Discover Tullamore
Offaly's county town, laid out along the Grand Canal and back distilling its own whiskey
A town the canal drew
Tullamore, Tulach Mhór, the great mound, has been the county town of Offaly since 1835, when it took the title from Daingean. It had 15,598 people at the 2022 census, which makes it a working town first: the county council, the Midland Regional Hospital, the courthouse on O'Moore Street and business parks at Kilcruttin and Clonminch. Visitors are a layer on top of that, not the reason the place runs.
The shape of the town comes from water. In May 1785 a hot-air balloon came down on the thatch and fire took somewhere between 100 and 130 houses, depending on which surviving account you read, which is why the town shield carries a phoenix. Thirteen years later the Grand Canal arrived from Dublin, and the harbour, Bury Quay and its warehouses followed. One of those warehouses held Tullamore Dew until the old distillery shut in 1954; whiskey is made here again now, two kilometres south of the Square at Clonminch, and the canal towpath runs east out of town towards Ballycommon.
What's On
Upcoming events and things happening in Tullamore
Tullamore TradFest
RecurringTraditional music weekend at the end of March; 26 to 29 March in 2026, much of it free.
Tullamore Show and FBD National Livestock Show
RecurringOne-day agricultural show on the second Sunday of August at Blueball; 9 August in 2026.
Eagla Fest at Esker Arts
RecurringEsker Arts' October horror film season; five screenings from 20 to 24 October 2026.
Tullamore Right Now
Live conditions are not loading at the moment. Tullamore is in the flat middle of Ireland, so expect mild and changeable rather than wild: soft rain is common in any month, frost is more likely here on a clear winter night than on the coast, and a dry spell makes the canal towpath east of town the best walk going. Bring a waterproof whatever the forecast says.
🚆 InterCity from Tullamore
Iarnród Éireann InterCity departures
InterCity service from Tullamore. Updates every minute.
Where To Eat
From fine dining to casual favourites
The Blue Apron
Small Harbour Street dining room, open Wednesday to Sunday since 2011; book by phone.
Old Warehouse
The old Tullamore Dew bonded warehouse on Bury Quay, now a bar, upstairs restaurant and café.
Sirocco's
Family-run Italian on Patrick Street since 1999, with an open kitchen; ring to book an evening table.