Mullingar

Mullingar (An Muileann gCearr in Irish, meaning "The Crooked Mill") is the administrative centre of County Westmeath, Ireland and the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Meath. The town and its hinterland have a combined population of some 23,000 inhabitants (Council estimate, March 2005).

Transport

Mullingar lies on national primary route N4, the main Dublin - Sligo road, 79 km (49 miles) from the capital. The town is also served by national rail company Iarnród Éireann's Dublin - Sligo InterCity trains and Arrow commuter services (see Rail transport in Ireland) as well as by a Bus Éireann service to Dublin and Athlone where passengers can catch connecting buses.

Related Topics:
National primary route - Dublin - Sligo - Iarnród Éireann - Rail transport in Ireland - Bus Éireann - Athlone

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The town currently suffers from heavy afternoon traffic partially caused by a lack of off-street parking (there is currently an underground carpark in construction to help solve this problem). The town is bypassed and a ring road is in construction also in a bid to aliviate traffic. A new road to Athlone is also in the planning stages.

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In the 19th century the town was served for a time by the Royal Canal - however displaced first by the railway and then the car, it is no longer commercially used for the transport of goods or people.

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