Must-see attractions in The Midlands

  • Mossy and leafy forest floor in Slieve Bloom Mountains.

    Slieve Bloom Mountains Nature Reserve

    The Midlands

    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…

  • The monastery of Clonmacnoise is lighting golden in the evening sun.

    Clonmacnoise

    The Midlands

    Gloriously placed overlooking the River Shannon, 7km northeast of Shannonbridge, Clonmacnoise is one of Ireland’s most important ancient monastic cities…

  • Corlea Trackway

    The Midlands

    Don't miss the extraordinary Corlea Trackway, an Iron Age bog road built in 148 BC. An 18m stretch of the pavement-like oak track has been preserved in a…

  • Birr Castle

    The Midlands

    It's easy to spend half a day exploring the attractions and gardens of Birr Castle demesne. The castle dates from 1620 and is a private home, but during…

  • Fore Valley

    The Midlands

    Near the shores of Lough Lene, the emerald-green Fore Valley, 5km east of Castlepollard, is a superb place to explore by bicycle or on foot. In AD 630 St…

  • Rathcroghan

    The Midlands

    Anyone with an interest in Celtic mythology will be enthralled by this area around the village of Tulsk. Containing 60 ancient national monuments,…

  • Lough Key Forest Park

    The Midlands

    Sprinkled with small islands, the 350-hectare Lough Key Forest Park, 4km east of Boyle, shelters picturesque ruins including a 12th-century abbey on tiny…

  • Strokestown Park

    The Midlands

    At the end of Strokestown's main avenue, triple Gothic arches lead to Strokestown Park House. The original 120-sq-km estate was granted by King Charles II…

  • Belvedere House & Gardens

    The Midlands

    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…

  • Clara Bog Nature Reserve

    The Midlands

    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…

  • Lough Boora Parklands

    The Midlands

    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…

  • Arigna Mining Experience

    The Midlands

    Ireland's first and last coal mine (1600s to 1990) is remembered at the Arigna Mining Experience, set in the hills above Lough Allen, 23km northeast of…

  • Emo Court

    The Midlands

    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…

  • Parke's Castle

    The Midlands

    The tranquil surrounds of Parke's Castle, with swans drifting by on Lough Gill and neat grass cloaking the old moat, belie the fact that its early…

  • Roscommon County Museum

    The Midlands

    Set in a former Presbyterian church (1863), this volunteer-run museum has an idiosyncratic collection, including an inscribed 9th-century slab from St…

  • Visitor Centre

    The Midlands

    Three connected conical huts, echoing the design of early monastic dwellings, house the visitor centre museum. A 20-minute audiovisual show provides an…

  • Irish National Famine Museum

    The Midlands

    In direct and deliberate contrast to the splendour of Strokestown Park is the harrowing Irish National Famine Museum, located in the Stables Yard of the…

  • Uisneach

    The Midlands

    Between Mullingar (16km northeast) and Althone (31km southeast) on the R390 is Uisneach, the centre of Ireland during neolithic times when sea levels were…

  • Cathedral

    The Midlands

    The largest building at Clonmacnoise, the cathedral was originally built in AD 909, but was significantly altered and remodelled over the centuries. Its…

  • Tullamore Dew Visitor Centre

    The Midlands

    Located in an 1829-built canal-side warehouse, this famous whiskey producer's visitor centre has engaging exhibits that spotlight the role of the Grand…

  • Temple Ciaran

    The Midlands

    The small churches at Clonmacnoise are called temples, a derivation of the Irish word teampall (church). Tiny Temple Ciaran is reputed to be the burial…

  • Roscommon Castle

    The Midlands

    The impressive ruins of the town's Norman castle stand alone in a field to the north of town, beautifully framed by the landscaped lawns and small lake of…

  • O'Rourke's Tower

    The Midlands

    Overlooking the River Shannon is the 19.3m-high O'Rourke's Tower. Lightning blasted the top off the tower in 1135, but the remaining structure was used…

  • Rock of Dunamase

    The Midlands

    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…

  • Donaghmore Workhouse

    The Midlands

    The unadorned stone Donaghmore Workhouse, 19km west of Durrow, was a last resort for the destitute in the 1850s – one of 130 workhouses in the country at…

  • King House Historic & Cultural Centre

    The Midlands

    Sinister-looking mannequins tell the turbulent history of the Connacht kings, the town of Boyle and the King family, including a grim tale of tenant…

  • Boyle Abbey

    The Midlands

    On the banks of the River Boyle is the finely preserved (and reputedly haunted) Boyle Abbey. Founded in 1161 by monks from Mellifont in County Louth, the…

  • Charleville Castle

    The Midlands

    Spires, turrets, clinging ivy and creaking trees give this hulking structure a spooky feel (and, yes, it's reputedly haunted). Charleville Castle was the…

  • Kilbeggan Distillery Experience

    The Midlands

    Established in 1757, Kilbeggan is Ireland's oldest licensed distillery – after stopping production in 1957, it has been producing whiskey again since 2007…

  • Rindoon

    The Midlands

    Founded in the 13th century and abandoned in the 14th, the deserted village of Rindoon incorporates the overgrown remains of long medieval walls, a castle…

  • Aughnacliffe Dolmen

    The Midlands

    Thought to date back 5000 years, this astonishing portal dolmen is one of the three biggest in Ireland, with a height of 2m and two capstones, one almost…

  • Tullynally Castle Gardens

    The Midlands

    The imposing Gothic-revival Tullynally Castle is the seat of the Pakenham family and, although closed to visitors, its 12 hectares of gardens and parkland…

  • Costello Memorial Chapel

    The Midlands

    Measuring just 5m by 3.6m, Ireland's smallest chapel was built in 1877 by Edward Costello, distraught at the early death of his wife, Mary. Both husband…

  • Mountmellick Museum

    The Midlands

    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…

  • Timahoe Round Tower

    The Midlands

    In the tiny, charming village of Timahoe, 12km southeast of Portlaoise, is a tilting 30m-tall, 12th-century round tower with an elaborately carved…

  • Abbeyleix Heritage House & Museum

    The Midlands

    An old 19th-century school building houses this museum detailing Abbeyleix' rich history. One room looks at the town's carpet-making legacy – the Turkish…

  • Clonony Castle

    The Midlands

    Built in the 1490s, Clonony Castle is enclosed by an overgrown castellated wall. Tales that Henry VIII’s second wife, Anne Boleyn, was born here are…

  • Drumanone Dolmen

    The Midlands

    Constructed before 2000 BC, this striking portal dolmen is one of Ireland's largest, measuring 4.5m by 3.3m. To reach it from Boyle's town centre, follow…

  • Heywood Gardens

    The Midlands

    These lavish gardens with lakes and woodland were designed by Edwin Lutyens and landscaped by Gertrude Jekyll, and completed in 1912. The centrepiece is a…

  • St George's Heritage Centre

    The Midlands

    Up the hill in a restored 1827-built church, this heritage centre looks at the history and landscape of Leitrim from old Gaelic traditions through to…