Edenderry – Offaly's canal town

Overview

The first Irish-made car was built in Edenderry. Daniel Alesbury produced the Alesbury here in 1907, at a factory on the edge of town. That bit of industrial history sits oddly well with what brings most people now: a quiet canal town built on water-borne trade.

Edenderry (Éadan Doire, ‘hill-brow of the oak wood’) is the second-largest town in County Offaly, about 55 km west of Dublin. The Grand Canal skirts the southern edge and a 1.5-km spur runs right into the centre, so the towpath is the obvious place to start a walk or a cycle.

Be realistic about scale, though: this is an afternoon town, not a weekend. The canal towpath is the main event, and the two castle ruins are fenced for safety, so you look at them from the outside rather than explore them.

History

The town began as Coolestown, after the Cooley (Cowley) family who built a medieval castle here. The estate passed to the Blundells in the late 16th century, and their stronghold was sacked in 1691 during the Jacobite wars. The 2nd Marquess of Downshire reshaped the town in the early 19th century, adding keystones, entrance arches and the statue still standing over the Church Walk.

The Marquess paid £692 for the canal spur in 1802, turning Edenderry into a trading hub for masonry and other goods. By the early 1700s a Quaker-introduced woollen cloth industry employed around a thousand people. The fine town-houses and garden-fronted façades of the core date from that prosperity.

Along the canal

The spur has a footpath along its east bank, passing three bridges: George’s Bridge, Drumcooley/Colgan’s Bridge and Downshire Bridge. Pleasure craft work the water, and the harbour holds an annual festival of boats and music. The water is calm enough that kayaking suits beginners and families.

Anglers will find tench, roach, pike and bream; all fishing is catch-and-release. For something less sedate, the Irish Parachute Club runs tandem sky-dives from a nearby airfield in a Pilatus PC-6 Porter or a Cessna 206.

The castle ruins

• Blundell Castle – the ruin on Blundell Hill shows building phases from the early 15th to the late 17th century. It is fenced for safety, with the water tower behind it. View it from outside only.
• Monasteroris Castle – a 12th-century Anglo-Norman motte-and-bailey on the road to Rhode, with a Franciscan friary ruin alongside and an early-modern graveyard holding some of the county’s oldest carved headstones.

Golf

Edenderry Golf Club, 2 km north-east, is a parkland course laid out by Eddie Hackett. From the white tees it measures 5,957 m, playing as par 72 for men and par 73 for ladies. A visitor round is €30, available seven days a week.

Food and drink

The former railway station now holds Station House, a grill and bar using local produce. Main-street pubs include O’Donoghue’s, Corner House, Larkin’s, Molly’s, Logan’s and Bryne’s, and Finbarr Cullen’s runs a Saturday nightclub.

Staying over

Edenderry has no large hotel, but there are B&Bs. Highfield Lodge, north of the golf course, does comfortable rooms and a full Irish breakfast. For more choice, towns along the M4 such as Enfield add options.

Walking and cycling

The Grand Canal Way greenway runs through the town and links to the wider Offaly towpath network. From here you can ride north towards Lough Boora Discovery Park or south towards the Bog of Allen. The Kinnitty Woods trail, further west in the county, is a short forest walk with views of the Slieve Bloom hills.

Nature

Edenderry sits on the edge of the Bog of Allen, a vast raised bog with curlews and snipe among its birdlife. A short drive north is Lough Boora, a reclaimed peat-cutting landscape now good for walking, cycling and wildlife.

Events

The harbour hosts the Edenderry Canal Festival each summer, with boat parades, live music and family activities. Pubs run trad sessions, mostly at weekends. Confirm exact dates with the town council.

Practical information

Getting there

• By bus – Go Ahead Bus 120 runs half-hourly from Dublin (Connolly Station) and takes about two hours. The 120X, 120A and 120E also serve the town, stopping outside the Town Hall. Bus 120C links Tullamore and Enfield to Edenderry, seven services a day each way.
• By car – From Dublin, the M4 to junction 9 at Enfield, then the R402 into town. The R401 and R402 meet near Main Street, with routes on to Rathangan, Kildare Town and Tullamore.

Getting around and parking

The centre is walkable; a bike helps for the golf club or the canal footpath. Pay car parks are on Main Street and near the canal harbour (locations and fees to be confirmed).

Fees and opening times

• Edenderry Golf Club – visitor round €30.
• Canal and bridges – open year-round, no charge.
• Blundell Castle ruins – viewable any time from outside; fenced for safety, no formal hours.

Useful links

• Official tourism page: Visit Offaly – Edenderry
• Waterways Ireland canal status: Waterways Ireland – Edenderry
• Bus timetables: Go Ahead Ireland

Nearby

A short drive east is County Kildare, horse-breeding country. North is Birr Castle, with its gardens and science heritage. The monastic site of Clonmacnoise lies further west, and Banagher marina on the River Shannon makes a good waterside lunch stop. Lough Boora Discovery Park has the most walking and cycling. Dublin is an easy day trip back along the M4.