Mullingar is the county town of County Westmeath.
Understand
The Counties of Meath and Westmeath Act of 1542, proclaimed Westmeath (which then included Longford which separated in 1586) a county, separating it from Meath. Mullingar became the administrative centre for County Westmeath. The town was founded as Maelblatha, and takes its modern name from a mill noted in the legend of Colman of Mullingar.
The town had a tradition of cattle-trading up until 2003, when its cattle market was closed for development of a mixed commercial and residential scheme called the Market Point. Mullingar is famous for the neighbouring lakes, Lough Owel, Lough Ennell and Lough Derravaragh which attract many anglers. Lough Derravaragh is best known for its connection with the Irish legend of the Children of Lir. The town of Mullingar is linked to Lough Ennell via Lacy's Canal and the River Brosna.
One of Mullingar's major exports are items of pewterware produced by the firm of Mullingar Pewter near the town. Genesis fine art is also produced locally and sold worldwide – one of its sculptures of the "Pilgrims" dominates the dispensary house at Austin Friars St where once there was an Augustinian Friary. The town is the largest town in the Irish Midlands. The town, as of 2006, is the most populated town in the midlands due in part to its increasing popularity as a commuter town.
Three newspapers serve the community: The Westmeath Topic, The Mullingar Advertiser and The Westmeath Examiner. Mullingar forms part of the Midlands Gateway, in association with Athlone and Tullamore. A statue of Joe Dolan has been erected on market square as a tribute.
It is popularly known as the hometown of Niall Horan from the band One Direction.
Get in
By road
Mullingar lies near the national primary route N4, the main Dublin – Sligo road, 79 km (49 miles) from the capital. The N52 also connects Mullingar to the Galway-Dublin M6 motorway. The town is served by Bus Éireann services to Dublin, Athlone (where passengers can catch connecting buses), Sligo, Cavan, Tullamore and Ballina.
The town suffers from heavy afternoon traffic partially caused by a lack of off-street parking problem. The town is bypassed and a ring road has been completed in a bid to further alleviate traffic.
Waterway
In the 19th century the town was served for a time by the Royal Canal – however displaced first by the railway and then the car, it is no longer commercially used for the transport of goods or people. The town of Mullingar as also linked to Lough Ennell via Lacy's Canal and the river Brosna.
By train
Trains from Dublin Connolly take 75 min to Mullingar via Drumcondra and Maynooth, and continue to Longford, Dromod, Carrick-on-Shannon, Boyle, Ballymote and Sligo. There are 7 M-F, 6 Sa, 5 Sunday. See Irish Rail for fare deals.
By bus
Expressway Bus 22 / 23 runs six times a day from Dublin Busáras, taking 90 min via Dublin Airport, Lucan and Maynooth. These continue to Longford whence Bus 23 runs to Dromod, Carrick-on-Shannon, Boyle and Sligo, while Bus 22 heads west to Ballina.
Get around
By car, walking or cycling.
By bus
The following bus routes provide service beyond the town, and may be useful to those who wish to explore the surrounding vicinity. They can also be used for some journeys within the town:
- Bus Éireann Expressway 23 provides an express service northwest to Longford, Carrick-on-Shannon and Sligo, and east to Dublin City and Dublin Airport, 5 times per day Monday to Sunday.
- Bus Éireann 70[dead link] operates west to Athlone, 3 times per day Monday to Saturday.
- Bus Éireann 115 operates east to Kinnegad, Clonard, Enfield, Kilcock, Maynooth and Dublin City, every hour Monday to Saturday and every 2 hours on Sundays.
- Slieve Bloom 837 operates south to Rochfortbridge, Tyrrellspass, Kilbeggan and Tullamore, 4 times per day Monday to Friday and 3 times per day on Saturdays.
Route maps, including stop locations, are available by entering the route number into the TFI route mapper.
See
- Lakes. Mullingar's main tourist attractions are its lakes – Lough Owel, Lough Lene and Lough Ennell - which are popular with anglers.
- 1 Belvedere House Gardens and Park (South of Mullingar on the N52), ☏ 353 44 9349060, ✉[email protected]. 09:30-18:00. Lakeside estate housing a Palladian-style 1700s villa, plus Victorian gardens dotted with follies. Adult €8, children €4, senior citizen/student €6.
- 2 Cathedral of Christ the King Mullingar, Bishop's Gate St. The cathedral of the Diocese of Meath. The Cathedral was dedicated on the day World War II broke out.
- 3 Columb Barracks, Ashe Rd. A major military base in the county housing the 4th Field Artillery Regiment and the HQ of the 54 Reserve Field Artillery Regiment (Army Reserve) formally the FCA (9 FAR).
- Fore Abbey is a ruined Benedictine abbey near Collinstown by Lough Lene, 25 km northeast of Mullingar. It's open all year.
Do
- 1 Mullingar Greyhound Stadium, Lynn Rd. When programmed, greyhound track racing occurs upon the Lynn Greyhound track on Saturday and Sunday evenings. For television broadcasting purposes, races are interlaced with those from Shelbourne Dublin.
- 2 Mullingar Golf Club (South of Mullingar on the N52), ☏ 353 44 9348366, ✉[email protected]. Mullingar Golf Club has a proud history and hosts every August bank holiday weekend a leading amateur golf competition, the Mullingar Scratch Cup. This competition has been won by the likes of Hughie Myres, Des Smyth, Pádraig Harrington, Darren Clarke, Paul McGinley. The 2006 winner was up and coming golfer from Northern Ireland Rory McIlroy. Mullingar player Gerry Purcell is former An Post Golf Society Irish Champion on two occasions.
Buy
- Main St. The town has a mix of local retailers and chain stores (Tesco, Dunnes Stores, O2, Penneys, Lidl, SuperValu, Boots, Specsavers, Lifestyle Sports, Butterfly Kisses, Atlantic Homecare, Marks and Spencer and others). The town also has branches of all the major banks - AIB, Bank of Ireland, Halifax, Ulster Bank, National Irish Bank, Permanent TSB - and branches of First Active and EBS building societies. The town also has one of the country's largest credit unions (St Colemans Credit Union).
- Farmers Market. Farmers' Market is held in Mullingar every Sunday and a further small market is run near Penneys/Marks and Spencer by The Green.
- Fairgreen Shopping Centre. A shopping centre anchored by Marks and Spencer and Penneys. Additional tenants at the centre include UK fashion retailer New Look, Dorothy Perkins and Lifestyle Sports.
Eat
Drink
- 1 Danny Byrnes, 27 Pearse St, ☏ 353 44 9343792.
Sleep
- 1 Annebrook House Hotel, Austin Friars St, ☏ 353 44 9353300, ✉[email protected].
- 2 Bloomfield House Hotel, Belvedere, ☏ 353 44 9340894, ✉[email protected]. 4-star hotel and spa.
- 3 Greville Arms Hotel, Pearse St, ☏ 353 44 9348563, ✉[email protected]. 3-star hotel in the centre of Mullingar.
- 4 Mullingar Park Hotel, Dublin Rd, ☏ 353 44 93 37 500, ✉[email protected]. 4-star hotel on the edge of town.
- 5 The Newbury Hotel, Dominick St, ☏ 353 44 9342888, ✉[email protected]. 3-star hotel in the heart of Mullingar.
- 6 Lough Bawn House, Collinstown, ☏ 353 44 966 6186. Welcoming Georgian house, mainly B&B but dining on request. Open Jan-Nov. B&B double from €170.