- “I am a Westmeath bachelor and me age is 63/ I don’t intend to marry or to raise a family/ I’m happy and contented just to live a single life/ And that’s the reason why I don’t intend to take a wife.” – Joe Doaln, the Westymeath Bachelor.
- “Westmeath is both the literal and metaphoric centre of Ireland, so literary concepts of time associated with it are elastic. It’s a place that is a ‘halfway house between the magic realism of the west and the east.'” — Tadhg Carey
- If you see a tourist in Athlone, hie is lost. – Ray Byrne, owner of Wineport.
- Athlone looms up again as lordly as it is strategic. There is the splendid spread of Lough Ree to be investigated and sunny days to spend lolling along its wooded banks – Bryan MacMahon 1909-1998), Here’s Ireland (1971).
- I pedalled on towards Athlone through slashing rain across brown miles of harvested bog – looking like a child’s dream of a world made of chocolate. – Dervla Murphy, A Place Apart, 1978
- An area of 386,251 statute acres, of which 55,982 are unimproved mountain and bog, and 16,334 are under water-the lakes of Westmeath being very numerous and extensive, and famous for picturesque beauty. – Samuel Carter Hall and Anna Maria Hall, Ireland, its scenery and character (1841-43)
- “The houses are of picturesque build, and some are kept in the old style, smothered in roses and fuchsias; upon all are trained vines and climbing plants.” — Mary Banim On the Village of Glasson
- Having loitered long in monastic Fore, east of Castlepollard, with its tale of seven wonders, I came to the edge of scenic Lough Derravaragh, some miles to the west, where legend tells that the Children of Lir, as swans, spent the first 300 of their changeling years. – Bryan MacMahon 1909-1998), Here’s Ireland (1971).
- If the local traditions of Westmeath may be trusted, where Cambrensis is rejected, the Norwegian and Irish principals in the tragedy of Lough Owel were on visiting terms just before the denouement, and many curious particulars of their peaceful but suspicious intercourse used to be related by the modern story-tellers around Castle-pollard. ” – Thomas D’Arcy McGee, A Popular History of Ireland
- “After leaving Cavan we crossed a small point of Longford and thence into Westmeath, passing quite close to Derryvaragh Lake, and then to Lake Owel after passing Mulingar, getting a glimpse of yet another, Westmeath Lake.” – Norah, The Letters of “Norah” on Her Tour Through Ireland
- “Some head off to exotic places, Others go to the Galway Races, Mattie goes to the South of France, Jim to the dogs, Peter to the dance, A cousin of mine goes potholing, A cousin of her’s loves Joe Dolan.” – Christy Moore (b1945).
- “Garradrimna was a place where nothing ever happened, and yet it was a place where everything was known.” – Brinsley MacNamara (pen name of John Weldon, 1890-1963).
- “To leave Garradrimna was to invite the whispers of those who stayed, but to stay was to die a little every day.” – Brinsley MacNamara (pen name of John Weldon, 1890-1963).
- “All this was in the village of Lissoy, County Westmeath ; yet if you look on the map you will look in vain for Lissoy.” — Elbert Hubbard
- “From Paris to Rome, I sent four shiploads of art to Ireland, though the sea claimed one off Wicklow Head—a reminder that the traveller’s gains are ever at the mercy of fortune.” Valentine Lawless (1773-1853, Lord Cloncurry).
- “There’s always been a pull there for me, something about the midlands that draws you back. The land itself feels magnetic, especially as you move up toward the north of the county; the lakes, glacial hills, and the bog.” —Niall Breslin
- “Last Thursday at the market in the town of Mullingar/ A friend, he introduced me to a famous movie star/ She’d was married several times before to men of every creed/ And she thought she had found a sucker in the bachelor from Westmeath.” – Joe Dolan, ‘Westmeath Bachelor’
- “In the Midlands—Laois, Offaly, Westmeath—they’re all lumped together, and they hate it. Travel there, and they’ll spend an hour telling you their county’s different, while you’re just trying to find the pub.” – Niall Tóibín (1929-2019).
- “The wet middle of Ireland.” – Oliver Callan (b1980).
- There was an elopement down in Mullingar, / But sad to relate the pair didn’t get far/ ‘Oh fly,’ said he, ‘Darling, and see how it feels// But the Mullingar heifer was beef to the heels. ‘z- The Mullingar heifer
- She was bred in Connamara,/ And brought up at Castlemaine./ She won cups at the Curragh,/ And a charger was in Spain./ All countries and conveyances/ She has been buckled to;/ She lost an eye at Limerick/ And at Aughrim lost a shoe. – Pat of Mullingar.
Famous quotes from Ireland’s counties
Antrim – Armagh – Carlow – Cavan – Clare – Cork – Derry – Donegal – Down – Dublin – Fermanagh – Galway – Kerry – Kildare – Kilkenny – Laois – Leitrim – Limerick – Longford – Louth – Mayo – Meath – Monaghan – Offaly – Roscommon – Sligo – Tipperary – Tyrone – Waterford – Westmeath – Wexford – Wicklow
Musicians
Antrim – Armagh – Carlow – Cavan – Clare – Cork – Derry – Donegal – Down – Dublin – Fermanagh – Galway – Kerry – Kildare – Kilkenny – Laois – Leitrim – Limerick – Longford – Louth – Mayo – Meath – Monaghan – Offaly – Roscommon – Sligo – Tipperary – Tyrone – Waterford – Westmeath – Wexford – Wicklow
Novelists
Antrim – Armagh – Carlow – Cavan – Clare – Cork – Derry – Donegal – Down – Dublin – Fermanagh – Galway – Kerry – Kildare – Kilkenny – Laois – Leitrim – Limerick – Longford – Louth – Mayo – Meath – Monaghan – Offaly – Roscommon – Sligo – Tipperary – Tyrone – Waterford – Westmeath – Wexford – Wicklow
Poets
Antrim – Armagh – Carlow – Cavan – Clare – Cork – Derry – Donegal – Down – Dublin – Fermanagh – Galway – Kerry – Kildare – Kilkenny – Laois – Leitrim – Limerick – Longford – Louth – Mayo – Meath – Monaghan – Offaly – Roscommon – Sligo – Tipperary – Tyrone – Waterford – Westmeath – Wexford – Wicklow
Writers
Antrim – Armagh – Carlow – Cavan – Clare – Cork – Derry – Donegal – Down – Dublin – Fermanagh – Galway – Kerry – Kildare – Kilkenny – Laois – Leitrim – Limerick – Longford – Louth – Mayo – Meath – Monaghan – Offaly – Roscommon – Sligo – Tipperary – Tyrone – Waterford – Westmeath – Wexford – Wicklow
County Westmeath:
Ireland’s county Westmeath offers a blend of lakes and historic charm, with Athlone Castle providing insights into medieval Ireland along the Shannon River. The Belvedere House and Gardens showcase Georgian elegance, while Lough Ree offers boating and fishing opportunities. Other attractions include the ancient Fore Abbey and its monastic ruins and traditional seven wonders. Westmeath is Ireland’s tenth smallest county by size (1,763 square km) and 11th smallest by population (96,221). Population peaked at 141,300 in 1841 and reached its lowest point, 52,861 in 1961. In terms of hospitality, Westmeath is Ireland’s 22nd most visited tourist county with around 95,000 international visitors per year.
Introduction – Adventure – Anthem – Archaeology – Attractions – Awards – Birdwatching – Camping – Castles – Churches – Contact list – Cycling – Dining – Equestrian – Festivals – Fishing – Folklore – Gardens – Golf – Graveyards – Happening – Haunted – Highest – Hiking – History – Holy Wells – Hotels – Hotels top 8 – Hunting & shooting – Instagrammable – Itineraries – Largest town – Luxury – MICE – Movies – Music – Name – New – Novelists – Off the beaten track – Poets – Pubs – Quotes – Random Facts – Restaurant Awards – Sacred Places – Saints – Songs – Spas – Sports – Sunsets – Sustainable – Things to do – Towns – Video – Villages – Walking – Wanderlist – Weddings – Wild swimming – Writers – 1837 – 1846– 1852 – 1909 – 1955 – 1980 –
