Attractions
Tullamore and the greater Midland’s region offers a unique choice of visitor attraction’s to the discerning visitor.
Steeped in ancient Irish history, attractions surrounding the present day Tullamore include Clonmacnoise, Durrow & Rahan Monastic Settlements, Slieve Bloom National Park, Tullamore Dew Heritage Centre, The Grand Canal and Shannon River.
Due to Tullamore’s central location it is an ideal base for staying if you want to see the country’s main sites while providing the visitor with a unique insight into the friendly Irish welcome.
Earliest evidence of human habitation is found only twenty minutes from Tullamore in Lough Boora, where Mesolithic man inhabited the shores of the lakes which have since turned into bogs.
Durrow High Cross
Durrow Demesne
Offaly
The High Cross at Durrow was part of a monastery founded by St. Columba in 553 with aid from Aedh, the son of Prince Brendan.
West Offaly Railway
Phone: 0909 67 4450
9km rail trip through Blackwater Bog, near Shannonbridge Co.Offaly on a 3ft narrow gauge railway. While travelling learn about the formation of the peat and the industry that has built up around the bog.
Email: bograil@bnm.ie
Web: www.bnm.ie
Charleville Castle
Birr Road
Phone: 057 9321279
Email: info@charlevillecastle.com
Web: www.charlevillecastle.com
Slieve Blooms
Kinnitty
Offaly
The area is made up of forests, blanket bog of a type which is unique to Ireland, interspersed with hidden valleys of great character, and interest to the nature lover.
Email: info@slievebloom.ie
Web: www.slievebloom.ie
St. Manchans Shrine
Doon
12th century gabled box of yew wood and bronze which contained the saint’s relicts. Fine example of the golden age of Irish craftsmanship
Srah Castle
Srah
Tullamore
Offaly
Srah was built in 1588 by John Briscoe, an officer in Queen Elizabeth’s army.
Clonmacnoise Monastic Visitors Centre
Clommacnoise
Offaly
Phone: 090 9674195
An Early Christian site founded by St. Ciarán in the mid-6th century on the eastern bank of the River Shannon.
Web: www.lonelyplanet.com
Rock of Dunamaise
Stradbally Road
Portlaoise
Laois
One of the great monuments and fortresses of Ireland towers over the Portlaoise/Stradbally road, offering breathtaking views of the county.
Clara Bog
Clara
Offaly
Phone: 0905 74114
The bog is an excellent example of a large raised bog with its own distinctive flora and fauna.
Emo Court
Emo
Laois
Phone: +353-57-862-6573
Emo Court was designed by the architect James Gandon in 1790 for the Earls of Portarlington and is a magnificent example of this neo-classical style.
Web: www.heritageireland.ie
Birr Castle
Birr
Offaly
Phone: 057 9120336
There has been a Norman castle on this site since 1170. From the 14th to the 17th century the O’ Carroll family ruled from here and the territory was known as Ely O’ Carroll
Email: mail@birrcastle.com
Web: www.birrcastle.com
Lough Boora Sculpture & Wildlife Park
Boora
The magnificent wetlands and wildlife wilderness of Lough Boora now host some of the most innovative land and environmental sculptures in Ireland.
Web: www.loughbooraparklands.com
Giants Grave
‘Giant’s Grave’ is the resting place of ancient warrior, Bladhma after whom the mountains are named.
Gloster House
Gloster is a late-17th/early-18th century Georgian house of significant architectural and historic importance with extensive gardens incorporating terraces, water features, woodland and lakeside walks.
Email: info@glosterhouse.com
Web: www.glosterhouse.com
Church of the Assumption
Chapel Street
Tullamore
Offaly
Phone: 057 9321587
Email: tulmorech@iol.ie
Web: www.tullamoreparish.ie
Round House Bolands Lock
Ballycommon
Ballindoolin House & Gardens
Ballindoolin
Kildare
Phone: 046 9731430
Ballindoolin is a small to medium size demesne of 130 acres of parkland and 120 acres of fine broad-leafed woodland, and is situated approximately 5 miles north of Edenderry in the county of Kildare.
Email: esther@ballindoolin.com
Web: www.ballindoolin.com
Belvedere House & Gardens
Mullingar Road
Phone: 044 9349060
Email: info@belvedere-house.ie
Web: www.belvedere-house.ie
Rahan Monastic Site
Rahan
Offaly
This beautiful church is a physical legacy of the church reforms of the 12th century. It displays evidence of our cosmopolitan past, where art and architecture were influenced by other areas in western Europe and Scandinavia. It also shows, through its stone carvings, how Ireland adapted these influences to create its own unique style
Web: www.monasticway.com
Tullamore Dew Heritage Centre
Bury Quay
Tullamore
Phone: 057 9325015
Email: tullamoredhc@eircom.net
Web: www.tullamore-dew.org
Kinnitty Castle
Kinnitty
Phone: 579137318
Email: info@kinnittycastle.com
Web: www.kinnittycastle.com
Lockes Distillery
Kilbeggan
Phone: 057 9332134
Locke’s Distillery is the last remaining example of a small pot still whiskey distillery in Ireland.
Email: lockesmuseum@iol.ie
Web: www.lockesdistillerymuseum.ie
Croghan Hill
Croghan
Croghan Hill is the remains of an extinct volcano and rises from the Bog of Allen in the midlands of Ireland in County Offaly. Though only 232 m high it commands extensive views of the surrounding midland counties, across the flat, low-lying expanse of the Bog of Allen.
Larrys Old Time Village
Belmont
Phone: 90 6457232
Leap Castle
Clareen
Phone: 579131115