2 Best Sights in Tullamore, The Midlands

This open expanse of once commercial, now exhausted, bog has been restored for a variety of leisure activities, from hiking and cycling to coarse angling and bird-watching (more than 150 species make their home here). When it was first established as a sanctuary in 2001, there were just 11 breeding pairs of gray partridge in the parkland—now there are several hundred of these ground-nesting birds, the last remaining population of them in Ireland. You're unlikely to see them, however, as they spend only one minute of each day in the air. Best of all, Lough Boora is home to one of Ireland's most unique sculpture parks. Along the Sculpture Walk, where golden plovers, lapwings, and starlings may accompany you, 24 large-scale sculptures made from local materials (including glacial stone, water, and willow) have been created by artists influenced by the legacy of the bogs. The result is some of the most creative environmental outdoor artwork anywhere in Ireland. To cite one example, the installation artist Mike Bulfin has turned a rusty old bog train into a cartoonish curve whose image will remain imprinted in your mind long after your visit to this magical place. The most recent sculpture, the Gathering of Stones, features a different type of stone from each of the four provinces in Ireland, creating a ring fort and circular wall. It reflects the Irish diaspora through "emigrant stones" laid out in a cruciform shape embracing people from all corners of the world. A café serves snacks from 10 am to 6 pm. An off-road bike trail runs for 22 km (13 miles). You can choose from five different looped color-coded walks, while guided walking tours run April–September.

Bring your binoculars: bird hides are located throughout the park to provide the opportunities to spy on birds such as golden plover and lapwing.

Recently moved from its town center location in a bonded warehouse, the visitor center is now located at its modern plant at Clonminch outside Tullamore. Highlights include whiskey tours, tasting sessions, and a whiskey master class. In 2014, a €35 million distillery opened at Clonminch on the outskirts of town, bringing whiskey production back to the area after a gap of 60 years. The company embarked on a €10 million global marketing campaign, and today it's the world's second-largest and fastest-growing Irish whiskey brand—just behind Jameson. It's all a far cry from humble beginnings in 1829 when Tullamore Distillery was founded. It was greatly expanded under the aegis of Daniel E. Williams, whose family became joint shareholders, and his own initials (D. E. W.) were added to the whiskey's name, inspiring the slogan "Give every man his Dew" (which appeared on the bottles for many years). Triple distilled, and made from a unique blend of single malt, pot still, and grain whiskey, it is regarded by connoisseurs as exceptionally smooth. The visitor center shows several short videos on the history of the company and guided tours reflect the aroma aspects of the whiskey alongside infographics panels. The tour includes a 105-minute “behind-the-scenes” visit of the working distillery, an Irish coffee, still house visit, and experiment in the blending lab---where you can “dip the dog” and taste whiskey straight from the cask in the so-called secret warehouse snug.