Visit historic Birr and beautiful Kinnitty.

Birr is 40 minutes’ drive from The Nest and is a historic town, featuring elegant Georgian streets, the 16th Century Castle and great places for shopping, walking or going for food or a drink. A further 15 minutes’ drive, Kinnitty is on the edge of the Slieve Bloom mountain range, and is a pretty village. On the edge of the village is Kinnitty Castle, which is a hotel where you are free to wander the extensive grounds, which are great for walking and cycling. For the young (and the not-so-young), the fairy trail is also well worth a visit.

Birr Town

Birr is a designated Heritage Town, and it’s not hard to see why as you wander through its elegant streets. Many of the finest buildings date back to the 18th and 19th Centuries, although there had been a settlement here for over 1000 years before that. In Emmet Square (pictured), there is a column with nothing on top of it. This was originally home to a statue of The Duke of Cumberland, famous for his victory at Culloden in 1745 which put an end to the Jacobite rebellion. As opinions changed, Cumberland became known as “The Butcher” due to his ‘take no prisoners’ approach after Culloden, and was not seen as someone to be celebrated, and so his statue was eventually removed, although the column remains. Seemingly Cumberland himself was not a fan of the statue and refused to visit it.

Leading on from Emmet Square is the Main Street, where you will find many craft and artisan shops, as well as coffee shops and pubs.

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Birr Castle

Birr Castle was built in the 17th Century, and has been home to the wealthy Parsons family, Earls of Rosse, ever since. Most of the castle is not accessible to the public, being a private residence, but some of the reception rooms can be visited by guided tour. The gardens, however, are open to the public, and feature 120 acres of landscaped gardens, including waterfalls and over 5000 plant species. Of particular interest is ‘Leviathan’, which was once the world’s largest telescope. Alongside the telescope are galleries dedicated to astronomy and engineering.

Places To Eat In Birr

There are a number of great places in Birr to get food or a drink. The following are a few of our favourites.

The Organic Store is on Main Street and offers organic produce in their shop alongside tasty food and drinks in their cafe.

Woodfield Cafe and Garden Centre (pictured) is around 1km north of Birr, on the Tullamore road. They offer an excellent breakfast and lunch menu with great coffee and sweet treats.

Sanjay’s Kitchen do absolutely excellent Indian food, in fact they have been awarded ‘Best World Cuisine’ awards at the Irish Restaurant Awards numerous times.

Kinnitty Village

Kinnitty is a picturesque village on the edge of the Slieve Blooms range. It’s a nice place to sit outside a pub with a pint, or wander the streets, or go for a coffee.

10km to the south of Kinnitty is Leap Castle, reputed to be the most haunted building in Ireland. If you’re not a scaredy cat, the owner will give you a guided tour! Because it is a private residence, it is necessary to call ahead to check opening hours – 086 869 0547.

Kinnitty Castle

Kinnitty Castle is at the northern end of Kinnitty. The castle is a hotel, and the grounds are open to the public. There are mountain bike trails, a dining room and a coffee shop, but best of all is the fairy trail (pictured). This is a woodland walking trail, where the hotel’s chef has designed numerous fairy-related signs and sculptures, to entertain everyone from toddlers to pensioners!

The Slieve Blooms

The Slieve Bloom Mountains dominate counties Laois and Offaly, and Kinnitty is right on the western edge of the range. There are many places within the range which are great for walking, for cycling, or for a scenic drive. A personal favourite, and a must for fans of waterfalls, is Glenbarrow.

Closer to Kinnitty is the Knockbarron Eco Trail. This is a wooded area which includes a 5km loop walk. Much of the walk is on and around an Esker. Eskers are ridges which were naturally created during the ice age, and were used in ancient times as walkways. Some Eskers were as much as 500km long, and this is one of the best preserved ones in Ireland. It is a fascinating piece of prehistoric history! The walk is suitable for all abilities.