Mullingar ( ; ) is the

county town In Great Britain and Ireland, a county town is usually the location of administrative or judicial functions within a county, and the place where public representatives are elected to parliament. Following the establishment of county councils in ...

County Westmeath County Westmeath (; or simply ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It formed part of the historic Kingdom of ...

in Ireland. It is the third most populous town in the Midland Region, with a population of 22,667 in the 2022 census. The

Counties of Meath and Westmeath Act 1543 An Act for the division of Meath into two shires (referred to in the modern Irish Statute Book as the Counties of Meath and Westmeath Act 1543) (34 Hen. 8. c. 1 (I)) was an act of the Parliament of Ireland passed in 1542 which resulted in the ...

proclaimed Westmeath a county, separating it from Meath. Mullingar became the administrative centre for County Westmeath. The town was originally named ''Maelblatha'', and takes its modern name from a mill noted in the legend of Colman of Mullingar. Traditionally a market town serving the surrounding agricultural hinterland, Mullingar's cattle market closed in 2003 for the development of a mixed commercial and residential scheme called Market Point. Mullingar has a number of neighbouring lakes, including

Lough Owel Lough Owel () is a mesotrophic lough in the Midlands of Ireland, situated north of Mullingar, the county town of Westmeath. It has a maximum depth of . Water from Lough Owel feeds the Royal Canal, a canal crossing Ireland from Dublin to the ...

, Lough Ennell and Lough Derravaragh. Lough Derravaragh is also known for its connection with the Irish legend of the

Children of Lir The ''Children of Lir'' () is a legend from Irish mythology. It is a tale from the post-Christianisation period that mixes magical elements such as druidic wands and spells with a Christian message of Christian faith bringing freedom from su ...

. The town of Mullingar is linked to Lough Ennell via Lacy's Canal and the River Brosna. Another nearby waterway is the

Royal Canal The Royal Canal () is a canal originally built for freight and passenger transportation from Dublin to Longford in Ireland. It is one of two canals from Dublin to the River Shannon and was built in direct competition to the Grand Canal. Th ...

, which loops around Mullingar.

History

The town developed at a fording point on the River Brosna. Evidence of ancient settlement within Mullingar include records of a

motte-and-bailey castle A motte-and-bailey castle is a European fortification with a wooden or stone keep situated on a raised area of ground called a motte, accompanied by a walled courtyard, or bailey, surrounded by a protective ditch and palisade. Relatively easy ...

, a

tower house A tower house is a particular type of stone structure, built for defensive purposes as well as habitation. Tower houses began to appear in the Middle Ages, especially in mountainous or limited access areas, to command and defend strategic points ...

known as Mullingar Castle, a number of fortified houses and several water mills. The town's Irish name, ''An Muileann Cearr'' meaning a "wry or left-handed mill", refers to one of these mills. Former monastic settlements, founded in Mullingar, included the Augustinian Priory of St. Mary (established by the then

Bishop of Meath The Bishop of Meath is an episcopal title which takes its name after the ancient Kingdom of Meath. In the Catholic Church it remains as a separate title, but in the Church of Ireland it has been united with another bishopric. History Until the ...

in 1227) and a Dominican friary (reputedly established by the Nugent family in 1237). The sites of these two monasteries, which were " dissolved" in the 16th century, were in ruin by the late 17th century. When

was formed in the 1540s, with the passing of the

, Mullingar became the "

shire town A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equivalent term, shire town, is used in ...

" for the newly formed county. It was also a

garrison town A garrison is any body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it. The term now often applies to certain facilities that constitute a military base or fortified military headquarters. A garrison is usually in a city ...

, following the completion of Wellington Barracks (later Columb Barracks) in the early 19th century. The current cathedral in Mullingar, the Cathedral of Christ the King, was built in the 1930s on the site of a former 19th century cathedral.

Local government and politics

Westmeath County Council Westmeath County Council () is the local authority of County Westmeath, Ireland. As a county council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001. The council is responsible for housing and community, roads and transportation, urban planni ...

is the local authority for Westmeath. The county council comprises two constituencies or "municipal districts". Mullingar town is in the Mullingar Municipal District, which comprises thirteen members. The town is part of the Longford–Westmeath constituency for elections to

Dáil Éireann Dáil Éireann ( ; , ) is the lower house and principal chamber of the Oireachtas, which also includes the president of Ireland and a senate called Seanad Éireann.Article 15.1.2° of the Constitution of Ireland reads: "The Oireachtas shall co ...

. Mullingar's Ruth Illingworth, a local historian and

Fine Gael Fine Gael ( ; ; ) is a centre-right, liberal-conservative, Christian democratic political party in Ireland. Fine Gael is currently the third-largest party in the Republic of Ireland in terms of members of Dáil Éireann. The party had a member ...

politician, was Ireland's first female openly LGBTQ+ mayor, elected in 2009. There is a

Chamber of Commerce A chamber of commerce, or board of trade, is a form of business network. For example, a local organization of businesses whose goal is to further the interests of businesses. Business owners in towns and cities form these local societies to a ...

in Mullingar, and Mullingar is one of the three towns that forms the Midlands Gateway region, along with

Athlone Athlone (; ) is a town on the border of County Roscommon and County Westmeath, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is located on the River Shannon near the southern shore of Lough Ree. It is the second most populous town in the Midland Region, Ir ...

and

Tullamore Tullamore (; ) is the county town of County Offaly in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is on the Grand Canal (Ireland), Grand Canal, in the middle of the county, and is the fourth most populous town in the Midland Region, Ireland, Midlands Reg ...

, set up as part of the Government's National Spatial Strategy 2002–2020.

Tourism

Mullingar's tourist attractions include its lakes –

, Lough Derravaragh and Lough Ennell – which are visited by anglers. The

also flows through the town. Belvedere House and Gardens, Mullingar Golf Club and the Bloomfield House Hotel are all located nearby. The town has a handful of hotels, including the Newbury Hotel, Annebrook House Hotel, Mullingar Park Hotel and the Greville Arms Hotel. The latter holds the two Brit awards presented to

Niall Horan Niall James Horan ( ; born 13 September 1993) is an Irish singer-songwriter. He rose to prominence as a member of the boy band One Direction, formed in 2010 on the singing competition ''The X Factor (British TV series), The X Factor''. The gr ...

, and a large granite monument, which formerly stood at Dominick Street, which was presented to the town by Lord Greville. One of Mullingar's notable buildings is the cathedral of Christ the King Mullingar, the cathedral of the Diocese of Meath. The cathedral was dedicated on the day World War II broke out. Columb Barracks, which closed in March 2012, was a military base that housed the 4th Field Artillery Regiment, the 4th Field Supply & Transport Company and the HQ of the 54 Reserve Field Artillery Regiment (Army Reserve). 1916 Monument Mullingar

There is a monument, commemorating the centenary of the 1916 Easter Rising, at Green Bridge in Mullingar. The monument, built by the Mullingar Tidy Towns organisation, was officially unveiled on Easter Monday 2017. Other memorials and statues in Mullingar include a statue titled "The Pilgrims" (erected to commemorate the millennium in 2000 at the junction of Austin Friars Street and MacCurtain Street), a memorial to the Great Famine (erected in 1997 on The Square in Mullingar), and a statue of

Joe Dolan Joseph Francis Robert Dolan (16 October 1939 – 26 December 2007) was an Irish singer, entertainer and recording artist. Chiefly known in Ireland for his association with Irish showband, showbands and for his innovative style and high tenor s ...

(unveiled in 2008 on the Market Square). Mullingar Town Park is a public park situated in the centre of the town, and it includes a wide variety of

playgrounds A playground, playpark, or play area is a place designed to provide an environment for children that facilitates Play (activity)#Children, play, typically outdoors. While a playground is usually designed for children, some are designed for othe ...

, a

swimming pool A swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, paddling pool, or simply pool, is a structure designed to hold water to enable Human swimming, swimming and associated activities. Pools can be built into the ground (in-ground pools) or built abo ...

and a large

pond A pond is a small, still, land-based body of water formed by pooling inside a depression (geology), depression, either naturally or artificiality, artificially. A pond is smaller than a lake and there are no official criteria distinguishing ...

near the centre. On 22 July 2016, the park became one of 22 public spaces in Ireland to be awarded a Green Flag.

Economy

Among Mullingar's exports are items of

pewter Pewter () is a malleable metal alloy consisting of tin (85–99%), antimony (approximately 5–10%), copper (2%), bismuth, and sometimes silver. In the past, it was an alloy of tin and lead, but most modern pewter, in order to prevent lead poi ...

ware produced by Mullingar Pewter.Mullingar Pewter, Gifts of a Lifetime
. Mullingarpewter.com. Also associated with Mullingar is Genesis Fine Art, which produces gift items. The "Pilgrims" sculpture on Mullingar's Austin Friars Street, at which location there once stood an Augustinian Friary, was crafted by Genesis on foot of a commission by the Mullingar chapter of Soroptimists International. Mullingar's commercial sector has expanded in recent years from just a few shops on the town's main thoroughfares – Oliver Plunkett Street, Austin Friars Street, and Mount Street – to several major shopping areas. There is an out-of-town retail park at Lakepoint (about 1.6 km from the town centre), the Harbour Place Shopping Centre near the town centre, and a development at the Green – on the site of the former Avonmore and Penneys units. The town has a mix of local retailers and chain stores, and branches of the major banks. The town also has a

credit union A credit union is a member-owned nonprofit organization, nonprofit cooperative financial institution. They may offer financial services equivalent to those of commercial banks, such as share accounts (savings accounts), share draft accounts (che ...

, Mullingar Credit Union (formerly known as St. Colman's House). A proposed development, named "Mullingar Central", was to have been located between Mount Street, the railway station and Blackhall Street. Planning permission was granted for retail, commercial and residential units. Phase 1, which included tax offices, library, civic offices and County Council buildings was officially opened on 11 June 2009. Phase 2, however, did not proceed. Mullingar contains several industrial estates and business parks. As of 2015, only one plot on the Industrial Development Authority (IDA) business park in Marlinstown has been acquired by an employer, Patterson Pumps. At that time, the business was constructing a new plant to which it intended to move its Irish operation from its current location at Mullingar Business Park. Two of the town's manufacturing plants – Penn tennis balls and Tarkett – both closed in the early 2000s causing many job losses. Other local employers include the Midland Regional Hospital at Mullingar, P.E.M. Engineering, Trend Technologies, Taconic International, and Mullingar Pewter. The town is home to a €25m

Lidl Lidl ( ) is a trademark, used by two Germany, German international discount supermarket, discount retailer chain store, chains that operates over 12,600 stores. The ''LD Stiftung'' operates the stores in Germany and the ''Lidl Stiftung & Co. K ...

warehouse and distribution centre. Mullingar has a Chamber of Commerce which represents almost 200 businesses from varying commercial sectors.

Transport

Road

Mullingar lies near the national primary route N4, the main

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

–

Sligo Sligo ( ; , meaning 'abounding in shells') is a coastal seaport and the county town of County Sligo, Ireland, within the western province of Connacht. With a population of 20,608 in 2022, it is the county's largest urban centre (constituting 2 ...

road, from the capital. The N52 also connects Mullingar to the

Galway Galway ( ; , ) is a City status in Ireland, city in (and the county town of) County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay. It is the most populous settlement in the province of Connacht, the List of settleme ...

-Dublin

M6 motorway The M6 motorway is the longest motorway in the United Kingdom. It is located entirely within England, running for just over from the Midlands to the border with Scotland. It begins at Junction 19 of the M1 motorway, M1 and the western end of t ...

to the southwest, and Kells,

Ardee Ardee (; , ) is a town and townland in County Louth, Ireland. It is located at the intersection of the N2, N52, and N33 roads. The town shows evidence of development from the thirteenth century onward but as a result of the continued develo ...

and

Dundalk Dundalk ( ; ) is the county town of County Louth, Ireland. The town is situated on the Castletown River, which flows into Dundalk Bay on the north-east coast of Ireland, and is halfway between Dublin and Belfast, close to and south of the bor ...

to the northeast. The town is served by

Bus Éireann Bus Éireann (; "Irish Bus") is a state-owned bus and coach operator providing services throughout Republic of Ireland, Ireland, with the exception of Dublin, where bus services are provided by sister company Dublin Bus. It is a subsidiary of C ...

services to

(where passengers can catch connecting buses),

Cavan Cavan ( ; ) is the county town of County Cavan in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The town lies in Ulster, near the border with County Fermanagh in Northern Ireland. The town is bypassed by the main N3 road (Ireland), N3 road that links Dublin ( ...

and Ballina.

Waterway

In the 19th century the town was served for a time by the

– however displaced first by the railway and then the car, it is no longer commercially used for the transport of goods or people. The town of Mullingar is also linked to Lough Ennell via Lacy's Canal and the River Brosna.

Railways

The

Midland Great Western Railway The Midland Great Western Railway (MGWR) was the third largest Irish gauge () railway company in Ireland. It was incorporated in 1845 and absorbed into the Great Southern Railways in 1924. At its peak the had a network of , making it Ireland's ...

line to Mullingar from Dublin opened in stages from 1846 to 1848, arriving in Mullingar on 2 October 1848. This was to a temporary station, adjacent to the greyhound stadium. The original mainline ran from Dublin ( Broadstone Station) to

via Mullingar, then via

Moate Moate (; ) is a town in County Westmeath, Ireland. As of the 2022 census, it had a population of 3,013. The town's Irish name, ''An Móta'', is derived from the term motte-and-bailey, as the Normans built an example of this type of fortificati ...

, the Mullingar to

section opening in August 1851. The present station opened with the branch line to

Longford Longford () is the county town of County Longford in Ireland. It had a population of 10,952 at the 2022 census. It is the biggest town in the county and about one third of the county's population lives there. Longford lies at the meeting of ...

on 14 December 1855. There were two secondary stations in Mullingar, the Canal Crossing cattle bank which was on the Sligo line and, on the

line, Newbrook racecourse which had its own station. This was a two-platformed station with both platforms on the Down Line. Currently, the Dublin-Sligo railway line northwest to

and

is the mainline,

is accessed from Heuston Station via Portarlington. Mullingar station is served by national rail company

Iarnród Éireann Iarnród Éireann, () or Irish Rail, is the operator of the national Rail transport in Ireland, railway network of Ireland. Established on 2 February 1987, it is a subsidiary of CIÉ, Córas Iompair Éireann (CIÉ). It operates all internal I ...

's ''Arrow'' commuter services to

and ''InterCity'' trains to/from

. The line between Mullingar and

has been transformed into the Old Rail Trail, a 43 kilometer cycle path linking the

River Shannon The River Shannon ( or archaic ') is the major river on the island of Ireland, and at in length, is the longest river in the British Isles. It drains the Shannon River Basin, which has an area of , – approximately one fifth of the area of I ...

in Athlone to the

in Mullingar. The Railway Preservation Society of Ireland have a secondary base in the town. There is a photo survey of the disused Athlone Line via

Healthcare

The Midland Regional Hospital at Mullingar serves the Longford-Westmeath area. An extension was built in the early 1990s. A change in government, however, halted investment and the extension lay as an empty shell until late 2006 when funding was finally secured to ensure its completion. There are several other hospitals in the town: St Loman's, which provides psychiatric services to the Midlands; St Mary's, a care centre for older people; and the St Francis Private Hospital.

Education

The town has several primary schools, including a number run under the Catholic ethos, a Church of Ireland school, a non-denominational

Educate Together Educate Together () is an educational charity in Republic of Ireland, Ireland which is the patron body to "equality-based, co-educational, child centred, and democratically run" schools. It was founded in 1984 to act as the patron body for the ...

primary school, and two Irish language primary schools. Local second-level schools include Coláiste Mhuire, the town's oldest post-primary school, St Finian's College, Loreto College Mullingar and Mullingar Community College. Coláiste Mhuire is primarily a boys school, however, the repeat

Leaving Certificate A secondary school leaving qualification is a document signifying that the holder has fulfilled any secondary education requirements of their locality, often including the passage of a final qualification examination. For each leaving certificate ...

class is co-educational. Just to the north of Mullingar on the old Longford Road is St Finian's College. Until 2003, St Finian's was an all-boys boarding school; however, in 2003, the decision was made to phase out the boarding school by 2007, and to admit girls as well as boys. Loreto College for girls is the largest secondary school in the town, while Mullingar Community College is a co-educational school for boys and girls. The Community College also runs evening courses for adults and awards the

FETAC The Further Education and Training Awards Council () or FETAC was a statutory qualification-awarding body for further education in Ireland. It was established on 11 June 2001 under the Qualifications (Education and Training) Act 1999. FETAC was d ...

certificates. Wilson's Hospital School, a co-educational boarding school, operates under the patronage of the

Church of Ireland The Church of Ireland (, ; , ) is a Christian church in Ireland, and an autonomy, autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. It is organised on an all-Ireland basis and is the Christianity in Ireland, second-largest Christian church on the ...

(Anglican Communion). It is located in the nearby village of Multyfarnham. It serves day students from the Mullingar area. St. Joseph's Secondary School, a co-educational school located in the nearby village of Rochfortbridge, also serves the Mullingar area.

Culture

Media

Two print newspapers serve the community: the ''Westmeath Examiner'' and the '' Westmeath Topic''.

Music

The Mullingar Town Band was founded in 1879 by Father Polland as a Holy Family Confraternity Band. The local military barracks supplied some of the early members, who themselves were serving members of the British Regimental bands stationed in Mullingar. The Mullingar Confraternity Band remained under the auspices of the Confraternity until the 1940s, when it was handed over to a committee and continued under the title of Mullingar Brass and Reed Band. The band has a dual role as a concert band and a marching band (the latter known as the Celtic Crusaders). In 2017, the Celtic Crusaders won the Irish Marching Band Association League. First opened in 1989, "The Stables" is a music venue in Mullingar, which critic and writer Ronan Casey described as an "essential" stop for national touring acts.

, born and raised in Mullingar, is a former member of the

boy band A boy band is a vocal group consisting of young male singers, usually in their Teenage, teenage years or in their twenties at the time of formation. Generally, boy bands perform love songs marketed towards girls and young women. Many boy bands ...

One Direction One Direction, often shortened to 1D, were an English-Irish pop boy band formed in London in 2010. The group consisted of Niall Horan, Zayn Malik (until his departure in 2015), Liam Payne, Harry Styles, and Louis Tomlinson. The group sold o ...

. Horan has won four Brit Awards and four

MTV Video Music Awards The MTV Video Music Awards (commonly abbreviated as the VMAs) is an award show presented by the cable channel MTV to honor the best in the music video medium. Originally conceived as an alternative to the Grammy Awards (in the video category ...

with One Direction. Niall Breslin, from the band The Blizzards, is also from Mullingar.

The Academic The Academic are an Irish indie rock band from Killucan, County Westmeath. The band consists of Craig Fitzgerald, Dean Gavin, and brothers Matthew and Stephen Murtagh. Their debut studio album, '' Tales from the Backseat'', was released in Ja ...

is another local band. Mullingar native Tanya O'Callaghan is the bass player with the band

Whitesnake Whitesnake are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1978. The group were originally put together as the backing band for singer David Coverdale, who had recently left Deep Purple. Though the band quickly developed into their ow ...

, Tanya was also bassist for solo projects for

Iron Maiden Iron Maiden are an English Heavy metal music, heavy metal band formed in Leyton, East London, in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris (musician), Steve Harris. Although fluid in the early years of the band, the line-up for most ...

singer

Bruce Dickinson Paul Bruce Dickinson (born 7 August 1958) is an English singer who is best known as the lead vocalist of the heavy metal band Iron Maiden. Dickinson has performed in the band across two stints, from 1981 to 1993 and from 1999 to the present d ...

, and solo projects for

Twisted Sister Twisted Sister was an American Heavy metal music, heavy metal band formed in 1972 in Ho-Ho-Kus, New Jersey, and later based on Long Island, New York (state), New York. Their best-known songs include "We're Not Gonna Take It (Twisted Sister song ...

singer Dee Snider. Live venues include the Mullingar Arts Centre. In 1951, 1963, 2022, and 2023 Mullingar hosted the ''

Fleadh Cheoil The Fleadh Cheoil (), or "music festival" in English, is an annual Ireland, Irish arts festival and competition run by Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann (Irish pronunciation: Help:IPA/Irish, [ˈkoːl̪ˠt̪ˠəsˠ ˈcoːl̪ˠt̪ˠoːɾʲiː ˈeːɾ ...

''.

In popular culture

The town is mentioned in a number of songs, including "The Reason I Left Mullingar" (written in 1980 and sung by The Furey Brothers), "Ode in Praise of The City of Mullingar" (written by William J Macquorn Rankine), "The Rocky Road to Dublin" (by ''The Dubliners''), and ''Pat of Mullingar'' (an Irish rebel song). Mullingar is also mentioned towards the end of the song "Horse Outside" by the Rubberbandits. Mullingar is also associated with Irish author

James Joyce James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (born James Augusta Joyce; 2 February 1882 – 13 January 1941) was an Irish novelist, poet, and literary critic. He contributed to the modernist avant-garde movement and is regarded as one of the most influentia ...

, who was an occasional visitor to Mullingar during his youth. Joyce's father, John, was a civil servant posted from Dublin to compile an electoral register of Mullingar and the surrounding townlands. He often stayed in the Greville Arms Hotel. James referred to Mullingar in three of his novels, mentioning it twelve times in Ulysses, in chapter 14 of Stephen Hero, and three times in

Finnegans Wake ''Finnegans Wake'' is a novel by Irish literature, Irish writer James Joyce. It was published in instalments starting in 1924, under the title "fragments from ''Work in Progress''". The final title was only revealed when the book was publishe ...

. Mullingar featured on ''

Three Men in a Boat ''Three Men in a Boat (To Say Nothing of the Dog)'',The Penguin edition punctuates the title differently: ''Three Men in a Boat: To Say Nothing of the Dog!'' published in 1889, is a humorous novel by English writer Jerome K. Jerome describing ...

'' on

BBC 2 BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's second flagship channel, and it covers a wide range of subject matter, incorporating genres such as comedy, drama and d ...

in December 2009, in an episode called "Three Men Go to Ireland".

Dara Ó Briain Dara Ó Briain ( , ; born 4 February 1972) is an Irish comedian and television presenter based in the United Kingdom. He is noted for performing stand-up comedy shows all over the world and for hosting topical panel shows such as ''Mock the Wee ...

, Rory McGrath and

Griff Rhys Jones Griffith Rhys Jones (born 16 November 1953) is a Welsh actor, comedian, writer and television presenter. He starred in a number of television series with his comedy partner, Mel Smith. He and Smith came to national attention in the 1980s for ...

visited Mullingar Greyhound Stadium during the episode. In ''

Doubt Doubt is a mental state in which the mind remains suspended between two or more contradictory propositions, and is certainty, uncertain about them. Doubt on an emotional level is indecision between belief and wikt:disbelief, disbelief. It may i ...

'', a 2008 film adaptation of the John Patrick Shanley stage play, the town is referenced in a dialogue between the main character and the school caretaker. ''

Outside Mullingar ''Outside Mullingar'' is a play by John Patrick Shanley, which ran on Broadway in 2014. Production ''Outside Mullingar'' premiered on Broadway at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre in a Manhattan Theatre Club production on January 3, 2014 (previ ...

'', a play by

John Patrick Shanley John Patrick Shanley (born October 13, 1950) is an American playwright, screenwriter, and director. He won the 1988 Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for the film ''Moonstruck''. His play, '' Doubt: A Parable'', won the 2005 Pulitzer Pri ...

, starred ''Will and Grace'' star

Debra Messing Debra Lynn Messing (born August 15, 1968) is an American actress. After graduating from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, Messing starred in the television series ''Ned and Stacey'' on Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox (1995–1997) an ...

Sport

GAA

There are several

Gaelic Athletic Association The Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA; ; CLG) is an Irish international amateur sports, amateur sporting and cultural organisation, focused primarily on promoting indigenous Gaelic games and pastimes, which include the traditional Irish sports o ...

football clubs in the Mullingar area: Mullingar Shamrocks, St. Loman's Mullingar, The Downs and Shandonagh. St Oliver Plunkett's and Cullion play hurling.

Westmeath GAA The Westmeath County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) () or Westmeath GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Westmeath. The county board is also responsible for the ...

county team plays football and hurling at its home games at Cusack Park.

Football

Mullingar has three adult football teams; Mullingar Athletic (who play in Gainstown), Mullingar Town (who have their grounds in D'Alton Park), and Mullingar Celtic (who play their home games in the Raithin community pitch which is shared with Grange Utd, an under 18 side).

Tennis and badminton

The facilities of the Mullingar Tennis and Badminton Club include eight outdoor tennis courts and a hall containing two badminton courts. The club was founded in 1892 by members of the Uisneach Badminton Club.

Greyhound racing

When programmed, greyhound track racing occurs upon the Lynn Greyhound track on Thursday and Saturday evenings. The track featured on the BBC "Three Men Go to Ireland" show where

's dog Snip Nua raced.

Golf

Mullingar Golf Club was created in 1953, and hosts an annual competition, the Mullingar Scratch Cup, every August. This competition has been won by Des Smyth,

Pádraig Harrington Pádraig Peter Harrington (born 31 August 1971) is an Irish professional golfer who plays on the European Tour, PGA Tour and the PGA Tour Champions. He has won three men's major golf championships, major championships: The Open Championship in 2 ...

Darren Clarke Darren Christopher Clarke (born 14 August 1968) is a professional golfer from Northern Ireland who currently plays on the PGA Tour Champions and has previously played on the European Tour and PGA Tour. He has won 21 tournaments worldwide on ...

, and

Paul McGinley Paul Noel McGinley (born 16 December 1966) is an Irish professional golfer who has won four events on the European Tour. At the 2002 Ryder Cup, he famously holed a ten-foot putt on the 18th hole in his match against Jim Furyk at The Belfry which ...

. The 2006 winner was

Rory McIlroy Rory Daniel McIlroy (born 4 May 1989) is a Northern Irish professional golfer who plays on the European Tour and the PGA Tour. He is a former world number one in the Official World Golf Ranking and has spent over 100 weeks in that position du ...

Boxing

Two-time Olympian boxer John Joe Nevin is from Mullingar. He won a silver medal in the

bantamweight Bantamweight is a weight class in combat sports and weightlifting. For boxing, the range is above and up to . In kickboxing, a bantamweight fighter generally weighs between . In mixed martial arts, MMA, bantamweight is . The name for the class ...

competition at the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

Hockey

Mullingar Hockey Club is based in Loreto College and was formed in 1979. The club has two men's teams, one lady's team and an underage section.

Other sports

Mullingar

rugby football Rugby football is the collective name for the team sports of rugby union or rugby league. Rugby football started at Rugby School in Rugby, Warwickshire, England, where the rules were first codified in 1845. Forms of football in which the ball ...

club is located in Cullionbeg. The club also made it to the 1989 Towns Cup final. In basketball, the Mullingar Monarchs club (formed in 2001) and Mullingar Dragons (formed in 2007) are local teams. The latter plays in the North-Eastern Basketball League. The Westmeath Minotaurs

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

club (formed in 2011) plays their games at the Mullingar Rugby Club. They compete as a member of American Football Ireland. Mullingar Equestrian Centre, outside the town, hosts competitions and offers lessons. Other schools in the area include Ladestown House Riding Stables and Catherinestown Riding School. Studs include Tally Ho Stud, Cleaboy Stud, and Charlestown Stud. Other sports clubs in the area include the Midland Tigers

Australian Rules Football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an Australian rules football playing field, oval field, often a modified ...

team, Lakeside Wheelers Mullingar Cycling club (which is affiliated to

Cycling Ireland Cycling Ireland or CI is the operating name of the national governing body of the sport of cycling in the island of Ireland. Formally the body is a charitable company limited by guarantee, the Irish Cycling Federation. CI is a member of the U ...

), the Mullingar Harbour Canoe Polo Club (based on the Royal Canal), and St Mary's Snooker Club (on Bishopsgate Street).

People

* John Alexander,

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious decoration of the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British decorations system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British ...

recipient * Niall Breslin (Bressie) and The Blizzards, musicians * Eugene Casserly,

U.S. Senator The United States Senate is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and House have the authority under Article One of the ...

from

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, born in Mullingar. * Breon Corcoran, chief executive officer (CEO) of

Betfair Betfair is a British Gambling, gambling company founded in 2000. Its product offering includes betting exchange, sports betting, online casino, online poker, and online bingo. Business operations are led from its headquarters in London, alongsi ...

, singer * J. P. Donleavy, author * Wellington Guernsey, 19th-century composer and writer * Josephine Hart, Baroness Saatchi, author and wife of Lord Saatchi *

, singer-songwriter and former member of

* Thomas Kavanagh, recipient of the

* Aidan Keena, footballer * Tina Kellegher, actress * Shane Lowry (golfer), winner of the 2019 Open Championship * Terry McMahon, actor, writer and filmmaker * Joseph Murphy, Irish equestrian Olympian 2012 * John Joe Nevin, boxer * Michael O'Leary, CEO of Ryanair * Declan Power, defence and security analyst and author * Connor Smith, footballer for Yeovil Town, defender * Ailish Tynan (born 1975), operatic soprano

Climate

The climate in this area has mild differences between highs and lows, and there is adequate rainfall year-round. The

Köppen Climate Classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

subtype for this climate is " Cfb" (Marine West Coast Climate/

Oceanic climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate or maritime climate, is the temperate climate sub-type in Köppen climate classification, Köppen classification represented as ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of co ...

).Climate Summary for Mullingar
. Weatherbase.com. With a yearly mean of 9.3 degrees Celsius, Mullingar is the coldest place in Ireland.

Notes

References

External links

Mullingar Chamber of Commerce

Mullingar.ie

Westmeath County Council – Mullingar
{{authority control County towns in the Republic of Ireland Towns and villages in County Westmeath