Getting to Tullamore: the train from Heuston, the coach and the walk in

Tullamore is about an hour from Dublin whichever way you come, and once you are here almost everything is on foot. The one thing that catches people is the gap between where they arrive and where they want to be, so here is how each route actually works.

The train from Heuston

Tullamore is on the InterCity line out of Dublin Heuston towards Galway and Westport. It is a through-station: trains stop in both directions, and at least one Galway service starts here in the morning. The Irish Rail code is TMORE, and the live board on this site reads it directly.

Leave from Heuston, not Connolly. On the services we checked on the live board on the morning of 16 October 2026, Tullamore to Heuston took between 58 and 68 minutes, and Heuston to Tullamore 59. Trains are not every half hour, and weekends are thinner, so look at the timetable before you plan a late train home.

The station is on the south-west side of town, about 800 metres from O'Connor Square in a straight line. Visit Offaly puts the walk to Harbour Street at about fifteen minutes. It is a flat walk on footpaths, fine with a wheeled bag, less fine in February rain.

The coach, and the airport

The main coach operator through Tullamore is Kearns Transport, whose routes start in Birr. Its route 847 runs from Birr through Tullamore and Kilbeggan to Dublin city and on to Dublin Airport. On the timetable for October and November 2026 there are two morning departures from Tullamore, at 09:40 and 13:40, which reach Dublin Airport at 12:00 and 16:00. Coming the other way, the 847 leaves the airport at 12:15, 16:30 and 17:15. There are stops outside the railway station, in the town and at the hospital, so check which stop your bus uses.

Dublin-bound coaches set down only once they reach the city, and outbound coaches pick up only, so this is not a way to travel between two Dublin stops. If you are flying in, the 847 is the simplest arrival because it removes the transfer to Heuston; if the times do not suit, take an airport bus into the city and the train from Heuston.

Driving

The M6 Dublin to Galway motorway passes north of the town, and the distillery's own directions put Tullamore at about an hour from both cities, off junction 5. The N52 bypass skirts the town. The distillery at Clonminch is on the bypass, and the N52 south is also the road to Blueball for the Tullamore Show and to the turn for Lough Boora.

Park once and walk. The Square, Harbour Street, Patrick Street, William Street, High Street and Bury Quay are all within a few minutes of each other. Esker Arts on High Street has no parking of its own, so use one of the paid car parks nearby.

Getting around once you are here

On foot, the town centre is small. The longer distances are these:

• The distillery at Clonminch: about two kilometres south of the Square, beside the bypass. Walkable, but if you are doing the tasting you will want a lift back.
• Tullamore Golf Club at Brookfield: on the southern edge of town.
• Ballycommon Bridge: about eight and a half kilometres east along the canal towpath, or eight by Visit Offaly's measure of the greenway.
• Lough Boora: west of town off the R357. Leave on the N52 for Birr, turn right at Blueball for Cloghan, and the park starts within about seven kilometres.
• Clonmacnoise: closed to visitors from 19 October 2026 to 1 January 2027. About 33 kilometres west as the crow flies, on the Shannon.

Bikes

Tullamore is flat, and the canal makes it good cycling country. Guests at the Tullamore Court Hotel can borrow bikes for free. Dick's Bike Hire works from the Ballycommon Bake House at the far end of the towpath walk, which makes a one-way walk and a ride back possible, and Lough Boora has its own bike hire run by Mid Ireland Adventures. On the towpath, carry a bell, because you are sharing it with walkers, and keep back from the edge: the canal is deep.

A note on the August weekend

The Tullamore Show is on the second Sunday of August at Blueball, south of the town, and in 2026 it was held on 9 August. It is a one-day event, but it fills every bed in the area and slows the roads south of the town all day. If you are not going to the Show, avoid that weekend for a first visit; if you are, book your room early and plan to arrive at Blueball before the queues build.