Things to do in Tullamore
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Tullamore
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Best months overall: long evenings, gardens and bog wildflowers at their best, without August crowds.
Good shoulder months for walkers and golfers who pack for the weather.
Fullest programme with the Tullamore Show and Birr Vintage Week, but the busiest attractions and hotels.
Low season: short wet days suit a distillery, castle hotel and theatre weekend, not a first outdoors trip.
Early spring, gardens waking up and attractions still on shorter hours.
What's on
- Tullamore Show Second Sunday in August
Ireland's premier one day agricultural show at Blueball, drawing over 60,000 visitors.
- Birr Vintage Week & Arts Festival Late July to early August, about a week
A week of vintage parade, markets, exhibitions, street theatre and music in Birr.
- Birr Festival of Music May bank holiday weekend
Classical concerts and recitals centred on Birr Theatre and Arts Centre.
- Irish Hot Air Ballooning Championships September, in years it runs
Balloons over Birr Castle Demesne; confirm the current year dates and venue.
- Scripts Playwriting Festival October
New Irish playwriting in Birr, with readings, workshops and productions.
- OFFline Film Festival October
Independent short film and documentary in Birr with filmmaker discussions.
Best things to do in Tullamore
Tullamore D.E.W. Distillery Experience
A working distillery tour ending in a cask tasting, with a blending upgrade where you bottle your own whiskey.
Charleville Castle
A Gothic Revival castle rescued by volunteers, atmospheric, partly restored and famous for its ghost stories.
Lloyd Town Park
The town park with a huge playground, zipline, skate park and river walks, five minutes from the centre.
Esker Arts
Tullamore's new arts centre for theatre, music, comedy and exhibitions, and the town's best non pub evening.
Durrow Abbey
An early monastic site with a high cross in a quiet, little visited setting a few kilometres north of town.
Old Kilbeggan Distillery
The atmospheric old distillery north of Tullamore, the heritage contrast to the modern D.E.W. plant.
Annaharvey Farm Equestrian Centre
Riding lessons and farm activities on the town edge, the active family option based in Tullamore itself.
Birr Theatre and Arts Centre
A small Victorian theatre in Birr for plays, music and comedy, the natural finish to a Birr evening.
Where to stay in Tullamore
Tullamore town
practical base, station and most dining
Walkable centre with the distillery, pubs and restaurants, and the shortest drives in every direction.
Birr
character base for gardens, theatre and the south
A Georgian heritage town with the castle demesne at its edge and a slower, prettier evening than Tullamore.
Kinnitty and Slieve Bloom fringe
walking and mountain biking trips
Starts at a trailhead rather than a car park, under the Slieve Bloom Mountains.
Clara and Daingean fringe
canal, Clara Bog and family visits
Guesthouse and self catering country with no hotel pick, suiting a specific reason to be there.
Best restaurants in Tullamore
Captain House Restaurant
Tullamore's consensus best restaurant, candlelit and nautical themed, for steak, seafood and Steak Diane.
The Blue Apron Restaurant
A small family run room by the canal serving a short seasonal menu, the food lover's top table in town.
The Thatch Crinkill
A sixth generation thatched restaurant near Birr famed for generous portions and country hospitality.
Sirocco's Italian Restaurant
Family run Italian with an open kitchen, big portions and fair prices, the group workhorse of Tullamore.
Shishir - Thai & Indian Cuisine
The town's rated Thai and Indian restaurant, the variety pick for groups across two cuisines.
Balcone Italiano
A well reviewed Italian Irish room with loyal local following, the second string when Sirocco's is full.
The Brewery Tap
An award winning gastropub for bar food, whiskey and live music, and the easiest good dinner in town.
Flynn's Bakery & Restaurant
A working bakery and cafe restaurant, the cheap eats fixture for breakfast, lunch and picnic supplies.
Outdoor things to do in Tullamore
Slieve Bloom Mountains
Empty forested mountains south of Tullamore, best on the Glenbarrow loop past the gorge and waterfalls.
Slieve Bloom Mountain Bike Trails
Purpose built blue, red and black singletrack from Kinnitty, with hire, lessons and a family loop.
Lough Boora Discovery Park
A former bog turned sculpture park with lakes, a fairy trail and 50km of flat walking and cycling routes.
Grand Canal Greenway
Flat, traffic free canal towpath cycling and walking east and west from Tullamore, past locks and lock houses.
Clara Bog Visitor Centre
The free introduction to Clara Bog in Clara town, best visited before the boardwalk five minutes away.
Clara Bog Boardwalk
A flat, accessible 1km boardwalk loop out over one of Ireland's best preserved raised bogs.
Birr Castle Demesne
120 acres of gardens, lake and river walks, the Great Telescope and a science centre in Birr.
Clonmacnoise
St Ciaran's riverside monastery of churches, round towers and high crosses, the big Offaly day trip.
Best hotels in Tullamore
Bridge House Hotel - Leisure Club & Spa
The town flagship hotel with pool, spa and several bars and restaurants, minutes from the station.
Tullamore Court Hotel
A large modern four star with leisure centre and pool, the reliable family choice in Tullamore.
Kitty's Townhouse, Tullamore
A small adults only townhouse stay for couples who prefer quiet and a host's attention to a big hotel.
Central Hotel Tullamore
A straightforward central three star on Main Street, the budget base in the middle of everything.
Harbour House
A well reviewed guesthouse priced stay near the centre, the value pick for walkers and cyclists.
County Arms Birr
A Georgian hotel on nine acres in Birr with a leisure club and pool, the full facility Birr base.
Dooly's Hotel
A coaching inn from 1747 in the heart of Birr, with a lively bar and the castle gardens nearby.
Kinnitty Castle Hotel
A castle hotel in 650 acres at the Slieve Bloom trailheads, the county's one true splurge stay.
Is Tullamore expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | €70 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | €140 a person |
| Splurge | €280 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Tullamore D.E.W. Distillery Experience: a few days ahead
- Esker Arts: a few days ahead
- Old Kilbeggan Distillery: a few days ahead
- Annaharvey Farm Equestrian Centre: a few days ahead
- Birr Theatre and Arts Centre: a few days ahead
- Slieve Bloom Mountain Bike Trails: a few days ahead
- Birr Castle Demesne: a few days ahead
- Esker Hills Golf Club: a few days ahead
- Book the D.E.W. distillery experience days ahead, and weeks ahead in summer, as tour numbers are capped and small.
- Book Captain House, Blue Apron and The Thatch for weekends, and check their short opening weeks first.
- Book Kinnitty Castle, the big Tullamore hotels, golf tee times and Kinnitty bike hire ahead for festival and show weekends.
- Clonmacnoise cannot be pre-booked during its visitor centre redevelopment, so go early in the day.
Is Tullamore safe?
- No Tullamore, Birr, Clara or Daingean neighbourhood is flagged in the sources as an area to avoid basing in.
- Enjoy Lloyd Town Park in daylight, when families use it most, rather than late in the evening.
- Ask hotels for rooms away from bars and function rooms on wedding weekends.
- Pack waterproofs and a downloaded map for the Slieve Blooms, and never drive after a distillery tasting. Emergency number 112.
Tullamore travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Do not confuse the Bury Quay heritage warehouse with the modern Clonminch distillery experience site.
- Do not expect Tullamore town alone to fill three days: plan the county excursions first.
- Do not rush Birr Castle in an hour, or treat the 1km Clara Bog boardwalk as a hike.
- Verify small town restaurants in Birr and Clara on a current map listing before setting out hungry.
Getting around Tullamore: public transport and more
- A car transforms the trip: Clonmacnoise, Lough Boora, Birr and the Slieve Bloom trailheads are 20 to 40 minute rural drives.
- Tullamore station is on the Dublin to Galway line, about an hour from Dublin, and the town and greenway are walkable and cyclable.
- Cluster by direction: south for Birr, Kinnitty and the Slieve Blooms, west for Lough Boora and Clonmacnoise, north and east for Clara and Kilbeggan.
- The TFI Local Link 850 bus serves Clonmacnoise, but check the current timetable before relying on it.
Who Tullamore suits
| Solo travellers | Good |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Great |
| Couples | Good |
| Bachelor parties | Good |
| Families | Great |
| Bachelorette parties | OK |
Make Tullamore your trip
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