Athlone

Athlone (Baile ?tha Luain in Irish, meaning "town of the ford of Luan") lies on the River Shannon near the southern extremity of Lough Ree, some 130 km west of Dublin. Historically, the west side of Athlone forms part of County Roscommon while the larger east side lies in County Westmeath, but administratively, almost all of the town has been included in Westmeath since 1898. The town's population in 2004 was 15,936, slightly more than that of Mullingar. Athlone sits close to the geographical centre of Ireland. Nearby are Moate on the road to Dublin, Ballinasloe on the road to Galway, and Tang on the road to Ballymahon, County Longford.

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River Shannon: The River Shannon (Irish: Sionainn), Ireland's longest river, divides the West of Ireland (mostly the province of Connaught) from the east and south (Leinster and most of Munster). The river has been an important waterway since antiquity. First mapped by Ptolemy, the 259 km (161 mi) long river flows...