Norwegian and sitka spruce. Nearby, on the outskirts of the town, you can see handcrafted crystal being made at the Cavan Crystal glassworks.
Lough Oughter Castle
This is a twelfth century Anglo-Norman fortress of great historical interest. The Ulster Confederate hero Owen Roe O’Neill is reputed to have lived here for a time before being poisoned by his enemies. The castle’s garrison was the last in Ireland to surrender to Cromwellian forces on 27 April 1653, thereby ending a twelve-year war.
Killydeen Forest Park
The Killydeen Forest Park is situated on the shores of the Lough Oughter and boasts fine walks and excellent fishing.
St. Mary’s (Catholic) Church
St. Mary’s Church is famous for some of the best stained-glass windows in Ireland. Crafted by Evie Hone (1894-1955), who worked with famous French abstract artists at the beginning of the century, they depict important events in the lives of Christ and the Virgin Mary.
Ballyhaise House
Ballyhaise House was designed by Richard Cassel, the German-born architect of Leinster House, and contains Ireland’s first Oval Room. Today it is an agricultural college, but still open to visitors.
COUNTY LONGFORD
Longford has strong links with countries worldwide, including Argentina, France and Switzerland. From 1842 to 1860 over 11,000 Irish people left for Argentina and family names with Longford roots are most common amongst Argentinians laying claim to an Irish background.
Longford Town
Longford is a progressive, well-planned town with broad streets, solid bourgeois buildings and a wide variety of shops.
Main attractions:
St. Mel’s Cathedral
This is a nineteenth century building complete with a 160-foot tower. Construction began in 1840 but was delayed by the Great Famine, and so the cathedral was not completed until 1893. It has a spacious forecourt with elegantly arched colonnades supporting a fine vaulted roof. A stained glass window by Harry Clarke, featuring a composition of red, gold and blue, merges effectively with the rose-tinted roof and cream-coloured stone pillars.
Diocesan Museum
The Diocesan Museum contains St. Mel’s tenth century crosier and local artifacts including elk antlers, Bronze Age spearheads and crosses from Penal times.
Carrigglas Manor
Carrigglas Manor has been the seat of the Lefroys — a family of Huguenot descent — since its construction in 1837. The house is spectacularly decorated with pseudo-Gothic paneling and ornate plasterwork ceilings. Open Monday to Saturday, May to September, 11am-3pm. Phone: 043-45165.
Ardagh
Ardagh is most famous for its connection with the Ardagh Chalice, found in bogland and now on display at the National Museum. It also has an excellent Heritage Centre.
Abbeyleix
There is a semicircular earthwork here once believed to be the site of the original church founded by St. Patrick.
Black Pig’s Dyke
Parts of this mysterious prehistoric earthwork are visible in the area. Its exact purpose is still unclear, and speculations vary between a military function and the idea that it was designed to act as a deterrent to cattle raiding.
Corlea
Corlea Trackway and Exhibition Centre
Corlea Trackway was excavated in 1994. It is a 2,000 year-old bog trackway of oak planks, secured by pegs and designed to carry wheeled vehicles.
COUNTY WESTMEATH
What's on in Westmeath
County Meath was originally established by English settlers, and during the Williamite wars Baron Ginckel, the Dutch general, fortified it making it the rendezvous for his forces before the Siege of Athlone in 1691. Today Mullingar is still a garrison town serving the Irish army. This countryside has a number of great houses and historic castles, many of which are open to visitors.
Mullingar
Main attractions:
Market House and Market House Museum
The Market House and Museum is built in the eighteenth century style. It has artifacts dating from the Iron Age including farming implements and weaponry. It also tells the story of Adolphus Croke, a local eccentric who identified one of the turkeys in his farmyard as his reincarnated father. Phone: 044-48650
All Saints’ Church (Anglican)
The All Saints’ Church incorporates stonework from the Augustinian priory and was reconstructed in the seventeenth and nineteenth centuries.
Military Museum
The Military Museum is one of the best in the country with its collection of First and Second World War firearms, uniforms, and flags. There is a special section on the old IRA, and even a pistol used by Michael Collins during the War of Independence.
Around Mullingar
Main attractions:
Belvedere House
Belvedere House is a romantic Palladian villa overlooking Lough Ennel. Built in 1740 by Richard Castle, the interior is decorated with rococo plasterwork and set in beautiful grounds. One of the stories associated with the house concerns the first Earl of Belvedere, who accused his young wife of having an affair with his brother and imprisoned her for 31 years in a neighbouring house. In 1760 he built the Jealous Wall to block the view of his second brother’s more opulent mansion across the lake. Open daily from May to August, 9:30am–7pm; and from September to October, 10:30am-4.30pm (last admission one hour before closing)
Lough Owel
Lough Owel lies about three miles north of Mullingar. It was in this lake that Maeleachlainn is said to have drowned the Danish chief Torgjest or Turgesius, in the year 843. Today the lake is the home of the Mullingar sub-aqua and sailing clubs.
Tullynally Castle
Tullynally Castle is one of the largest and most striking of Ireland’s castles and home to ten generations of the Pakenham family. It was laid out in 1760 by the first Earl of Longford and later expanded by the Gothic designing genius of Francis Johnston.
Locke’s Distillery
Founded in 1757, Locke’s Distillery claims to be the oldest licensed pot till distillery in the world. It went bankrupt in 1954, but the aroma of alcohol hung in the warehouses for years and was known as ‘the angel’s share’. In 1987 it was reopened as a museum, complete with a water wheel and indoor steam engine. You can still taste whiskeys in the bar but, unlike the original workers, you cannot bathe in the whiskey vats. Open daily from April to October, 9am-6pm; and November to March, 10am-4pm. Phone: 0506-31134
Athlone Castle
Athlone Castle is an altered thirteenth century fortress which was badly damaged in the Jacobite Wars. It lies in the shadow of the nineteenth century church of St. Paul. Open daily from May to October; November to April by appointment. Phone: 090-92912.
 | The River Shannon Over 200 miles in length, the River Shannon is the longest river in Ireland or Britain. Athlone, has been a strategic crossing point on the river for many centuries. Today it is also a popular base from which to fish, cruise or just explore the river. |
Hostels:
COUNTY OFFALY
What's on in Offaly
County Offaly lies right in the center of Ireland, bordered by counties Westmeath and Meath to the north, Kildare to the east, counties Laois and Tipperary to the south and counties Galway and Roscommon with the River Shannon to the west.
Birr
Birr is the most attractive Georgian town in County Offaly, founded in the sixth century at the junction of two rivers.
Main attractions:
Birr Castle Demesne
Founded in 1620 by the Parsons — who are noted for their contribution to astronomy — a telescope, built by the third Earl in 1845 was the largest in the world at the time. The 17m (56ft) wooden tube, supported by two walls, can be seen in the grounds fully restored to its original working condition. Open daily. Phone: 0509-20336.
Tullamore
Tullamore is a prosperous market-town and manufacturing centre, traversed by the Grand Canal.
Main attractions:
St. Catherine’s (Protestant) Church
The church is a Gothic Revival construction of 1815 designed by Francis Johnston, the architect responsible for nearby Charleville Forest Castle. There was a fire at the church in 1982 but has since been restored, and a number of windows destroyed were replaced by ones brought from Rathfarnham Castle.
Tullamore Heritage Centre
The centre is attached the tourist office and provides information on the history of Irish Mist and Tullamore Dew, as well as local history.
Charleville Forest Castle
The castle was built in 1779 and features prominent spires and turrets and a mediaeval-style grotto. It is held to be the finest Gothic Revival building in Ireland.
Cloghan Castle
Cloghan Castle is the oldest inhabited castle in Ireland. The original structure was built in the twelfth century and a nineteenth century house adjoins the well-preserved keep.
The Shannon region
A 45-minute train tour takes you through a section of the Bog of Allen on the railway line used to transport turf, with commentary covering the characteristics of the bog landscape and its distinctive flora.
Hostels:
Crank House Hostel
Main Street,
Banagher
Tel. 087-9145820
Fax. 0509-51458
www.crankhousehostel.com
eMail. abiguinan@eircom.net
| COUNTY LAOIS |  |
What's on in Laois
To the north lie the Slieve Bloom Mountains; to the east are the Grand Canal and the River Barrow and on the western side, the River Nore.
Main attractions:
Slieve Bloom Mountains
The Slieve Bloom Mountains are spectacularly beautiful. You can walk along a 30km (19 mile) circular trail through the unspoiled landscape of open vistas, deep wooded glens and mountain streams. Open May-Sep: Phone: 0509-20110
Emo Court and Gardens
The Emo Court and Gardens were begun in 1790 by James Gandon but left incomplete in 1798. They were later finished in two stages by Lewis Vulliarmy in 1834-6, and William Caldbeck in 1860. In 1920 the magnificent neo-classical house was sold to the Land Commission, then bought by the Jesuit religious order who in turn sold Emo Court to Major Cholmeley-Harrison. He embarked on an enlightened restoration programme, to return it to the original classical county villa Gandon had intended for his friend, Lord Portarlington. Phone: 0502-26573. House open Tuesday to Sunday, mid-June to mid-September; Garden open daily.
Rock of Dunamase
Originally crowned by an Iron Age ring fort, the thirteenth century castle that succeeded it is now more prominent, through it was virtually destroyed by Cromwellian forces in 1650.
Hostels:
Traditional Farm Hostel
Farren House,
Ballacolla,
Portlaoise.
Tel. 00502-34032
Fax. 0502-34008
www.farmhostel.com
eMail. info@farmhostel.com
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