town information ireland

A picturesque village on the River Inny, between Lough Sheelin and Kinale. In the centre of the village there is a memorial to Myles "Slasher" O'Reilly, who defended the town bridge in 1646, during the Confederate wars. On the shore of lough Sheelin is Ross Castle where O'Reilly slept on the eve of the battle.

Sheelin is probably the best known brown trout lake in the midlands; it is a lake to be enjoyed by all the family, you can picnic, swim or just enjoy the scenery. If you...

Carraroe is, perhaps, the main centre of Cois Fharraige, (By the Sea), the extensive Gaeltacht (Irish-speaking) area of South Connemara. It is one of the most important places promoting Irish culture involving both language, song and dance and, like many places in the district, organises Irish Summer schools for children from English-speaking areas.

It is also a very popular holiday resort for Irish-speaking holiday makers from other parts of the country. It is the ideal base from whi...

Today Ballinasloe is the main town is east Galway. A prosperous and expanding centre on the main Dublin/Galway road which serves as a commercial centre for the vital agricultural districts all around, and for those engaged in the breeding of bloodstock on the rick limestone land of the Central Plain.

Ballinasloe Horse Fair in October has achieved a world wide reputation, and the traditional event has now grown into an annual eight day carnival and festival. Ballinasloe is also the centre...

An example of a seventeenth-century market town. The ruins of Ballinakill Castle are of a late seventeenth-century castle built by the Dunnes (but never inhabited) on the site of one destroyed by Cromwellian troops under Fairfax. The configuration of streets around the large rectangular square is eighteenth century.

The town's entrance from Abbeyleix is marked by two trees known as Toll Trees where a toll was paid by visitors to the town. The town had important fairs, a brewery, wo...

This is an attractive old world village, a National Tidy Town winner, set at the entrance to Multyfarnham Friary. The Fransciscans have a long association with this place, having set up a monastery there in the early 14th century. Despite the dissolution of the monasteries in 1535 and havig been evicted a number of times, they always returned and now run a modern agricultural college.

The church, recently restored in the traditional Franciscan style, incorporates original sections d...

This quiet village, near Cong and the Mayo border, is an ideal centre for the trout angler as it nestles easily between the two great lakes of Corrib and Mask. For the more adventurous, Mount Gable lies just 2 km to the west, and is an easy climb of about one hour's duration.

The effort is worthwhile because the views of Lough Corrib stretching away to the south, Lough Mask to the north and the Connemara mountains to the west are simply stupendous. A short trip (8 km) towards Cong an...

Galway is a fast growing city and with its population now reaching over 50,000 it is set to become the third city of the Irish Republic. The capital of Connacht, Galway, is a thriving and expanding city with a rich past dating from medieval times. Always a merchant town, modern Galway is also a University City and administrative centre.

It is where the Gaelic countryside of Connemara and bustling commerce meet, and the Irish Language can frequently be heard in shop and street. There are...

This thriving market town is situated at the south-eastern corner of Co. Galway, beside the north shore of Lough Derg -the last of the great Shannon Lakes. Bordered on the east by the Shannon river, which offers access to the lake, Portumna is an important point of traffic across the Shannon between the West of Ireland, the Midlands and North Tipperary. It is a major cruise base for leisure traffic on the Shannon....

The captivating Mall, where the re-routed Carrowbeg river flows through Westport on its way to the sea in Clew Bay, is a splendid example of the contributions made to Irish towns by enlightened landlords of the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. In this instance, it was the Brownes, later Earls of Altamont, who beautified Westport in many ways and ultimately opened up their own home, Westport House, for public view....

June through August, Cape is festive. Approximately 180 students come to perfect their Irish and participate in outdoor games and activities. Daytrippers stroll to the lake, to the Old Lighthouse, to the Heritage Centre. Yachts play in and out of the two main harbours, colourfully crowding them during regatta days. Holiday-making families arrive with windsurfers, canoes, fishing gear. Scuba divers prowl old wrecks and precipitous reefs.

The Cape Clear Bird Observatory is located...