- For other places with the same name, see Portarlington (disambiguation).
Portarlington is the second largest town in county Laois. It's locally known as Port. This can lead to confusion among some people who might regard Portlaoise as Port but Portarlington has been here a lot longer and therefore has a greater claim to the name. The town is split in 2, most of the shops, houses and pubs are in Laois. The schools and one pub are over the river in Offaly. Claims to fame are some of the film "Into the West" was filmed there. The part of the film with the horse eating the popcorn in the cinema was filmed in the local Savoy which is now closed.
Get in
Portarlington is a 10 minute drive from the M7, turn off from Monasterevin.
Trains from Dublin Heuston run hourly and take 35 min to Portarlington. Commuter trains continue to Portlaoise, while inter-city trains continue to Tullamore, Clara and Athlone, where they branch either to Athenry and Galway or to Roscommon, Castlebar and Westport. See Irish Rail for timetables and ticket deals.
Portarlington 1 railway station is just south of town.
Silver Dawn Travel runs a bus to and from Dublin.
Get around
See
The town itself is noted for it's unique Huegenot architecture and as such has various protected buildings in various states of repair. Most sights are outside of the town.
Do
- Emo Court. Once the seat of the earls of Portarlington, a country mansion designed by architect James Gandon. Lea Castle, demolished by Cromwell (wasn't everything) in the 1600s.
Buy
Eat
- Roma chipper (on the main street). Some of the best pizza you'll eat and the chips are good too.
- Tina's (The Goodyear). Original and best Chinese restaurant.
- Anvil pub. Also good for food.
- The restaurant above the After Dark would probably be the fanciest restaurant in town. It's pretty good.
- The French Quarter Cafe, French Church Street, Portarlington (From the square, walk along French Church Street, past St Paul's church. The cafe is a few doors up from the church.). A friendly cafe. Serves simple food, but it is all good.
Drink
- 1 The Railway Bar, ☏ 353 57 864 3333. Affectionately known as the Teddy Bears, full of local characters and the Guinness isn't so bad.
- Mick Finlays. Great pint of Guinness, clean pub, good atmosphere. Pulls all drinks in the same method as Guinness.
- Pint of Port. Not a bad spot, has a good B&B over the pub, don't do breakfast so it's probably only a B.
- Hotel. The local hotel is across the road. Bar in the front, disco out the back.
- 2 O'Dea's (The Coach House), ☏ 353 57 862 3281. A grand spot. Live music on a Saturday, usually a traditional band.
- Tom's bar (The Dublin Bar).
- The Anvil. Probably the biggest pub in Port. Always a crowd on a Saturday. It's where the Fine Young Things come to strut their stuff. A good place for lunch. Internet cafe in the back.
- Paddy Finlays. A nice old man's pub with good atmosphere and decent enough Guinness.
- Continental. The only bar in town with a late licence. Great music Saturday nights.
- Burbages. Another all lads pub.
- After Dark. Probably the trendiest pub in Port. Opens onto the square which is great for long summer evenings for a pint. The Guinness doesn't be too bad. Restaurant upstairs for dinner and lunch.
- The Rugby Club. Runs a disco every Saturday night. It's a good spot where you scarcely get any trouble and everybody knows everybody. The kind of place that still plays "I will walk 500 miles".