OffalyHotels & Information

County Offaly is situated right in the heart of the midlands, bordered on the north by Westmeath, on the south by Laois and Tipperary, on the east by Meath and Kildare and on the west by Galway and Roscommon.

The beautiful Slieve Bloom Mountains, in the south-east of Offaly are best described as one vast environmental park with seventeen major valleys, numerous amenity areas and hundreds of kilometres of accessible forest tracks, just waiting to be explored. For the more energetic, a sign-posted Slieve Bloom Way walking route (31mls/50kms) circles the mountain range.

The Shannon River has been of great importance in the history of the area, bringing the Danes up the river to Clonmacnoise and it was used by merchants to bring their goods to trade.

There are numerous places of historical interest throughout the county, including one of the most important early monastic sites in Ireland - Clonmacnoise. Clonmacnoise was a great centre of learning from its foundation by St. Ciaran in 545-548, and many manuscripts, including the 11th century Annals of Tighermach ) and the 12th century Book of the Dun Cow, were written here. Its reputation was one of the main reasons that Ireland became known as The Island of Saints and Scholars'. Today, a group of stone churches, a cathedral, two round towers and three High Crosses remain. Pope John Paul 11 visited the site in 1979.

The Bog of Allen and Boora Bog are of great archaeological importance, where 9000 year old flint weapons were discovered in recent years. County Offaly has a wealth of castles, abbeys, and heritage centres.

Local Attractions/Activities
Take a trip on the Clonmacnoise and West Offaly Railway. The 45-minute tour covers 6 miles of bogland and gives a fascinating insight into the history and development of the Blackwater raised bogs, an area of significant ecological importance.

Cloghan Castle, just 3km from the town of Lusmagh, is a medieval castle open to the public.

The Silver River Geological Reserve at Cadamstown gives an insight into a landscape formed by seas and rivers over 400 million years ago. There has been little disturbance to the river valley over the intervening years and the Silver River gorge retains much of its ancient character.

Annaharvey Open Farm, Annaharvey, Tullamore, offers the best of riding, walking, golf and pure unadulterated peace and quiet.

The National Country Fair is held in Birr Castle in early June and events include clay-pigeon shooting, archery, falconry, gundog trials and equestrian events.

Offaly is an anglers's paradise with coarse and trout fishing popular. Ballycumber has good trout fishing as does the Brosna River in Shinrone, the Silver river and Lough Boora at Kilcormac. Other outdoor pursuits are trekking, walking, cycling, clay-pigeon shooting, parachuting, golf, tennis, bird-watching and all manner of watersports.

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