Mullingar

城市概覽

An Muileann gCearr means "backwards-flowing mill" as St Colmán of Lann was supposed to have miraculously reversed its direction. The life of this 7th-century abbott is described in a text of circa 1122 as so holy and pious as to cause readers to fall about laughing; another miracle. In Norman times the town was big enough to support two abbeys, but nothing remains except the name "Austin Friars Street" for the Canons Regular of St Augustine. Mullingar became a county town in 1542 when Westmeath was separated from County Meath; along with it came Longford, but that was formed into another county in 1586. It was and is an agricultural market town, but Mullingar wasn't colonised or divided into "plantations" as it was loyal to the English crown, unlike areas to the west and north where the Irish had rolled back the Normans. The Royal Canal arrived in 1806 — you could reach Dublin by fast boat in 8 hours — and the railway opened in 1848. That made leisure travel possible. The main reason to visit is the scattering of nearby lakes, Lough Ennell being the nearest, with Belvedere House and Gardens on its banks. Well-known people associated with Mullingar include author JP Donleavy (1926-2017), Michael O'Leary (b 1961) CEO of Ryanair, and singer Niall Horan (b 1993) from the band One Direction. Mullingar Tourist Office is in Market Square.

如何抵達

Can you cadge the fare from M'Coy? In 1900 the 18-year-old James Joyce spent a while in Mullingar with his father and siblings. It features in Ulysses as Leopold and Molly Bloom's daughter Milly works there: she writes home that she's met a young student called Bannon. Leopold broods on what she might be up to, and thinks he'll pay her a visit, but he broods even more about the return rail fare of 2 shillings and sixpence. Could he wangle a freebie? He once did a favour for a railway clerk called M'Coy, could he tap him for a travel pass? Or he could even walk or cycle the 50 miles from Dublin along the Royal Canal. For lack of a reliable internet travel guide, Leopold's trip remains unresolved at the close of "Bloomsday".

By train Intercity 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. These run every couple of hours and are supplemented by commuter trains, inward to Dublin in the morning and back out to Mullingar and Longford early evening. A walk-up single from Dublin is €11, see Irish Rail for timetables, fares and online tickets. 1 Mullingar railway station is 500 m southwest of town centre. The ticket office is open M-Sa 8AM-4PM, Su 4:30-9PM, and there are machines and toilets. The original line to Athlone and Galway branched here: that route is now via Portarlington so the line west from Mullingar is disused and has become a cycleway.

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. Bus Éireann 115 takes almost two hours from Dublin Connolly and Heuston stations (but not Busáras), via Lucan, Maynooth, Kilcock, Enfield and Kinnegad to Mullingar. It's hourly M-Sa and every two hours on Sunday; intermediate buses only run as far as Ki

當地交通

The town is compact but you need your own wheels for outlying sites. Distances are not great and the terrain is lowland so a bike would do. Mullingar Bike Hire is by the canal bridge on Harbour St and open Sa 10AM-5PM, Su 1-5PM.

必看景點

1 Cathedral of Christ the King, Bishop's Gate St N91 EF82. This impressive Roman Catholic cathedral was built from 1933 in Renaissance style and consecrated in 1939. It has striking mosaics by Boris Anrep (1883-1969), who clearly had half his mind on the poet Anna Akhmatova when he decorated the chapel of St Anne. (updated Jun 2021) Chimera Gallery at 32 Oliver Plunkett St is open Tu-Sa noon-6PM. 2 Columb Barracks on Ashe Rd was a large army base but closed in 2012. The buildings are a mixture of the impressive and the ugly: a few commercial units have set up within but it hasn't found a definitive use. 3 Belvedere House and Gardens, Belvedere N91 EF80 (8 km south of town on N52), ☏ +353 44 933 8960, [email protected]. Grounds & park: Nov to Feb: 9:30AM-4:30PM; Mar & Oct: daily 9:30AM-6PM; Apr & Sep: 9:30AM-7PM; May-Aug: daily 9:30AM-8PM. House: in season 9:30AM-5PM; low season 9:30AM-4PM. Last admission 1 hour before closing time. This Palladian villa was built as a hunting lodge in 1740 for Robert Rochfort the first Earl of Belvedere. He made it his main home since he was using his residence at Gaulstown (now demolished) to incarcerate his wife Mary Molesworth for having an affair with his brother Arthur; he also got Arthur imprisoned for debt (the unpaid legal damages for the affair). They were only released when he died, Arthur having been confined 18 years and Mary 31 years. He'd also built Belvedere — which of course means "pleasant view" — right next to his brother George, who he hated: the great ramshackle wall that looks like the ruin of an earlier castle is a "jealousy wall" so he didn't have to see George's better mansion. His cause of death was blunt trauma to the head, but there was no appetite for hunting a culprit, so it was called a maybe-accident. After various owners the property passed to Westmeath County Council in 1982. House and gardens have been extensively restored. Adult €8, child €4, student or senior €6, family 2+2 €23. Parking free.

體驗活動

What's on? For local events listen to Midlands 103 FM, or read Westmeath Examiner, Westmeath Topic or Mullingar Advertiser. Royal Canal stretches across the county and loops round the north side of town. There's a good firm towpath for walking and cycling. The canal is navigable throughout but there's no local boat hire: you'd probably have to start from Leixlip near Dublin. There is no navigation link to the nearby lakes. Gaelic games: Westmeath GAA play football and hurling at Cusack Park, capacity 11,500, east side of town centre. Theatre: Mullingar Arts Centre is on Mount St in town centre. IMC Cinema is east of town at jcn 16 of N4 with N52. Get up in Victorian drag or come as your great-great nan's hen party to Victorian Escapade. It's a themed event-space in Clonmel House, east off Dublin Rd. Built in 1802 for the second Earl of Belvedere, it was variously a townhouse, a Bishop's Palace, the childhood home of Michael O'Leary of Ryanair, and the base for the Regional Tourist Board. 1 Mullingar Greyhound Stadium, Lynn Rd N91 P22Y, ☏ +353 61 448 080. Sa Su 6:30-10:30PM. Races are on Saturday and Sunday evenings. TV coverage intersperses races here with those at Shelbourne Park Dublin. Adult €10. (updated Jun 2021) 2 Mullingar Golf Club, Belvidere, ☏ +353 44 934 8366, [email protected]. Parkland course by the lake, the chief tournament is the Scratch Trophy in August (72 holes stroke