Portlaoise

Portlaoise or Port Laoise (pronounced "leesh") is the county town of County Laois, in the south midlands of Ireland. It's a large town that acts as a transport hub for the region and is within an hour's travel of Dublin. There's plenty of accommodation and similar amenities aimed at business and commercial travel rather than tourism. The town has few attractions but it is close to sights such as Rock of Dunamase and the Slieve Bloom mountains.

Understand
The town grew up from the 16th century as Maryborough, named for Queen Mary, when the Tudors established a fort, ousted the Irish rulers the O'Mores, and colonised the area with "Plantations" of loyal English settlers. Growth was slow because of Irish counter-attacks, but the town developed industry and was a stop along the Dublin—Limerick highway. The railway arrived in the 19th century to put it within an hour or so of Dublin. During independence it was renamed Portlaoise and became a hub for several state agencies, eg the Post, and there's a large maximum security prison. In the 21st century Portlaoise grew rapidly as a commuter town for Dublin, and in 2016 the population was 22,050, making it the most populous town in the Midlands.

Tourist information

 * Portlaoise Tourism website
 * The Tourist Office is at Lyster Square, just a short walk from Main Street, facing James Fintin Lalor Avenue, close to the eastbound bus stop.

By train
Trains from Dublin Heuston run hourly from 6:30AM to 10PM. Commuter trains take 70 min, with stops at Dublin Park West & Cherry Orchard, Clondalkin, Adamstown, Hazelhatch & Celbridge, Sallins (for Naas), Newbridge, Kildare, Monasterevin and Portarlington to terminate at Portlaoise. Inter-city trains take 45 min, stopping only at Portarlington; they continue south to Ballybrophy (for the branch line to Roscrea and Nenagh), Thurles, Limerick or Cork, or west to Tullamore, Clara and Athlone, where they branch either for Galway or for Roscommon and County Mayo. A walk-up single from Dublin was €16 in 2021: see Irish Rail for timetables, fares and online tickets.

is north side of town centre.

By bus
Dublin Coach 726 (aka N7 or "The Green Bus") runs hourly round the clock from Dublin Airport via Red Cow LUAS stop, Naas, Newbridge, Kildare and Monasterevin, taking two hours to Portlaoise. On race days it also stops at Curragh racecourse near Kildare. A single from the airport is €10.

From Dublin city centre take a tram or local bus to Red Cow, or Dublin Coach M7 or M9, and change.

Bus Éireann 73 traverses the midlands from Waterford via Thomastown, Kilkenny, Carlow and Stradbally to Portlaoise, continuing to Mountmellick, Tullamore, Clara and Athlone, twice daily M-Sa and once on Sunday.

Keneally's Bus 735 runs every two hours daily from Limerick via UCL, Nenagh and Roscrea to Portlaoise, continuing to Kildare, Dublin Heuston and the airport.

Local Link Bus 828 runs from Cashel via Urlingford, Durrow and Abbeyleix to Portlaoise, four times daily M-Sa and two on Sunday.

Slieve Bloom Coach 829 runs three times daily M-F from Tullamore to Portarlington and Portlaoise.

JJ Kavanagh Bus 825 runs twice daily M-F from Abbeyleix to Port Laoise, Stradbally, Athy and Carlow.

Local Link Bus 834 runs four times daily M-Sa from Roscrea, taking a hour.

The is by the shopping centre and variously called James Fintan Lalor Avenue, Link Road or Blue Bridge. It's just a turnaround, not a bus station.

By road
By road from Dublin follow N7 / M7 to junction 16 (East) then R445 into town, J17 (Central) then N77 into town or J18 (West), then R445 into town; there is no interchange with N80. The first section of N7 to Naas is very busy but it is a good six lane dual carriageway.

Get around
The town is compact, but you need transport for the other attractions.

Taxis wait at the railway station, Market Square and other central locations. Operators include Charlie +353 87 348 5118, J Taxi +353 87 242 1876 and Aros +353 87 778 9647.

Alternatively you can use Freenow Taxi App.

Car hire is available from Practical Car Hire +353 57 862 2048.

Bicycle hire is available from Michael Kavanagh Cycles at 3 Railway St., Race Right and Halfords do repairs, parts and sales but don't hire.

See

 * survives only as a corner tower on Fitzmaurice Place and a couple of sections of wall. It's been adjoined to modern buildings and you can't go inside.
 * Captain James Fitzmaurice (1898-1965), who gives his name to the square, was co-pilot on the first east-to-west transatlantic flight, in Bremen a Junkers W 33. On 12-13 April 1928 they flew overnight from Baldonnel near Dublin to Greenly Island off Quebec. Gloop! — so they'd flown all that way from Ireland just to find themselves in a bog, which wrecked the aircraft. The Fitzmaurice memorial is shaped like an aircraft wing, though Bremen didn't flop at quite such an angle.
 * is perched atop an esker, a small but steep hillock. The church has gone but the graveyard contains various 18th-to 19th-century headstones and tombs.
 * commemorates the 17 officers and 160 men of the regiment who died in the First World War. It's in Memorial Park, a narrow green strip at the junction of Church St and Ridge Rd.
 * is a fenced-off ruin on Railway St. It was built around 1556 as an RC church, but when Catholic Queen Mary was succeeded by Protestant Queen Elizabeth, it smartly changed denomination. John Wesley, founder of Methodism, is said to have preached here on three occasions and to have declared it an elegant church, but it fell into ruin from 1804 when the new St Peter's was built on Market Square. Those within its graveyard include Bartholomew Mosse, founder of Dublin’s Rotunda Hospital, and the highwayman Jeremiah Grant (see Drink). You'll have to make do with squinting through the wrought iron gate on the street.
 * is the statue outside County Hall, the boxy modern building at the junction of Abbeyleix Rd and the boulevard now named for him. Lalor (1809-1849) was primarily a writer advocating for land reform; his poor health gave him little scope for public speaking or physical revolutionary activities. "We hold the present existing government of this island and all existing rights of property in our soil, to be mere usurpation and tyranny . . . " and after his early death (probably from TB) the Great Famine reinforced his point. The next generation of republicans (such as Michael Davitt, James Connolly, Pádraig Pearse and Arthur Griffith) took his argument to its logical conclusion: that cruel and unjust land tenure was the inevitable result of imperial rule over Ireland.

Farther out

 * straggles along N80 towards Carlow. is an Italianate pile built by Lanyon in 1860. It's a private residence with no tours, but often hosts horse riding and other events - see below for the Woodland Railway, Steam Rally and Electric Picnic.
 * is on N77 towards Abbeyleix, 6 km south of town. Colt refers to the nearby village not the revolver, but the plaque commemorates the first shots of the Easter Rising. An order calling off the rising failed to reach many, so on the evening of Easter Sunday 23 April 1916, the Laois Volunteers acted on their orders from Patrick Pearse to sabotage the railway, to prevent British reinforcements being sent towards Dublin. They included a railwayman, so they succeeded while similar attempts that night failed; later a train derailed at the spot. Another railwayman had challenged them but was chased away by three gun shots, confirmed as the rising's first, as the Good Friday capture of Casement and the German arms shipment were effected without gunfire.
 * has the remains of St Mochua's monastery. These are scrappy except for the splendid Round Tower, built in the 12th century and 30 m tall.
 * is 6 km NE of town by Exit 16 of M7. Barrows are common prehistoric burial structures and probably had other ritual purposes. This one is a ring barrow, a low mound surrounded by a concentric ditch with an external bank. It's the most visible of several nearby burial structures; what it most looks like is a golf hazard.
 * is the forlorn stump seen from M7 as you approach town. It was built for the Fitzgeralds circa 1580 and abandoned in the 18th century. It's on private land and hardly worth seeking out in the back lanes.
 * : see Portarlington for this grand mansion, which is closed for restoration until 2022.
 * : see Portarlington for this grand mansion, which is closed for restoration until 2022.

Do

 * Odeon Cinema is a multiplex on Church St.
 * Gaelic games: Laois GAA play football and hurling at O'Moore Park, capacity 22,000, on N77 half a mile south of town centre. Laois unusually are a "dual county" with a strong showing in both sports.
 * is south side of town on R426 Timahoe Rd. There's an outdoor gym, children's play area, artificial lake and wildlife reserve.
 * is popular for walking, jogging and birdwatching. From the M7 / N77 junction wind around Portlaoise Plaza to take the lane crossing south over the motorway.
 * Stradbally Woodland Railway is a 914-mm (3-ft) gauge railway on 1 km of track at Stradbally Hall, with miniature steam and diesel locos. It's only open on summer public holiday weekends and hasn't run since 2019.
 * is south side of town on R426 Timahoe Rd. There's an outdoor gym, children's play area, artificial lake and wildlife reserve.
 * is popular for walking, jogging and birdwatching. From the M7 / N77 junction wind around Portlaoise Plaza to take the lane crossing south over the motorway.
 * Stradbally Woodland Railway is a 914-mm (3-ft) gauge railway on 1 km of track at Stradbally Hall, with miniature steam and diesel locos. It's only open on summer public holiday weekends and hasn't run since 2019.
 * is popular for walking, jogging and birdwatching. From the M7 / N77 junction wind around Portlaoise Plaza to take the lane crossing south over the motorway.
 * Stradbally Woodland Railway is a 914-mm (3-ft) gauge railway on 1 km of track at Stradbally Hall, with miniature steam and diesel locos. It's only open on summer public holiday weekends and hasn't run since 2019.

Events

 * Rock Inn Vintage Rally is on the May Bank Holiday weekend. The next is probably 30 Apr - 2 May 2022, tbc.
 * Laois Rose Final is an old-style beauty contest. It's normally alternate years in June in the Midland Park Hotel, dates for 2022 are tba. The winner gets to try out for the Rose of Tralee later in August.
 * Gordon Bennett Classic Car Rally, open to vehicles of 30+ years, is based in Portlaoise and circles through Kildare, Stradbally, Athy and Carlow. It's held in June over the Bank Holiday weekend.
 * Heartlands Rally is a motor-racing event in June.
 * Old Fort Quarter Festival is at the end of June, with live music, street market and festival and suchlike. It nowadays includes the Celtic Con comedy festival.
 * Stradbally Steam Rally is held on the August bank holiday at Stradbally Hall on N80.
 * Electric Picnic is a music festival at Stradbally Hall. It's usually on the first weekend in September.
 * World & National Ploughing Championships are held at Ratheniska, 3 km west of Stradbally, in late September.

Buy

 * Laois Shopping Centre occupies the block south of James Fintan Lalor Ave by the main bus stop. Tesco Extra is open daily 7AM-10PM, and there's a 24-hour Revolution Laundry.
 * Kyle Shopping Centre is the next block south, anchored by Dunnes Stores (who have another store north on Green Rd).
 * Portlaoise Retail Park is at junction 17 of M7 with Abbeyleix Rd N77. It's the place for homeware and sportsware and has Midway Food Court. Maldron Hotel is also here, see Sleep.
 * Other small retail strips are Parkside (south on Abbeyleix Rd, with SuperValu), Conniberry Junction southwest, and Gandon Court north up N80 in Kilminchy.
 * Centra on Dublin Rd and on Mountmellick Rd have ATMs and are open 24 hours.
 * Antiques: Dunamase Antiques is at 60 Main Street. The Store Yard is an emporium of architectural salvage and other vintage and retro furnishings, west side of town on Kea-Lew Business Park.

Eat
The main eating strips are along Main Street, in Fairgreen north edge of town, and Kilminchy east edge.

Budget

 * Market Square and Main Street has a slew of inexpensive places. They include Laois Kebab, Mezza Pizza and The Pantry on the square, La Lola at No 37, LANA Asian street food at 40, Mayur Indian at 47 (below), Nino's fish & chips at 49, Thanh Loi at 51, Bull Lane cafe corner with 61, Best Choice Burger at 77, Chocolate Brown coffee shop at 93 and Golden Grill fish & chips at 98.
 * Malik's and Royal Garden are takeaways at the foot of Dublin Rd, a block beyond Main Street.
 * Laoise Shopping Centre, main bus stop and surrounds have Caffe Latte, Rafters Cafe, Apache Pizza, Supermac's, Emperor's House, Mizzoni's Pizza and Eddie Rockets.
 * Insomnia is a well-regarded coffee shop in Kyle Shopping Centre, the block south of Laois Shopping Centre. It's open M-Th 8AM-5PM, F Sa 8AM-6PM, Su 11AM.
 * Brew Cafe up Dublin Rd is handy for the two hospitals (and, come to think of it, the prison). It's open M-Sa 9AM-5:30PM.
 * Marie's Cafe is within Dunne's Stores, north up Green Rd, open M-Sa 9AM-5PM.
 * Midway Food Court is at Abbeyleix Rd, N77 at junction 17 of M7 two km south of town centres. Lots of budget outlets. It's next to Maldron Hotel.
 * Kelly Lou Cakes is a bakery on Kealew Business Park with a cafe. They have a larger outlet with more menu choice in Parkside Shopping Centre, opposite the GAA grounds on Abbeyleix Rd: this is open M-Sa 9:30AM-17:00, Su 10AM-16:00.
 * Francesco's is a traditional Italian chipper, with one outlet in Kilminchy and the other at Fairgreen, both next to O'Gorman's restaurants.
 * Kelly Lou Cakes is a bakery on Kealew Business Park with a cafe. They have a larger outlet with more menu choice in Parkside Shopping Centre, opposite the GAA grounds on Abbeyleix Rd: this is open M-Sa 9:30AM-17:00, Su 10AM-16:00.
 * Francesco's is a traditional Italian chipper, with one outlet in Kilminchy and the other at Fairgreen, both next to O'Gorman's restaurants.

Drink

 * Market Square has Liam Casey's, Square Bar, Welcome Inn, EJ Morrissey (below), Manhattan Mixer, Maggie May's and Peigs.
 * Main Street also has Sally Gardens, Funky Munky, Shelley's (beneath Funky Munky), the tiny Bergin's, Grellan Delaney's, Ryan's, Kavanagh's (below), Ramsbottom's and Hume's.
 * Charter Bar & Eatery is within Midlands Park Hotel, see Sleep. It's open daily 8AM-00:00.
 * Late night places are Manhattan Mixer on Market Square, and Lilly's Bar, Grellan Delaney's and Caesar's Card Club along Main St.
 * Ballykilcavan Brewery is 2 km east of Stradbally on R428 towards Athy, tours available.
 * Greenfield Global is a small chemical factory west edge of town; among many other things, they produce alcohol which is mixed into familiar spirits for drinking. No tours, but just so you know where your pricey, artfully marketed drink is really coming from.
 * Late night places are Manhattan Mixer on Market Square, and Lilly's Bar, Grellan Delaney's and Caesar's Card Club along Main St.
 * Ballykilcavan Brewery is 2 km east of Stradbally on R428 towards Athy, tours available.
 * Greenfield Global is a small chemical factory west edge of town; among many other things, they produce alcohol which is mixed into familiar spirits for drinking. No tours, but just so you know where your pricey, artfully marketed drink is really coming from.
 * Ballykilcavan Brewery is 2 km east of Stradbally on R428 towards Athy, tours available.
 * Greenfield Global is a small chemical factory west edge of town; among many other things, they produce alcohol which is mixed into familiar spirits for drinking. No tours, but just so you know where your pricey, artfully marketed drink is really coming from.

Connect
As of June 2021, Portlaoise has 5G from Eir and Vodafone, and 4G from Three.

Go next

 * Abbeyleix has lost its abbey, but instead has a bog, and the Heywood Gardens.
 * Mountmellick is the main access for the north slopes of the Slieve Bloom Mountains.
 * Athy on the navigable River Barrow has old castles and churches.