Overview
Oldcastle is a working market town in the north-west corner of County Meath, close enough to Westmeath and Cavan to sit at a kind of crossroads. Roughly 1,400 people live here (1,409 at the 2022 census, up more than 70% since the 1990s), and the town centre gathers around The Square – pubs, a SuperValu, a few places to eat. You don’t come for the town itself so much as for what’s three kilometres up the road: the Loughcrew passage tombs. Oldcastle is where you park, eat and stock up before or after. On the Boyne Valley route through Ireland’s Ancient East, it makes an unhurried base.
What to see & do
Loughcrew megalithic cemetery
Three kilometres east of the town, on the hills locally called Slieve na Calliagh – the Hills of the Hag – the Loughcrew tombs are strung across the highest ground in County Meath, at 276 m. If you do one thing from Oldcastle, do this. The best of the tombs is Cairn T, a cross-shaped chamber under a corbelled roof, carved with some of the finest Neolithic art in Ireland, and aligned so that the rising sun on the spring and autumn equinoxes reaches straight into the chamber.
One honest caveat: the inside of Cairn T is only open at certain times, with access restricted periodically for conservation, so you may find yourself admiring it from the outside rather than standing in it – check before you set your heart on the interior. The hill itself is free to walk year-round, on marked paths across the other cairns, and the climb is steep with uneven ground underfoot.
Visitor tip: the equinoxes pull a crowd. A clear morning a day or two either side gives you much the same low light with far more room. Wear proper footwear for the slope.
Town centre & local landmarks
Two churches mark the town: St Bride’s (Church of Ireland) on the western edge of The Square, and St Brigid’s (Roman Catholic) on Church Street, which keeps a shrine to Saint Oliver Plunkett. The Square is the social heart – Farrelly’s, Crean Bar and Smith’s Railway Bar for a straightforward pint, a couple of spots for lunch, and Cadden’s SuperValu for anything you need for a self-catering stay or a day at the cairns.
Outdoors & events
This is slow-travel country. It’s a walk or short cycle of under twenty minutes from the town out to the cairns. Anglers head to Lough Ramor for coarse fishing and Lough Sheelin, long known for its brown trout. There’s a quick round to be had at Oldcastle Pitch & Putt. The town’s calendar centres on an agricultural show with livestock, crafts and local food producers – dates move year to year, so check locally before travelling for it.
Practical information
Getting there
- By car: From Dublin, take the M3/N3 north to Kells, then the R163 west onto the R154 – roughly 90 minutes. Loughcrew is well signposted from the town.
- By bus: Oldcastle is served by Local Link and Bus Éireann regional buses, with connections from hubs such as Cavan and Navan; there’s no rail service, and the nearest stations are Mullingar or Longford, 40–60 km away.
- Cycling & walking: The town is flat and easy to get around by bike, with bike parking at the Loughcrew car park.
Parking & facilities
On-street parking in the town centre is free. The Loughcrew estate has a free car park, basic toilets and a small café, with seasonal camping and glamping in the warmer months – contact the estate for current rates.
Contact & further information
For general enquiries or guided-tour bookings at Loughcrew, email info@visitoldcastle.com.
A town shaped by history
Oldcastle’s modern layout owes much to the 18th century, when the Naper family acquired lands from the Plunkett estate after the Cromwellian wars. Its most unusual chapter is the First World War: from 1914 to 1918 the town held Ireland’s only permanent civilian internment camp, in the old workhouse on St Oliver Plunkett Street. It was a camp for civilian ‘enemy aliens’ – German, Austrian and Hungarian men living in Ireland when the war began – not for captured soldiers, a distinction worth keeping straight. The site is now a housing estate south of the centre.
Give Oldcastle a clear morning and the run out to Loughcrew, pack something to eat for the top of the hill, and you’ll get the county’s oldest landscape much the way locals do.