Ireland - County Laois

[Ceol na Mara]

One of these days I am going to hop on a plane to the land of birth of my paternal Grandfather. He was born in Mountrath, County Laois (pronounced leesh), Ireland.

I've researched to a small extent, but does anyone have any first hand knowledge? Vacationed there? Lived there? Any advice? Comments? Places I should really see? Accomodations at which I should really stay?

Thank you! Go raibh maith agaibh!

[The Lost Manatee]

I've spent a wee bit of time vacationing in Ireland. I've even driven through Mountrath. I didn't stop, that I recall. The last time I past through was while the M7 was under construction and therefore the N7 was the better option for getting from Limerick to Dublin. There aren't a lot of chain hotels in the area. Generally speaking you are looking at B&B's which are frequently great values since they include breakfast, which will keep you going until late afternoon. As I recall the area around Mountrath is associated with Saint Patrick and Saint Brigid. There are probably a number of shrines, holy wells and groves in the area. The only one that I can think of off the top of my head is St. Fintan's Tree, which isn't too far outside of town. The waters associated with the tree are supposed to have healing qualities. Odds are there will be a few castles and big country estate houses in the area that are open for exploration. I can't recall a specific one but the central parts of Ireland are dotted with them.

Portlaoise is the next "large" town. It's probably somewhere around 4000 people. Near it is the Rock of Dunamase, which features a lot of prehistoric fortifications. It was mentioned in the works of Ptolemy in about 500 BC. There are more dining options and lodging options there but not a lot more.

Just north of Mountrath are the Slieve Bloom Mountains which is home to the Slieve Bloom Way, a 45 mile (roughly) sign posted trail that makes the complete circuit of the mountains and allows a hiker to see all the sights. You can do it in parts. You don't have to do the entire thing in one trip.

To the northwest of the Slieve Bloom Mountains is the town of Birr, which is the home to the Birr Castle and Demesne. There are beautiful gardens there, which not only feature flowers, but trees, shrubs (yes, Roger the Shrubber has been there), along with some amazingly tall box hedges.

Up the road, toward Dublin, you come to the town of Kildare, which is home to the Japanese Gardens and the Irish Stud. The Japanese Gardens are a wonderful place to go to unwind and take things even more slowly than normal for this part of Ireland. The Irish Stud, which was established by Colonel Hall Walker (more famous for his other creation, Johnny Walker whiskey) in 1900 or so. He used it to breed up the horse stock in Ireland and it has been home to some champion race horses. It's a nice place to wander around and look at the horses and grounds.

And, like anywhere in Ireland, you aren't too terribly far from Dublin, Limerick, Cork or Galway. The island isn't so large that you can't do day trips to lots of more famous places however they won't have the family ties that Mountrath does.

Let me know if you have any other questions. In the last 20 years, I've spent 3+ months vacationing around the country.

[Balathama]

That's where my maternal great-grandfather came from, too! What a small world. I don't know much about him or anything about the county, really, but I hope you get a chance to visit. Maybe you can even meet some of your distant relatives. That might make an interesting theme for a world tour if I had the time or money.