Ireland (Lonely Planet, 9th Edition) - Fionn Davenport [462]
About 6.5km west of Kilbeggan (1.5km west of Horseleap), just off the N6, is the blissful spa retreat Temple House & Health Spa ( 057-933 5118; www.templespa.ie; s €95-155, d €130-350, 2/3-course dinner €39/48; day spa Wed-Sun, restaurant 7-9pm Tue-Thu, 7-9.30pm Fri & Sat, 12.30-2pm Sun; ). The 250-year-old house is set on 40 hectares of grounds on the site of an ancient monastery. Rooms are blissfully tranquil with a mix of period charm and modern style and, although there are plenty of healthy options on the restaurant menu, it’s a fine dining experience with locally sourced, organic ingredients topping the bill. Both the restaurant and the day spa are open to nonguests.
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MULLINGAR & AROUND
pop 8940
A prosperous regional town, Mullingar hums with the activity of locals going about their daily lives. Nearby there are fish-filled lakes, a pewter factory, and a fantastical mansion with an odious history.
James Joyce visited the town in his youth and it appears in both Ulysses and Finnegans Wake. Restored sections of the Royal Canal extend in either direction from Mullingar.
Information
There are several banks on the main street (which changes name five times).
Laundrette ( 044-934 3045; Dublin Bridge; 8.45am-6.15pm Mon-Sat)
Post office (Dominick St)
Tourist office ( 044-934 8650; Market Sq; 9am-6pm Mon-Sat May-Sep, 9.30am-1pm & 2-5.15pm Sun Jul & Aug, 9.30am-1pm & 2-5.15pm Mon-Fri Oct-Apr)
Sights
Most of Mullingar’s interesting sights lie a few kilometres outside the town centre.
In town, at the northern end of Mary St, the immense Cathedral of Christ the King was built just before WWII and has large mosaics of St Anne and St Patrick by Russian artist Boris Anrep, as well as a small ecclesiastical museum.
MULLINGAR PEWTER
Pewterware is Mullingar’s best-known export. At the Mullingar Pewter Visitor Centre ( 044-934 8791; www.mullingarpewter.com; Great Down, The Downs; 9.30am-6pm Mon-Sat), you can tour the factory floor ( 9.30am-4pm Mon-Thu, 9.30am-3.30pm Fri) and see artisans turning the matt-grey metal into goblets, tankards, candle sticks and objets d’art. The centre is about 6km southeast of Mullingar on the Dublin road (N4).
BELVEDERE HOUSE & GARDENS
Don’t miss the magnificent Belvedere House Gardens & Park ( 044-934 9060; www.belvedere-house.ie; adult/child €8.75/4.75; house 9.30am-5pm Mar-Oct, 10am-4pm Nov-Feb, gardens 9.30am-8pm May-Aug, 9.30am-6pm Mar-Apr & Sep-Oct, 10am-4.30pm Nov-Feb), an immense 18th-century hunting lodge set in 65 hectares of gardens overlooking Lough Ennell. More than a few skeletons have come out of Belvedere’s closets: the first earl, Lord Belfield, accused his wife and younger brother Arthur of adultery. She was placed under house arrest here for 30 years, and Arthur was jailed in London for the rest of his life. Meanwhile, the earl lived a life of decadence and debauchery. On his death, his wife emerged dressed in the fashion of three decades earlier, still protesting her innocence.
Lord Belfield also found time to fall out with his other brother, George, who built a home nearby. Ireland’s largest folly, a ready-made ‘ruin’ called the Jealous Wall, was commissioned by the earl so he wouldn’t have to look at George’s mansion.
Designed by Richard Cassels, Belvedere House contains some delicate rococo plasterwork in the upper rooms. The gardens, with their Victorian glasshouses and lakeshore setting, make for wonderful walking on a sunny day. Kids will enjoy tram rides around the grounds, the animal sanctuary and themed play areas.
Note that the last admission to both the house and gardens is one hour prior to closing.
Belvedere House is 5.5km south of Mullingar on the N52 to Tullamore.
LOUGH ENNELL
This lough is renowned for its brown trout and coarse fishing. It’s also the area where Jonathan Swift first dreamed up Gulliver’s Travels (1726), hence its park’s name, Jonathan Swift Park.
The park is 10km south of Mullingar on the N52.
Activities