History Grand Canal
Work began on the Grand Canal in 1756. The first sods were turned near at Hazelhatch, now part of the Sallins Greenway. However engineering difficulties and mistakes by the builders in the early stages meant that progress was slow. The tempo picked up during the last twenty years of the 18th century and although thwarted many times by the difficulties of engineering a canal across the Bog of Allen the canal company managed to make the link with the Shannon in 1803.
The important branch to the river Barrow had been completed a decade earlier. Passenger boats used the waterway until the 1850s and cargo boats until 1960. The big, broad-beamed barges laden with porter, coal or grain were a familiar sight to generations of canal-side dwellers. After their closure to commercial traffic in 1960 the future for the waterways seemed bleak (although the Grand, unlike the Royal, remained navigable). However the vision of the inland waterways activists encouraged a more enlightened attitude by Government.
Some branches were restored (for example, Naas in 1987) and the canal environment improved - a process which continues as the role of the canals for water and land based recreation and tourism is increasingly valued as a national asset as well as a source of amenity for canal side communities. The main line of the Grand Canal is 132 km in length from Dublin to the Shannon passing through counties Kildare and Offaly.
Lowtown, located in County Kildare, played a significant role in the history of Ireland’s inland waterways as a key hub on the Grand Canal. Lowtown emerged as a vital junction where the main line of the Grand Canal met the Barrow Line, which connected to the River Barrow and onward to the southeast of Ireland. This strategic location made Lowtown a busy transshipment point and an operational centre for canal maintenance, barge traffic and payment of fees.
The area became home to a depot, lock-keeper’s cottages, and other facilities essential for managing canal operations. Barges carrying cargoes such as Guinness, turf, grain, and building materials would stop at Lowtown, making it an economic and logistical lynchpin in the canal network.
The Edenderry to Shannon Harbour Canal was a branch of the Grand Canal in Ireland, constructed to connect the town of Edenderry in County Offaly to the main line of the canal at Shannon Harbour. Built in the late 18th century, around the 1790s, it was part of a broader effort to expand inland navigation and promote trade and transport across the country.
This branch line, often referred to as the Edenderry Branch, was approximately 13 kilometers (8 miles) long. It played a key role in the local economy, enabling the transport of goods such as turf, grain, and coal to and from Edenderry.
Tullamore, from the Irish Tulach Mhór meaning "great hill," lies in the heart of Ireland. The area has been settled since ancient times, with evidence of Bronze Age habitation and early Christian monastic influence. It was historically part of the ancient kingdom of Ui Failghe, from which County Offaly gets its name.
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During the medieval period, Tullamore was relatively small but held strategic importance due to its location near the Slieve Bloom Mountains and the River Brosna. The area was controlled by powerful Gaelic families, particularly the O’Molloys. After the Tudor conquest of Ireland, land around Tullamore was seized and granted to English settlers, notably the Moore family, who became the Earls of Charleville.
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The 19th century saw significant development, largely due to the influence of the Charleville estate. The Grand Canal, completed in the late 1700s, played a key role in Tullamore’s economic growth, facilitating trade and transport. The Charleville Castle, a Gothic revival structure, was built just outside the town and remains a notable historic site.
Tullamore also developed as an industrial and commercial centre. In 1829, Daniel E. Williams joined a local distillery and eventually created the now-famous Tullamore D.E.W. Irish whiskey, which would become one of Ireland's most recognized whiskey brands.
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In the 20th century, Tullamore evolved into a modern town. While the original distillery closed in 1954, the brand endured and saw a major revival in the 21st century. In 2014, a new Tullamore D.E.W. distillery opened on the outskirts of the town, reconnecting Tullamore with its whiskey heritage.
The town has become a regional hub for education, retail, and health services, and is now home to over 15,000 people.