Co. Offaly Area Guide

County Offaly known as 'Kings County' is a land locked county located in the province of Leinster. The southern part of the county contains the Slieve Bloom Mountains; the north-western is a floodplain of the River Shannon and the remainder the county consists of large bogs including the Bog of Allen and Boora bog.

Tullamore is the county town of Offaly and is home to the famous Tullamore Dew and Irish Mist whiskeys. Birr is a small Georgian and designated Irish Heritage town in the south of the county and is said to be Offaly's most attractive town. Clara, Banager which is hugely popular for boating, Daingean, Horseleap, Kilcormac, Moneygal and Shinrone are among the long list of attractive and charming towns and villages in County Offaly.

Offaly has numerous places of historical interest throughout the county, including one of the most important early monastic sites in Ireland – Clonmacnoise which is located at river Shannon near Shannonbridge. Other sights of County Offaly include; Birr Castle and its one hundred acre demesne, Charleville Forest Castle, an unusually eye-catching gothic structure and Kinnitty Castle.

There are many national roads routes that the run through the county. The main routes included the N62 and N52 which both link to the N6 which connects Galway City and Dublin. The M8 Motorway which connects Cork City and Dublin is close by running alongside the south of the county.