Edenderry

The eastern gateway to the Offaly Greenway, about 19 km east.

Edenderry (Éadan Doire, “hill-brow of the oak wood”) is where the Offaly section of the Grand Canal Greenway begins. A short spur brings the canal into town – the Marquess of Downshire paid for it and it was finished in 1802. Quakers founded a woollen industry here, and Ireland’s first car, the Alesbury, was built in the town in 1907. Nearby, the Blundell Aqueduct carries the canal over the road.

Why it matters: the start or finish of a Greenway day to Daingean, and Daingean’s municipal district centre.

Sources: Wikipedia (Edenderry); OCC; NIAH