Page 257 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Ireland

THE MIDLANDS  255

VISITORS’ CHECKLIST
Practical Information
Road map C4. 7 km (4 miles)
N of Shannonbridge, Co Offaly.
Tel 090 967 4195. Open daily.
Groups pre-book. Closed 25 &
26 Dec. & 8 in sum mer. 7
- ∑ heritageireland.ie
Transport
£ @ to Athlone, then minibus
(090 647 4839/ 087 240 7706).
4 from Athlone.
Whispering Door The Tullamore Dew Heritage Centre,
Above the cathedral’s 15th-century north Co Offaly
doorway are carvings of saints Francis,
Patrick and Dominic. The acoustics of the p Tullamore Dew
doorway are such that even a whisper is Heritage Centre
carried inside the building.
Road map C4. Bury Quay, Tullamore,
Co Offaly – access from Dublin
Galway N6 & Dublin–Cork N7 roads.
Tel 057 932 5015. Open 9:30am–6pm
Mon–Sat, 11:30am–5pm Sun.
Closed 24 Dec–1 Jan. & 8 0
- = 7 ∑ tullamoredew.com
The town of Tullamore and its
most famous export, Tullamore
Dew Whiskey, are intrinsically
linked. It makes sense, there-
fore, that the Tullamore Dew
Heritage Centre should attempt
to explore not only the history
of the Tullamore Dew brand
but also that of the town itself.
The refurbished centre is
housed in the original Tullamore
Dew distillery, dating back
to 1897. Visitors can wander
through the fascinating
re-created working stations
of the distillery, such as the
malting, bottling, corking and
co operage areas as well as the
warehouse where the old oak
barrels filled with whiskey were
left to mature.
The history of Tullamore
town itself starts 9,000 years
ago with the formation of the
bog. The centre explains raised
bogs and the different uses of
peat. Here, too, visitors can
chain themselves to stocks, a
public punishment of the day,
fill a whiskey bottle by hand
and see and touch vari ous
artifacts for themselves.
The tour ends in the on-site
Temples Dowling, Hurpan and Melaghlin bar with a complimentary
Built as a family crypt, Temple Hurpan was a 17th-century addition to glass of whiskey or Irish Mist
the early Romanesque Temple Dowling. The 13th-century Temple Liqueur, both of which are
Melaghlin has two fine round-headed windows. on sale in the gift shop.

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