On the banks of the River Barrow, 4.3km east of town, the ivy-covered ruins of 13th-century Lea Castle include a fairly intact towered keep with two outer walls and a twin-towered gatehouse. Access is through a farmyard, 500m to the north off the main Monasterevin road (R420).
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
Slieve Bloom Mountains Nature Reserve
20.33 MILES
A 2300-hectare nature reserve with a mountain range in the middle, full of walking and biking trails. A visit to Slieve Bloom is the perfect excuse to…
28.8 MILES
Magnificent Castletown House is Ireland’s single-most imposing Georgian estate, and a testament to the vast wealth enjoyed by the Anglo-Irish gentry…
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23.93 MILES
Magnificent Belvedere House, 7.5km south of Mullingar, is an unmissable sight. This immense 1740-built hunting and fishing lodge is set in 65 hectares of…
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22.96 MILES
Clara Bog is one of the few great expanses of classic bogland in Western Europe to escape being stripped for fuel. Deceptively flat and seemingly lifeless…
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24.61 MILES
Much of County Offaly's once-extensive boglands were stripped of peat for electricity generation during the 20th century. Now Lough Boora, 17km north of…
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4.02 MILES
The neoclassical, copper-domed Emo Court was designed in 1790 by James Gandon, architect of Dublin's Custom House. Originally the country seat of the…
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10.2 MILES
The Irish National Stud, 1.5km south of town, is the big attraction in Kildare – visitors have included Queen Elizabeth II. Owned and managed by the Irish…
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28.75 MILES
Between Mullingar (16km northeast) and Althone (31km southeast) on the R390 is Uisneach, the centre of Ireland during neolithic times when sea levels were…
Nearby The Midlands attractions
1.86 MILES
The 1851 St Paul’s Church, on the site of the original 17th-century French church, was built for the Huguenots, some of whose tombstones stand in a corner…
4.02 MILES
The neoclassical, copper-domed Emo Court was designed in 1790 by James Gandon, architect of Dublin's Custom House. Originally the country seat of the…
8.11 MILES
For an insight into the town's Quaker and industrial heritage, visit Mountmellick Museum, where you can also see a display of superbly subtle Mountmellick…
9.06 MILES
The Rock of Dunamase, 6km east of Portlaoise, is an arresting sight: a craggy limestone outcrop rising 45m out of the flat plains. It offered early…
9.75 MILES
The solid presence of 13th-century St Brigid's Cathedral looms over Kildare's Market Sq. Look out for a fine stained-glass window that depicts Ireland's…
6. Irish National Stud & Gardens
10.2 MILES
The Irish National Stud, 1.5km south of town, is the big attraction in Kildare – visitors have included Queen Elizabeth II. Owned and managed by the Irish…
7. Lullymore Heritage & Discovery Park
11.3 MILES
Developed on an area of cutaway bog, where peat has been extracted for commercial purposes, this award-winning, family-oriented park offers a huge range…
11.93 MILES
Run by the nonprofit Irish Peatland Conservation Council, this interpretive centre celebrates the amazing biodiversity of Ireland's bogs, and traces the…