Birr

Birr (from the Irish: Biorra) is a town in County Offaly, Ireland. Once called Parsonstown, after the Parsons family who were local landowners and hereditary Earls of Rosse. It is also a parish in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Killaloe. Birr is a designated Irish Heritage Town with a carefully preserved Georgian heritage. Birr itself has graceful wide streets and elegant buildings. Many of the houses in John's Place and Oxmantown Mall have exquisite fanlight windows of the Georgian period.

Birr Castle

Get in

By car

Birr lies on the N52 and N62 national secondary roads. The routes are combined as they pass through Birr. The R439, R440 and R489 regional roads also terminate in the town.

By bus

Bus Eireann provide public transport services to the town. The Athlone to Limerick city service regularly passes through the town daily. Kearns privately owned bus service provides a number of direct bus services to Dublin from Birr.

Get around

Walk or cycle.

See

• 🌍 Birr Castle, ☎ [phone], e-mail: [e-mail]. March - November. Home of the seventh Earl of Rosse and the Great Telescope, and as such the residential areas of the castle are not open the public, though the grounds and gardens of the demesne are publicly accessible. €9. (updated Apr 2016)

Do

• 🌍 Birr Golf Club, The Glenns (Follow the R439 towards Banagher), ☎ [phone], e-mail: [e-mail]. Carved out of natural woodland and eskers, it provides a strong challenge for even the most accomplished golfers. (updated Apr 2016)
• 🌍 Birr Theatre & Arts Centre, Oxmantown M all, ☎ [phone], e-mail: [e-mail]. Theatre, music - classical, contemporary, folk, jazz etc, film, dance, comedy (updated Apr 2016)
• Birr Vintage Week, ☎ [phone]. 1st Week of August. Week long arts festival event celebrating Birr's heritage and culture. (updated Apr 2016)

Buy

Eat

• Tony's Takeaway. Chips. 
• 🌍 The Thatch, Military Road Crinkill (In Crinkill, 2km south of Birr), ☎ [phone], e-mail: [e-mail]. Traditional dishes, plenty of seafood and some vegetarian options. (updated Apr 2016)
• 🌍 Spinners, Castle St, ☎ [phone], e-mail: [e-mail]. Family run boutique restaurant and guest-house (updated Apr 2016)
• 🌍 Brambles Café & Delicatessen, Mill St, ☎ [phone], e-mail: [e-mail]. Mon-Sat 8:30-18:00 Sun 11:00-14:30. Bread, Scones, Chocolate Biscuit Cake, Carrot Cake, Caramel Slices, Coffee Sponge, Almond Slices, Homemade seasonal soups, quiches, deep-filled pies and sausage rolls (updated Apr 2016)
• 🌍 Parkers Restaurant, Riverstown (On the N52 towards Borrisokane), ☎ [phone]. Home made Irish cuisine overlooking the Little Brosna River (updated Apr 2016)
• 🌍 Emma's Café, Main St, ☎ [phone]. Coffee shop on Birr's main street (updated Apr 2016)

Drink

• 🌍 The Chestnut, Green St. Victorian style bar with cosy turf fires and dark wood interiors (updated Apr 2016)
• 🌍 Kelly's, Green St, ☎ [phone]. Old style pub (updated Apr 2016)

Sleep

• 🌍 Doolys Hotel, Emmet Square, ☎ [phone], e-mail: [e-mail]. 3 star hotel in the centre of Birr (updated Apr 2016)
• 🌍 County Arms Hotel, ☎ [phone], e-mail: [e-mail]. 4 star hotel on the edge of town (updated Apr 2016)

Connect

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