Tullamore

For the Tullamore in New South Wales, Australia, see Tullamore, New South Wales. For the actress, see Sarah Tullamore.

Tullamore Tulach Mhór
—  Town  —
The Grand Canal, Tullamore
Flag Coat of arms
Tullamore Location in Ireland
Coordinates: 53.2667°N 7.5000°W / 53.2667; -7.5000
Country	Ireland
Province	Leinster
County	Offaly
Elevation	73 m (240 ft)
Population (2006)
• Urban	10,900
• Rural	2,027
Irish Grid Reference	N335248
Website	[[1] [2]]

Tullamore (Irish: Tulach Mhór, meaning "great mound") is a town in County Offaly, in the midlands of Ireland. It is Offaly's county town and the centre of the district. Tullamore is an important commercial and industrial centre in the region. Major international employers in the town include 'Tyco Healthcare' and 'Boston Scientific'. In 2004, Tullamore Retail Park was formed. It includes outlets such as a Tesco Extra supermarket, DID electrical, Argos Extra, Burger King, Heatons (including sports world),Woodies DIY and Petmania.

The town is home to the Midland Area offices of the Health Service Executive and its Midland Regional Hospital, which together employ over 1,000 people. A new hospital is currently under a phased opening process. Midland Regional Hospital is a 215 bed HSE hospital and provides inpatient services and also provides to patients in an outpatient or day case basis. Specialties covered include Accident and Emergency, Anaesthetics, Cardiology, General Medicine, General Surgery, Gynaecology, Intensive Care, Obstetrics, Paediatric Anaesthetics, Paediatrics, Pain Relief, Pathology

Tullamore was designated a 'gateway' town in late 2003 by the Irish Government, making it eligible for increased infrastructural investment. The town and its community received a bronze medal in the Government's National Tidy Towns Competition in 2004 and also played host to the 'World Sheep Dog Trials' in 2005 which attracted international interest in the region. The Tullamore Show is held near the town every year.

The town's most famous export is Tullamore Dew - an Irish whiskey previously distilled by Tullamore Distillery - that can be traced back to 1829. The distillery closed in the 1950s but its traces are still visible in the town. Tullamore Dew is now produced by Irish Distillers in Midleton, County Cork, and marketed by Cantrell & Cochrane.

History

Historical populations
Year	Pop.	±%
1821	5,517	—
1831	6,342	+15.0%
1841	6,343	+0.0%
1851	4,630	−27.0%
1861	4,797	+3.6%
1871	5,179	+8.0%
1881	5,098	−1.6%
1891	4,522	−11.3%
1901	4,639	+2.6%
1911	4,926	+6.2%
1926	4,930	+0.1%
1936	5,135	+4.2%
1946	5,897	+14.8%
1951	6,165	+4.5%
1956	6,147	−0.3%
1961	6,243	+1.6%
1966	6,874	+10.1%
1971	7,474	+8.7%
1981	8,724	+16.7%
1986	9,442	+8.2%
1991	9,430	−0.1%
1996	10,039	+6.5%
2002	11,098	+10.5%
2006	12,927	+16.5%

Tullamore was part of the first English plantation of Offaly in the 1570s. In 1785 the town was seriously damaged when the crash of a hot air balloon resulted in a fire that burned down as many as 130 homes, giving the town the distinction of being the location of the world's first known aviation disaster.

To this day, the town shield depicts a phoenix rising from the ashes.

The Grand Canal linked Tullamore to Dublin in 1798. During the Napoleonic Wars, a clash between troops of the King's German Legion and a regiment of British Light Infantry who were both stationed in the town, became known as the battle of Tullamore. Tullamore became county town of County Offaly in 1835, replacing Daingean.

Culture

The Tullamore Phoenix Festival is an annual celebration of extreme, arts, culture and heritage was first held in August 2000. Thursday 17th to Sunday 20 July 2008. The festival celebrates Tullamore's resurrection from the ashes following a hot air balloon accident in which part of the town centre was destroyed by a wayward balloon on May 10, 1785 - it is recognised as the world's first aviation disaster. The festival holds many events including - Hot Air Balloons, Sky Diving, Live Outdoor Concerts, Street Entertainment, Fire Parade, Fireworks and much more.

The Queen of the Land Festival takes place in Tullamore each year on the third weekend in November. Primarily a personality contest it seeks to find the best examples of a modern Irish woman. It is organised by Offaly Macra Na Feirme. Each year about 25 girls between the age of 17 and 35 compete to be crowned Queen of the Land. The festival provides a host of entertainment throughout the town over the weekend, primarily at night.

An annual Livestock show takes place in August every year. It has grown considerably over the past number of years and is now the largest one day show in the country. It was cancelled in 07 and 08 due to heavy rain, though it did run again in 2009 .

The national Fleadh Ceoil was held in Tullamore for the very first time in August 2007. It returned in 2008, and returned for a third time from 21-23 Aug 2009.

Places of interest

Charleville Castle

Tullamore Dew

The Tullamore Dew Heritage Centre on the banks of the Grand Canal focuses on the distilling, canal and urban history of the town. Audio visual and self guided tours are available daily.

Charleville Estate is located on the edge of the town. One of Ireland’s most splendid Gothic buildings, Charleville Castle, stands in this parkland setting which contains the King Oak, one of the biggest and oldest oak trees in the country. The castle is said to be haunted and was featured on series 1 of Living TV's Most Haunted. The oak woodland is botanically an important survivor of primeval stock. The park was the location of the annual Tullamore Agricultural Show. However following the cancellation of the show for two consecutive years due to heavy rainfall the event was moved to a new location with improved drainage in the Blueball area, south of the town.

Tullamore is an ideal base for discovering the Slieve Bloom Mountains to the south of the county. The 'Slieve Bloom' mountains have many beautiful walking and cycling trails as well as excellent picnic areas with some panoramic views of the surrounding lowlands.

Just south of Tullamore are the unique 'Lough Boora' parklands. The boglands are a landscape for a wide range of flora and fauna. The magnificent wetlands and wildlife wilderness of Lough Boora now host some of the most innovative land and environmental sculptures in Ireland. The artists, inspired by the rich natural and industrial legacy of the boglands, have created a series of large-scale sculptures that are now part of the Parklands permanent collection.

10 km west of Tullamore is the village of Rahan. The remains of a what was once a large monastery settlement founded by St.Carthage or Mochuda in the 6th century, can be seen in the village.

Within 5 minutes' drive is the Celtic cross of Durrow. In the middle of the 6th century a monastery was founded here by St Colomba. The monastery is famous for an illuminated manuscript, written here in the 7th century, known as the Book of Durrow.

There are four metal sculptures located on the N52 Tullamore bypass funded under the percentage for arts scheme where 1% of the budget is allocated to roadside art. Sculptor Maurice Harron created the figures presenting symbols of learning and sanctity. From the north the 1st figure holds up a chalice, the 2nd a book, the 3rd a crosier and the 4th shows the release of a flock of birds representing souls. The figures are located on esker ridges that the new roadway cuts through.

Media

From 1975 until 24 March 2008 Tullamore was the home of RTÉ Radio 1's principal medium-wave transmitter, broadcasting the AM version of Radio 1 on 567 kHz, at a power of 500 kW. Before this, the main transmission centre had been sited near Athlone. Tullamore is also home to the headquarters of Midlands 103. It hosts a number of local newspapers including The Tullamore Tribune and The Offaly Topic.

Demographics

The population of Tullamore (and its environs) has risen by 28.8% from 1996 to 2006 from 10,029 to 12,927.

Transport

Tullamore railway station, first opened on 2 October 1854, is served by trains on the Dublin-Galway and Dublin-Westport/Ballina inter-city routes.

• Transport 21
• Rail Users Ireland
• National Development Plan

In association with the County Westmeath urban centres, Athlone and Mullingar, Tullamore forms part of what is known as the Midlands Gateway.

The Tullamore bypass is a new 14 km (8.7 mi) single carriageway upgrade to the N52 national secondary road. The route leaves the previous N52 approximately 6 km (3.7 mi) southwest of Tullamore town, intersecting with the N80 road, crossing over the Grand Canal, before rejoining the N52 again 3 km (1.9 mi) north of the town. A spur has been constructed from the northern section of the route to the Tullamore Western Relief Road R443 resulting in the creation of an almost-full orbital route around Tullamore. The N80 now terminates at its junction with the N52. The scheme began construction in April 2008, and it was officially opened in late 2009 by an Taoiseach, Brian Cowen.

People

Notable current and former residents of Tullamore include:

• Gerald Gardner (1922–2009), geophysicist and social activist whose statistical analysis led to the banning of classified advertising segregated by gender in a 1973 ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court.
• Brian Cowen, Former local TD and Irish Taoiseach (2008–2011)

See also

• List of towns and villages in Ireland
• Market Houses in Ireland

• 

  Tullamore Court Hotel

• 

  Charleville Castle

• 

  Grand Canal

• 

  Columcille Street

External links

• Tullamore
• Tullamore Chamber
• Phoenix Festival
• Queen of the Land Festival
• Tullamore Life & Community
• Tullamore Dew Heritage Centre
• Tullamore news, sport and events
• Tullamore on line
• Architecture of Tullamore
• Google map