County Westmeath in the context of "Lough Ree"

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⭐ Core Definition: County Westmeath

County Westmeath (/wɛstˈmð/; Irish: Contae na hIarmhí or simply An Iarmhí) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It formed part of the historic Kingdom of Meath, which was named Mide because the kingdom was located in the geographical centre of Ireland (the word Mide meaning 'middle'). Westmeath County Council is the administrative body for the county, and the county town is Mullingar. At the 2022 census, the population of the county was 95,840.

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👉 County Westmeath in the context of Lough Ree

Lough Ree (Irish: Loch Rí), translated to English as King's Lake or King Lake, is a lake in the midlands of Ireland, the second of the three major lakes on the River Shannon. Lough Ree is the second largest lake on the Shannon after Lough Derg. The other two major lakes are Lough Allen to the north, and Lough Derg to the south. There are also several minor lakes along the length of the river. The lake serves as a border between the counties of Longford and Westmeath (both in the province of Leinster) on the eastern side and County Roscommon in the province of Connacht on the western side. The lake is popular for fishing and boating. The lake supports a small commercial eel fishery and is locally famous for its eels on wheels truck. The town of Athlone is situated at the southern end of the lake, and has a harbour for boats going out on the lake. The small town of Lanesboro is at the northern end of the lake.

The island of Inchcleraun (Inis Cloithreann) in the northern part of the lake is the site of a monastery founded in the early Christian era and contains the remains of several ancient churches. In Irish legends, it was on this island that Queen Maeve was killed. The Viking Turgesius controlled a ringfort on the shores until his death by drowning in Lough Owel.

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County Westmeath in the context of Royal Canal

The Royal Canal (Irish: An Chanáil Ríoga) is a canal originally built for freight and passenger transportation from Dublin to Longford in Ireland. It is one of two canals from Dublin to the River Shannon and was built in direct competition to the Grand Canal. The canal fell into disrepair in the late twentieth century, but much of it has since been restored for navigation. The length of the canal to the River Shannon was reopened on 1 October 2010, but a final spur branch, to Longford Town, remains closed.

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County Westmeath in the context of Summerhill House

Summerhill House was a 100-roomed Palladian house in County Meath, Ireland which was the ancestral seat of the Viscounts Langford and the Barons Langford. Built in 1731, it was likely designed by Sir Edward Lovett Pearce and completed by Richard Cassels in the Palladian style, although Sir John Vanbrugh, who was related to Pearce and with whom he trained, is thought to have also influenced the design of the house, which could be seen by the Baroque details, great arched chimney stacks and the palatial grandeur and scale.

The house demonstrated the power and wealth the Langford Rowley family had at the time. They owned vast amounts of land in counties Meath, Westmeath, Cork, Londonderry, Antrim, and Dublin as well as in Devon and Cornwall in England. The house also welcomed royalty, and ranked architecturally amongst the finest and most modern mansions in Europe.

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County Westmeath in the context of Kinnegad

Kinnegad (Irish: Cionn Átha Gad, meaning 'head of the ford of withes') is a town in County Westmeath, Ireland. It is on the border with County Meath, near the junction of the M6 and the M4 motorways - two of Ireland's main east–west roads. It is roughly 60 km from the capital, Dublin.

From 1996 to 2016, there was a considerable increase in Kinnegad's population, from 517 to 2,745 inhabitants. According to the 2016 census, approximately 79% of the town's housing stock (715 out of 907 households) was built between 1991 and 2010.

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County Westmeath in the context of Kingdom of Mide

Meath (/mð/ MEEDH; Modern Irish: ; Old Irish: Mide [ˈmʲiðʲe]) was a kingdom in Ireland from the 1st to the 12th century AD. Its name means "middle," denoting its location in the middle of the island.

At its greatest extent, it included all of County Meath (which takes its name from the kingdom), all of County Westmeath, and parts of counties Cavan, Dublin, Kildare, Longford, Louth and Offaly.

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County Westmeath in the context of Kilbeggan Distillery

Kilbeggan Distillery (formerly Brusna Distillery and Locke's Distillery) is an Irish whiskey distillery situated on the River Brosna in Kilbeggan, County Westmeath, Ireland, established in 1757 and owned by Suntory Global Spirits, a subsidiary of Suntory Holdings of Osaka, Japan.

A small pot still distillery, a copy of the licence to distil dated from 1757 which can be seen in the distillery. Similar to many Irish distilleries, Kilbeggan endured financial difficulties during the early 20th century, and ceased operations in 1957. However, the licence was maintained and the distillery was later refurbished, with distilling recommencing on-site in 2007.

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County Westmeath in the context of Athlone

Athlone (/æθˈln/; Irish: Baile Átha Luain, meaning 'The town of Luan's ford' [ˌbʲlʲɑː ˈl̪ˠuənʲ]) is a town on the border of County Roscommon and County Westmeath, Ireland. It is located on the River Shannon near the southern shore of Lough Ree. It is the second most populous town in the Midlands Region with a population of 22,869 in the 2022 census.

Most of the town lies on the east bank of the river, within the townland of the same name; however, by the terms of the Local Government (Ireland) Act 1898, six townlands on the west bank of the Shannon, formerly in County Roscommon, were incorporated into the town, and consequently, into the county of Westmeath.

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