Mullingar (Muileann Cearr, "Carr's Mill"), county town of Westmeath county and market center of an agricultural area (mainly stock farming), lies on the River Brosna in northeastern central Ireland, at the junction of three railroad lines and the intersection of two main roads, the N4 and N52. The town is almost encircled by the Royal Canal.
Mullingar lies between two large loughs, Lough Owel to the north, and Lough Ennell to the south. There is fishing for brown trout in both loughs and in the River Brosna.
The town of Mullingar is dominated by the Roman Catholic Cathedral of Christ the King with its 140ft/42m high twin towers. Attached to the church is an ecclesiastical museum.
Pewter has been produced in Mullingar for centuries. This had a revival in the mid-1970, since when articles made from pewter have been made, many according to old patterns. The factory can be visited, the craftsmen watched at their work and the finished articles purchased.
Belvedere House and its gardens are situated on the N52 a short distance south of Mullingar. It owes its name to the view of Lough Ennell which can be enjoyed from the 18th C. mansion.
Address: Belvedere House, Gardens & Park, Belvedere, Mullingar , Ireland
Hours:
January 1 to April 30: 10:30am-4:30pm
May 1 to August 31: 9:30am-6pm; Sun:10:30am-7pm; Sat:10:30am-7pm
The R394 runs north from Mullingar, passing several small loughs, to Castlepollard. At Castlepollard stands Tullynally Castle (formerly Pakenham Hall), an 18th C. mansion much altered in the 19th C. It has associations with the 18th C. novelist Maria Edgeworth and the Duke of Wellington. The attractive park, bordering the banks of the Lough Derravaragh, is open to the public the whole year. The castle is open for only a month.
Tips: Castle open from June 15 to July 31 only. The castle can be visited by pre-booked groups other times by arrangement. Opening dates listed for gardens.
Disability Access: Partial facilities for persons with disabilities.
North of Mullingar on the N4, between Lough Owel and Lough Derravaragh, lies Multyfarnham, with a modern Franciscan college built on the site of a 14th C. monastery, the church of which, with a fine tower, has been restored. In the grounds of the college are life-size Stations of the Cross.
The R394 runs north from Mullingar, passing several small loughs, to Castlepollard. On the way there, 7mi/11km from Mullingar, we come to Crookedwood, to the right of which is Taghmon, with a ruined 15th C. church (National Monument) and a four-story fortified tower house; both the church and the house have vaulted roofs.
15mi/24km south of Mullingar the N6 reaches Tyrrelspass, an 18th C. planned village of well-built houses laid out in a crescent round the village green. It won an award in the 1976 Europena Architectural Heritage Year. On the village green is an unusual memorial to those who died in the struggle for Irish independence - three children of different ages on their way to school.
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