Overview
A boy fishing for eels off Castle Island in 1881 pulled up a small bronze bell. It turned out to be early Christian, possibly St Feichín’s own, and a half-size copy of it now sits on the Ceann Comhairle’s desk in Dáil Éireann, rung to bring order to the chamber. That bell is Collinstown’s claim to fame, and the lake it came out of is the reason to visit.
Lough Lene is spring-fed and unusually clear, clear enough to be one of only three designated bathing areas in County Westmeath. The village of Collinstown (Irish: Baile na gCailleach, ‘town of the veiled women’) sits just above it on the R395, 18 km northeast of Mullingar, with fewer than 360 residents. There isn’t much to the village itself. The draw is the water, the ringforts in the fields to the west, and the scatter of early Christian sites around the shore.
History & Heritage
The Irish name Baile na gCailleach, ‘town of the veiled women’, points back to a medieval convent on Nun’s Island in the lake. West of the village, in the townland of Ranaghan, stand the earthworks of several ringforts. Local tradition links one of the higher forts to the Viking chieftain Turgesius, said to have used the high ground to control the lake before his defeat by the High King Máel Sechnaill mac Maíl Ruanaid. A second story has Turgesius based on the island that still carries his name.
Early Christian sites are scattered across the surrounding fields. Burial grounds associated with St Colman, a 6th-century saint, mark the old mass paths pilgrims once walked through the fields to reach the monastic settlement at Fore, a few kilometres north.
Then there’s the bell. The one the eel-fisher found in 1881 is reckoned to be 7th-century and was acquired by the Royal Irish Academy; it now sits in the National Museum. In 1931 the widow of Major Bryan Cooper presented a half-size replica to the Dáil, and that copy is the one the Ceann Comhairle still uses to call order. A second replica hangs in St Mary’s Roman Catholic Church in the village.
In the 17th century the Barbavilla estate, owned by the Smythe family, shaped the village’s built environment with stone housing, a school and roofing tiles made from local red clay, still a feature of the area’s protected buildings. The estate grounds later became the site of the Irish Aluminium Company (Iralco), now operating as Decotek Automotive.
What to see & do
Lough Lene and The Cut
The lake holds three islands: Nun’s Island with its monastic ruins, Turgesius Island with Viking earthworks, and Castle Island, where the bell came up. The water stays clear year-round thanks to the springs that feed it.
If you only have an hour, skip the village and go straight to The Cut, the swimming spot about 2 km north on Lake Road (the village’s own signs say 1.8 km, either way it’s a five-minute drive). It has free parking, changing rooms, toilets and a wooden jetty, and it’s the launch point for swimming, paddle-boarding and small boats. The one catch: the water is genuinely cold even in a warm July, so wade in rather than dive.
Angling
Lough Lene holds brown and rainbow trout, and the Lough Lene Angling Association, listed among the village’s community groups, runs a stocking programme that keeps the deeper basins well populated. The clear water and steady insect life suit both dry-fly and spin fishing. Non-resident anglers need a local licence, and the association’s bag limits and catch rules apply.
Wildlife and walking
The lake margins, thick with reeds, pondweeds and stoneworts, draw a steady range of waterbirds: mute swans, teal, pochard, grey herons, mallards and cormorants are all regular from the shore, with snipe, lapwing and curlew in the surrounding fields. For a walk with some history in it, follow the old mass paths toward St Colman’s burial grounds, or take the field lanes out to the Ranaghan ringforts to trace their Viking-era defensive layout.
Sport and community
The village’s sporting identity is Lough Lene Gaels, the hurling club, which has won seven Westmeath Senior Hurling Championships since 1975. There’s also a short pitch-and-putt course for a relaxed round. Collinstown Farmers Market runs once a fortnight in St Mary’s Hall, worth timing a visit around if you’re after local produce.
Practical information
Getting there – From Mullingar, follow the R395 northeast for roughly 18 km. To reach The Cut, continue on Lake Road for about 2 km toward Oldcastle and turn left at the marked entrance.
Public transport – Bus Éireann route 111A runs through the village between Cavan and Athboy. The nearest rail station is Mullingar. Check current timetables before travelling, as rural services vary by season.
Facilities – The Cut’s car park, jetty and changing rooms are level and accessible, with public toilets and bins on site. There’s no charge for lake access or the walking routes.
Website – For local events and facility updates, see collinstown.ie.
Nearby
Fore is the obvious pairing: five kilometres north along the shore, its seven-church monastic site and the famous “seven wonders” are a bigger draw than anything in Collinstown itself. Closer to hand, Mullaghmeen Forest rises to 258 m, the highest point in Westmeath and one of the largest planted beech forests in Europe, with easy loop walks. The Loughcrew passage tombs, free to access and a fair match for the Boyne Valley cairns, sit just beyond Mullaghmeen, and Fore Distillery, 7 km away, runs poitín and rum tours.
Further afield, Belvedere House Estate has formal gardens and the Jealous Wall folly, while Kilbeggan Distillery is Ireland’s oldest working distillery. But for a single afternoon, the move is simple: a swim at The Cut, then the short hop north to Fore.