Croghan

城市概覽

Tulach Mhór means "great mound", indicating a long-vanished defensive earthwork, and Tullamore like the rest of County Offaly was an Irish territory outside the Anglo-Norman "pale" of Leinster. That changed in 1570 when it became part of the Tudor plantations. The Moore family ousted the O'Molloy clan, building the first version of Charleville Castle, and acquiring an earldom. There were no great battles or sieges here, and little to distinguish the place until on 10 May 1785 Tullamore was the improbable site of the world's first aviation disaster. Air accident investigation had not yet been invented so documentation is sparse, but it was an unmanned hot-air balloon, with lift created by a fire burning in a basket, effectively a giant Chinese lantern. The first manned flight had been in 1783 by the Montgolfier brothers in Paris, and balloons were being sent up for amusement and publicity all over Europe. The Tullamore balloon was launched on a breezy day and soon collided with a chimney; its fire took hold of a thatched roof, spread to another and another, until the whole of Barrack Street was ablaze. Some 130 houses were destroyed. There were no fatalities but the loss of so many homes and livelihoods was a disaster. The town shield nowadays depicts a phoenix rising from the ashes, and the story grew that the town centre represents a spate of re-building after the fire, but there was similar urban development all over Georgian Britain and Ireland. There was clearly no future in aviation, and modernising transport meant canals. The Grand Canal from Dublin reached Tullamore in 1798, a great boost to trade and industry, including the local whiskey distilleries. The canal fell into disuse in the 20th century but has been restored throughout its length for leisure boating. The other legacy industry was peat-cutting: this ramped up in the 1950s to reduce Ireland's dependence on imported fuel, and Boora Bog west of town was one of several exploited. Peat smoke is nice in

如何抵達

By road By road from Dublin follow M4 / M6 to Exit 5 at Kilbeggan, then N52 south, and reckon 70 min.

By train Trains from Dublin Heuston take an hour to Tullamore via Kildare and Portarlington. They run almost hourly and continue west to Clara and Athlone then branch either to Athenry and Galway or to Roscommon, Castlebar and Westport, with connections to Ballina. See Irish Rail for timetables, fares and online tickets. 1 Tullamore railway station is 500 m southwest of town centre. The booking office is open M-F 9AM-2PM, and there are ticket machines, waiting rooms and toilets. There's level access to Platform 1 and a lift to the footbridge for Platform 2.

By bus

Kearns Bus 845 / 847 runs from Dublin Ha'penny Bridge M-F every hour or two, with two Sa Su, taking 1 hr 40 min. Two per day (Bus 847) start from Dublin Airport, and three continue from Tullamore to Birr (another 40 min). Times are designed for day-trips into Dublin, with a flurry in the morning and last inbound bus at 1:30PM, then the first outbound bus from Dublin at 1PM. Bus 843 from Birr runs via Tullamore twice M-F mornings to Maynooth (90 min), returning in the afternoon. So altogether between Birr and Tullamore there are nine buses M-F, three Sa and 4 Su. Go Ahead Bus 120C runs from Enfield via Edenderry to Tullamore, with seven M-F and five Sa Su. Bus Éireann 73 traverses the Midlands twice M-Sa and once on Sunday, from Athlone to Clara, Tullamore (20 min), Mountmellick, Portlaoise, Stradbally, Carlow, Kilkenny, Thomastown and Waterford. Local Link buses fill some of these timetable gaps:

- Bus 815 runs five times a day from Athlone, taking a hour via Clara, Tubber and Moate. - Bus 840 from Banagher takes 1 hr 20 min via Ballycumber, Clara and Ballinamere, with 6 M-F and 4 Sa Su. - Bus 850 connects with the 840 at Banagher. It runs six times a day from Athlone to Clonmacnoise, Shannonbridge, Banagher, Birr and Roscrea. On Sunday it continues to Thurles. Slieve Bloom Bus 837 runs six

當地交通

The town is small enough to get around on foot. You'll need your own wheels for outlying sites. Buggy's Coach 835 makes a figure-of-8 around town then round the south-edge retail park. Practical have car hire in Tullamore, but you'll probably do better to hire from the airport. There are taxi ranks at the railway station and on William Street. Operators are Mac's Cabs (+353 57 935 1111), DC Cabs (+353 57 953 0500) and Tullamore Taxis (+353 87 996 2264).

必看景點

1 Church of the Assumption, 19 Chapel St R35 CX74. Hard to miss as it's the tallest building in town. This Roman Catholic church was completed in 1986 to replace the 1906 structure which burned down. There are stained glass windows and giant timber roof beams. The black cross was made from charred fragments of the older church. Free. (updated Jun 2026) 2 Offaly History Centre, Bury Quay R35 Y5V0, ☏ +353 57 932 1421, [email protected]. M-F 9AM-4:30PM. It's primary a bookshop but has resources for researching Irish genealogy. (updated Jun 2026) 3 Town Park along Cormac St is a large park with fountains and a large play area for kids. There's a bowls pitch, a skateboard park, and plenty of parking. The graveyard holds two victims of the Battle of Tullamore, fought on 22 July 1806 between the King's German Legion and Irish militiamen. Problem was, they were supposed to be on the same side against Napoleon, but a punch-up led to a mass brawl with 3 deaths and 42 injured. 4 Charleville Castle, Charleville Rd R35 AX51 (2 km southwest of town off N52), ☏ +353 57 932 3040. July-Aug daily 11AM-5PM. A curious mixture of the grand and the tumbledown. This Gothic pile was built 1800-1812, in the flush of victory over the revolutionary French, with money they didn't have. (One regular visitor Lord Byron would appreciate that situation.) It was occupied on-and-off, fell derelict in the 20th century but was restored from 1973, and this continues. So parts are still a sorry ruin, but there's a splendid facade and interiors, admission to these is by guided tour. It's set in fine oak forests and has often hosted big events and festivals. They've tried to market it as a "haunted house" but the ghostly spectre that most visitors encounter is the website puff for events that folded a decade ago. (updated Jun 2026) 5 Tullamore D.E.W. Heritage Centre, Clonminch, Tullamore R35 E027 (Exit 5 from M6), ☏ +353 57 931 9760, [email protected]. Daily 10AM-6PM. This moved to the current bu

體驗活動

What's on? Tune in to Midlands 103 FM or read the Offaly Independent or Offaly Express. IMC Cinema is within the Bridge Centre in the middle of town. Esker Arts Centre, High Street R35 NY50, ☏ +353 57 938 3801. A venue for music concerts, plays, musicals, films and an exhibition art gallery. (updated Jun 2026) Grand Canal has a firm towpath, good for strolling, cycling and fishing. Gaelic games: Offaly GAA play hurling and Gaelic football at O'Connor Park, off Arden Rd R421 just north of the canal. The stadium (capacity 20,000) is al