Nestling at Ireland's centre, Athlone is home to inland waterways, good food, quirky shops and magical Clonmacnoise, writes MICHAEL PARSONS
IF THE UNIMAGINABLE ever happens at Sellafield, or our economic woes lead to a real emergency, then all roads will lead to Athlone. The Co Westmeath town, at the geographic heart of the country, would become the new capital, and the Government would decamp to a nuclear bunker deep within the army’s Custume Barracks. Ministers would want to get there sharpish, before local TD and matriarch of the Midlands Mary O’Rourke declared herself president for life. The mamma who puts the mia(ow) into Fianna Fáil is, of course, the town’s most nationally famous resident.
There’s a lot more to the town than meets the eye, as a walking tour with local historian Donal O’Brien reveals. “Athlone is not unlike Budapest, with two towns divided by a mighty river,” he says. “On the left bank is the old town, or Connacht side, while the more commercial town centre opposite is firmly within Leinster.” While both might lack the imperial splendour of the Hungarian city’s architecture, the ink-black Shannon is more than a match for the no- longer-blue Danube, and the food is incomparably better.
The soon-to-be-completed motorway to Galway means Athlone is now a comfortable, bottleneck-free 120km journey from Dublin. Located at the centre of the longest network of inland waterways in Europe, it has long been a destination for waterborne tourism and offers extensive marina facilities in both the town centre and at nearby Lough Ree.
But landlubbers would also enjoy a break here. The western outskirts, which needn’t detain you, are dominated by Athlone Institute of Technology, which attracts almost 5,000 full- and part-time students, who give the place a youthful air and explain the preponderance of slightly scruffy low-budget apartment complexes and takeaways.
Farther in, Athlone Town Centre is a gleaming shopping mall built on a three-hectare brownfield site. To its credit, it has prevented the death-knell drift to edge-of-town retailing and revitalised the centre of town, but its design and range of usual-suspect shops (from Accessorize to Zara) can be found anywhere from Belfast to Cork.
More interesting by far are two adjacent buildings: the lovely St Mary’s Parish Church, which has one of the most impressive collections of funerary monuments in Ireland; and, in stark contrast, one of the country’s finest new buildings, Athlone Library and Civic Centre.
Then take a stroll past the shadow of a gunman – a statue dedicated to IRA volunteers from the original Troubles – and cross the bridge to the old town.
First stop is the Church of St Peter and St Paul, triumphantly built during the impoverished 1930s, and decorated with wonderful windows from the Harry Clarke studio. The glorious stained-glass tribute to St Patrick is a riot of gorgeous colour and is alone worth the journey. The “Left Bank” has a slightly raffish, Bohemian air, with many buildings painted in bright colours –duck-egg blue, sunflower yellow, pistachio green and rose pink – and a good choice of restaurants, including Thai, Lebanese and Italian.
The 13th-century castle, which houses a museum (open in summer only), was denounced by the celebrated travel writer Richard Hayward as “so much altered and restored that it is difficult to disassociate its ancient decagonal keep from some kind of gasometer”. The shops on Main Street are far more engaging and would absorb antique hunters and bookworms for many happy hours.
Dubliner John Donohoe, who moved to Athlone 14 years ago, runs Na Linte, the only antiquarian bookshop between Dublin and Galway. It’s a joy to visit and is filled with delights – signed first editions by leading Irish writers, an original letter by Yeats, a rare copy of a play for schoolchildren by Sinéad de Valera and much more.
Booklovers would also enjoy a visit to the nearby premises of one of the few surviving Irish bookbinders. Watch master craftsman Declan Browne and his apprentice Orla Corrigan as they restore rare and beautiful tomes for collectors, libraries, universities and dioceses.
At Left Bank Antiques, where finds include a “very rare” Irish silver asparagus tongs and a Victorian rocking cradle, owner Brian Kelly says “visitors like the fact that everything is priced, unlike in many antiques shops”, which makes browsing more relaxed.
Celebrate your purchases next door at Ireland’s oldest pub. Seán’s Bar, which once revelled in the rather more romantic name the Three Blackamoor Heads, is popular with locals and visitors alike. Charles Pérukel and Hans Snoeks, early-bird tourists from the Netherlands who were soaking up the atmosphere and Guinness, described the surroundings – rough-hewn wooden benches, a turf fire and sawdust-strewn floor – as “like coming home”.
Ironically, Athlone’s most important tourist attraction is across the border in Co Offaly. Clonmacnoise is 17km, via some dodgy back roads, south of the town. In summer you can travel by boat to this monastic settlement, which was founded 1,500 years ago by St Ciarán on river meadows beside the Shannon. The hauntingly beautiful site, with its round towers, churches, high crosses and chieftains’ graves, was once a major centre of early Christian learning and culture. But it was sacked and left in ruins by the English garrison at Athlone in 1552.
Today Clonmacnoise is preserved by the Office of Public Works and attracts more than 160,000 visitors a year. Supervisor Tom Moore describes it as “a place of pilgrimage and prayer at the crossroads of Ireland” and points out the helipad built for Pope John Paul II’s visit in 1979.
Pilgrims, and the superstitious, also still come: some to bottle the water (said to cure warts) from the hollow of an ancient bullaun stone; others to collect soil from St Ciarán’s grave (when sprinkled in the four corners of a field it is believed to prevent eelworm in root crops).
On the way back to Athlone, make sure to stop off at the little village of Ballinahown. Two separate outlets, Core and the Celtic Roots studio, showcase and sell local crafts, from bog-oak sculpture to award-winning honey. During a recent visit Brian Cowen, the Taoiseach, commented that “in a world of mass production, people are increasingly on the lookout for well-made products that are distinctive, have an identifiable place and name behind them, appeal to the heart and, perhaps, have a story to tell”. The skills, imagination and community spirit on show here are just what the country needs right now.
In recent years Athlone has developed a reputation as a gourmet destination. There’s a wide range of restaurants to suit all budgets, from the authentic Roman cuisine at chef Aldo Belviso’s Il Colosseo to Garry Hughes’s excellent- value menu at the riverside Olive Grove. The best-known is, of course, Wineport Lodge, on the banks of Lough Ree, where general manager Norma Wilson says that “a lot of our customers are from Dublin”. It is famous as the location for RTÉ’s series The Restaurant, and you half-expect to be asked to score the efforts of guest celebrity chefs, such as Kevin Myers or Michael Healy-Rae, after dessert. But the resident chef does a grand job.
It’s a great place to end the day and “hear lake water lapping with low sounds by the shore”.
** Michael Parsons was a guest of Fáilte Ireland
Where to stay, where to eat and where to go
Where to Stay
Radisson SAS Hotel. Northgate Street, 090-6442600, www.athlone. radissonsas.com. It has 128 rooms and overlooks the River Shannon. The Synergy health and leisure club has a large indoor swimming pool; the 140-seater Elements restaurant offers "local and internationally-influenced cuisine"; lighter meals and snacks can be had at the Quayside Bar and Lounge. There's an outdoor terrace over the water for summer days and nights.
Wineport Lodge. Glasson, 090-6439010, www.wineport.ie. This is outside town on the shores of Lough Ree. All 29 luxurious bedrooms have lake views and west-facing balconies and are decorated on a wine-related theme. Boat trips on the lake can be arranged for guests; if you have your own boat, you can dock at the private marina.
Where to eat and drink
The Olive Grove. Custume Place, 090-6476946, www.theolivegrove.ie. This is great-value Irish food with an international twist in Athlone's best setting. Outdoor seating is available on a terrace overlooking the River Shannon, with wonderful views.
Il Colosseo. Northgate Street, 090-6475094. Chef Aldo Belviso moved to Ireland because "life in Italy was too chaotic" and chose Athlone, where the Shannon reminds him of the Tiber. Classic Italian food with Roman and seafood specialities.
Seán's Bar. Main Street, 090-6492358. Ireland's oldest pub, according to Guinness World Records.
Gertie Browne's. 9 Custume Place, 090-6474848. A popular traditional pub in the centre of town.
The Wineport Lodge restaurant (see above) is offering an elaborate seven-course "wild and organic gourmet menu". Dinner is €89; matching wines are an extra €65.
Where to go
Walking tours of Athlone. Contact Donal O'Brien on 085-1015480.
Boat trips to Lough Ree and its islands are available daily between April and October and by appointment for groups to Clonmacnoise. Contact Viking Tours on 086-2621136.
Clonmacnoise Heritage Centre. Shannonbridge, 090-9674195, www.heritageireland.ie/en/ midlandseastcoast/Clonmacnoise. Open year-round. An audio-visual presentation and guided tour take about 60 minutes, but you should allow much more time to enjoy this beautiful place, especially in fine weather.
Ballinahown Irish Designer Craft Village (www.irishdesigner craftvillage.com) is halfway between Athlone and Clonmacnoise on the N62.
Core Crafted Design. The Old Schoolhouse, Ballinahown, 090-6430222. Core has a very good cafe, plus a shop selling the best crafts and foods from counties Westmeath and Offaly.
Celtic Roots Studio. Ballinahown, 090-6430404, www.celticroots.ie. This is a co-operative company, representing young artists who create sculptures and gifts in bogwood. They've done commission pieces for leading Irish companies, organisations and government departments.
Where to shop
Na Linte Booksellers. 9 Main Street, 090-6494151, http://nalinte.com/. A large stock; especially good for inland waterways, rare signed first editions and AE (George Russell).
Left Bank Antiques. 15 Main Street, 090-6493377.
Declan Browne, book restorer. 17 Main Street, 090-6493442.
Treasures. 39 Church Street, 090-6475762, www.treasuresirishart.com. Antiques, collectibles and art.
The Bastion. 6 Bastion Street, 090-6494948, www.bastiongallery.com. This shop sells local art, ceramics, jewellery, candles and gifts.