Offaly Tourism: Edenderry
Edenderry
Edenderry is a town in the north of County Offaly. In Irish it reads Eadán Doire, meaning “the hill-brow of the oak wood.” Edenderry borders counties Kildare, Meath, and Westmeath. The Grand Canal passes south of the town through the Bog of Allen and there is a short spur to the town centre. Edenderry is situated nearby the peat-burning Edenderry Power Station, the first Independent Power Producer in Ireland, situated in Clonbullogue a few kilometres to the south.
In the 16th Century, Edenderry had the name of Coolestown, after the family of Cooley or Cowley, who had a castle in the town; they defended in 1599 against the Earl of Tyrone’s rebellion. This subsequently passed by marriage to the Blundell family and was sacked in 1691 by the army of James II. The Blundell’s land then passed to the Marquess of Downshire who reversed the earlier opposition to the Blundell sisters to the establishment of a branch to the Grand Canal to Edenderry and paid for the £692 cost of the project, which was completed in 1802. By 1716 there was thriving woollen cloth manufacturing, established by Quakers. By 1911 the town had grown to 2,204 people, as of 2006 the town had a population of 5,888.
Today Edenderry is a busy midlands town in county Offaly, and it is the second biggest town in the county. The town, situated on the Grand Canal is an ideal spot for course fishing, walking/cycling the Offaly way from Dublin through Kildare and all of Offaly to join the Shannon at Shannon harbour. Edenderry also hosts a 3 day international course angling festival over the first week in June, this very successful festival has been running for over 15 years. Edenderry is also located 7 miles from the Irish parachute/skydiving club in Clonbullogue in Offaly. The club hosts a boogie week every summer with skydivers creating a world record and a number of tourists coming in from all over the world. Edenderry also has 3 golf courses, castles, gardens, heritage sites, croghan hill, and much much more!
Edenderry Golf Club offers a unique golf course built on the Bog of Allen where accuracy is a pre-requisite for success. Edenderry Golf Club was founded in 1940. The spectacular golf course is built on 130 acres of mature grounds on the Bog of Allen. The landscape can be described as fen peat. This golf course remains in excellent condition throughout the year. The restaurant of this golf club has recently been refurbished and makes for a great place to relax and enjoy a nice meal. The fairways of this course are pretty tight requiring great accuracy when playing from the tee. The splendid greens are well maintained and guarded to make the game play challenging and interesting. The eighteen holes of this course are enjoyable for golfers of all skill levels.
So if you’re off taking any adventures this summer around Ireland, then you know Edenderry is the place to go!
