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Mountmellick
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Mountmellick is a
town in the north of County Laois. It is situated on the River
Owenass approximately 13 km south of Tullamore and 7 km north of
Portlaoise.
Mountmellick was an important industrial town before the Great
Famine of the mid-19th century. Up to this point it had become known
as the "Manchester of Ireland". This was partly due to the Grand
Canal, which flowed by the town. Mountmellick embroidery, also known
as Mountmellick Lace, became one of the most popular forms of
needlework during the 19th century.
Mountmellick was once the centre of a significant Quaker settlement
in Ireland. There is still a Quaker population in the town, and a
Quaker meeting house. A converted grain mill houses a Quaker museum
where the main focus is to conserve and display original pieces of
Mountmellick work (embroidery) and to protect the memory of
Mountmellick’s rich Quaker industrial past.
Mountmellick is a pleasing town with architecturally impressive
houses, shops and ecclesiastical buildings and one of the finest
examples of a Georgian square in Ireland.
The Barrow River headwaters provide the birthplace and home of the
young trout and salmon. It flows on past Mountmellick and
Portlarlington in series of ripples and pools where the bigger trout
take up residence and provide good sport for the angler. The Owenass
River enters the Barrow downstream of Mountmellick. It holds a large
stock of small brown trout with occasional trout to 1lb. |
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Mountmellick Holiday Homes - County Laois, Ireland