Tourist Information

eolas cuartaíochta. , "The Midlands" The Heart Of Ireland - ATHLONE owes its existence to its location as the principal crossing point on the Shannon. The town links the east of Ireland to the west, and the river provides an artery of communication. In early times, Athlone was known as An Sean Ath Mor, or the Great Ford of Antiquity. The modern name of Athlone comes from the two Irish words, Ath meaning ford or crossing, and Luan a man's name and means the Ford of Luan. The earliest evidence of settlement in the locality is a megalithic tomb, dating from c2500 BC at Drum on the western edge of the town and artefacts from the bronze age have been recovered from the river bed. The discover in recent years of a number of early grave-slabs suggest that Athlone was the site of an unrecorded early Christian monastery.... and these grave slabs can be seen in Athlone Castle., [Marker excerpts containing historical information] , JOHN COUNT MCCORMACK 1884 - 1945 - From humble beginnings in Athlone, John McCormack was to become the greatest lyric tenor of his day. As with all true artists, John McCormack had a unique talent. He had no real predecessor and even today he had no real successor. Quite simply, there was, and is only one John McCormack. In 1906 in Savona, McCormack made a rather uncertain debut (under the stage name of Giovanni Foli) in the title role of Mascagnie's L'Amico Fritz. He went on to become the youngest ever tenor to sing a major role at Covent Garden, when he played the role of Turidd in Cavalleria Rusticana. He sang as leading tenor in Covent Garden in fifteen operas over a seven year period. He also toured in Italy, Australia and New York but on the concert platform John experienced his greatest satisfaction. Between 1914 and 1918 he gave about 400 concert performances in the United States, always playing to capacity crowds. John McCormack had a glamorous career by any standards. He was in modern terms a super star. His name was enough to attract 5,000 for a concert in the Metropolitan Opera House in New York or to fill the Carnegie Hall several times in any given season. In 1929 he made his only full length Hollywood film "Song O' My Heart". For this film, which entailed in all about two months work, John was paid $500,000. It has been estimated that his income from recordings was £160,000 a year at the height of his career. In all, from his earliest recordings on wax cylinders, to his single sided records and then his many standard "78's, John recorded over 600 "recorded sides" - a rare achievement indeed. His performance at the Eucharistic Congress in Dublin 1932 was supported by a choir of five hundred voices, before an audience of one million people. His rendition of Cesar Franck's Panis Angelicus was relayed into the streets of Dublin by loudspeaker, broadcast on radio and captured on film for the Pathe News. Today, the name of John McCormack still commands respect and admiration from music lovers worldwide. (Visit Athlone Castle for the John McCormack Story)., THE SHANNON - Dividing Ireland almost in two and dominating the midlands landscape, the River Shannon has acted as a formidable barrier to movement from East to West while providing a marine highway from North to South. The Roman cartographer Ptolemy mapped the river in 300 BC, when it was an important trade route from Europe and during the first millennium AD Viking long boats sailed up through the mists of the midland bogs to loot the medieval monastery at Clonmacnoise and found a town at Rindoon on Lough Ree. In the year 1210 the Norman[s] built a castle at Athlone, which still stands. Today the only gunfire is that of hunters and the only foreign invaders hire luxurious modern cabin cruisers to explore the ancient waterways, to enjoy its unique peacefulness and to relax in the many hostelries along its banks., DUN NA SI HERITAGE PARK - 'Dun na Si', situated 10 miles east of Athlone near Moate is both a cultural centre for Irish dance, music and storytelling and a centre for tracing your family history. 'Dun na Si' has been designated by the Irish Genealogical Project as the research centre for Co. Westmeath. So if you want to trace your family name, or ancestry 'Dun na Si' have a fully computerised database of all available information to facilitate genealogical research., STROKESTOWN PARK and FAMINE MUSEUM , Strokestown Park was built by Thomas Mahon MP (1701-1782). The Mahon family were also responsible for the construction of the town of Strokestown. Strokestown House also houses the famine museum, located in the former stables. The extensive Strokestown estate papers, now regarded as the best "Big House" archive in Ireland are used to explain the significance of the famine in national terms. The museum also provokes visitors to consider the ongoing plight of victims of today's world wide poverty and famine., CLONMACNOISE - An early Christian monastery founded by St. Ciaran in 548 AD Clonmacnoise became a great monastic city and university with a cultural reputation that was to endure for centuries. The history of Clonmacnoise is one of recurring disaster, alternating with periods of rapid recovery and progress. It was plundered, burned and destroyed again and again by Norsemen, Anglo Normans, the English and the native Irish. Despite all these adversities the settlement continued to make progress in the arts of peace and learning. The most notable feature of the ruins of Clonmacnoise today consists of the Cathedral, seven other church buildings, two round towers, three high crosses, remains of a castle or fortified wall, and two holy wells. Parts of an ancient causeway of the 11th century, leading towards the "nuns" chapel and beyond are still recognisable. Clonmacnoise houses an interpretive centre and guided tours are available., LOCKE'S DISTILLERY MUSEUM - Located on the main Dublin-Galway road, Locke's Distillery, established in 1757, is where pot still Irish malt whiskey was made for almost 200 years., GOLDSMITH COUNTRY - gets its name from one of Ireland's world renowned 18th century poets, Oliver Goldsmith. Goldsmith's writings include 'The Deserted Village', 'She Stoops to Conquer' and 'The Vicar of Wakefield'. He was reared at Lissoy Parsonage, 5kms from the village of Glasson. It was his native Lissory (Sweet Auburn) he recalled when writing 'The Deserted Village' regarded by some as the best pastoral poem in the English language. Why not drop into the Three Jolly Pigeons pubs, in the heart of Goldsmith Country, a favourite watering hole with local anglers, poets, writers, musicians and playwrights for many generations. The International Goldsmith Summer School is held annually over the first weekend in June., POR[T]LICK CASTLE - Portick is a 14th Century Castle built by one of the Dillons a Norman family, who came to Ireland in 1185. It is one of the oldest surviving Norman castles in existence at the present time., BIRR CASTLE DEMENSE - Explore Ireland's largest garden, world famous for its exotic tree and plant collections, rivers and lake, formal gardens, terraces and wildflower meadows. Relax in The Millennium Gardens a 6-acre formal garden that contains the world's tallest box hedges, beautiful pathways of hornbeam cloisters, a lilac avenue and intricate hedging parterre.... The Great Telescope situated in the centre of the Demense, the largest telescope in the world for 70 years, now fully restored. The neogothic Castle is the private home of the Parsons family., BIRR THEATRE and ARTS CENTRE - Nestled in the tree lined Oxmantown Mall, Birr Theatre and Arts Centre is a dedicated purpose built theatre, which dates f[ro]m 1888. Having fallen into disrepair the building was restored in the late 1990's to its original glory and is now a high quality facility for the development of the Arts in the town of Birr, county of Offaly and surrounding area...., KINNITY CASTLE - Nestled midst the Slieve Bloom mountains and in the heart of Ely O'Carroll Country, Kinnity Castle is one of the strongholds of the O'Carroll family of which one Charles Og O'Carroll was one of the signatories of the American Declaration of Independence. The family still maintains vast estates in Maryland. The estate itself includes 65 acres of parkland, formal gardens and a walled-in garden., TYRRELLSPASS CASTLE - Built by the Tyrrells of Fartullagh c1411 the castle is 30 minutes from Athlone. It is 60ft. high approximately. For two hundred years it guarded the western entrance to the Barony of F[a]rtullagh., MULLINGAR - The story of how Mullingar got its name may be easily explained by examining its Irish or Gaelic equivalent - "An Muileann Cearr". "An Muileann Cearr" means the wry mill or the left hand wise moving mill. The name derives from the 7th century legend of St. Colman of Lynn. A miller refused to grind Colman's barley because he was already grinding the King's wheat. Colman caused the mill to move left-hand wise or anti-clockwise, and so both the King's wheat and Colman's barley were ground. Mullingar became an important town when some years after the Anglo-Norman invasion, the Petit family established a manor in the town, and subsequently a cooperation was established. The town, and subsequently a corporation was established. The ancient corporation seal (unearthed in 1880) is still in use today. [repeated sentence removed], Mullingar, the county town and administrative headquarters of Westmeath is one of the larger population centres in the midland region. Within an hour's drive of Dublin, Mullingar lies in one of the most scenic parts of the country, surrounded by rolling pastures and interrupted only by coniferous forests and some of the most beautiful lakes in Ireland earning Mullingar the title of "The Capital of the Lakelands". For those interested in leisure pursuits, Mullingar has a lot to offer. The town is synonymous with some of the best known trout waters in Ireland - Loughs Ennell, Owel and Lough Sheelin. In 1894, Mr. William Meares caught a prize winning 26lb. 2oz. brown trout in Lough Ennell still recorded in "The Guinness Book of Records" as the largest brown trout caught in Ireland and is on display at Belvedere House Gardens and Park...., KILBEGGAN - has a proud heritage of flour-milling and whiskey distilling powered by the waters of the River Brosna. Locke's, Ireland's oldest licensed distillery, has become one of the Midland's leading tourist attractions. Locke's Distillery produced whiskey for over 200 years. In the last 10 years the community has saved this building from decline and is working on its continued restoration. Visitors can avail of guided tours and learn how whiskey was made., MOATE - owes its modern origins to Quakers who settled here and started industries towards the end of the seventeenth century. To commemorate Moate's history as a market town, a wooden sculpture entitled "The Bargain" was erected on the green in the town centre in 1989.... The Moate Museum is located in the Bridewell adjacent to the Courthouse and contains a collection of artifacts from yesteryear. Dun na Sí Cultural and Heritage Centre is located on the outskirts of the town, has a theme park and is the designated genealogical research centre for County Westmeath., FORE - In a valley between two ranges of hills lie ancient Christian ruins adjoining the Town of the Spring which was named after St. Fechin's Spring. St. Fechin's Church is a roofless nave and chancel with walls almost 3ft thick. The Seven Wonders of Fore are: 1. The monastery in a bog. 2. The mill without a race. 3. The water that flows uphill. 4. The tree that has three branches or the tree that won't burn. 5. The water that won't boil. 6. The anchorite in a stone. 7. The stone raised by St. Fechin's prayers. The stone gateways to the medieval village of Fore can still be seen at either end of the village, and there are many lesser-known antiquities in the immediate vicinity. Further information including a Tour Guide on request from Fore Abbey coffee shop., GLASSON - is a picturesque and welcoming village, famous for its hospitality with its award winning pubs and restaurants. On the outskirts of the village stands the Glasson Heritage Centre which has been restored to accommodate tourist information for the area. Nearby Portlick Castle, a 14th century structure has been extensively renovated, with the foreshore at Portlick being developed to include a picnic area and a forest walk., KINNEGAD - set at the junction of the Galway, Sligo and Dublin roads has a long tradition in providing hospitality for the traveling public. The history of Kinnegad is closely connected to transport. At the end of the 18th century and beginning of the 19th century, it became a boom town due to the passing of stage coaches and boasted the biggest hotel in the midlands with over twenty men employed in the yard to attend to the horses alone...., BALLYNACARGY - Located on the Royal Canal between Longford and Mullingar,.. it was once an important trading centre. Approximately 5km from the village is the Church of Ireland at Kilbixy which has been a site of worship since Celtic church times. In the grounds are remains thought to be that of a Leper hospital built by Hugh de Lacy. There is also a magnificent Chestnut tree that is thought to be 300 years old. Close by is Templecross Church and graveyard where Fr. Cantwell is buried, the clay from whose grave is believed to have special powers. Beyond this on the shores of Lough Iron lies the ruins of Tristernagh Abbey, formerly inhabited by Augustinian Friars.