Location Overview, Portlaoise

Portlaoise (correctly pronounced Port-leash-a, but almost invariably referred to by locals as Port-leash) is the principal town of County Laois - say Leash - in the Irish midlands. The county is so centrally-located that it is the only one that doesn’t touch another county that touches the sea. It is also the only Irish county with no English translation of its name. The name derives from Laoiseach Ceannmore, an ancient historical personage whose name may be translated as ‘Laoiseach, great leader’ but definitely not, as one linguistic wag with the cúpla focal had it, ’Laoiseach with the big head’! Laois is often referred to, especially in GAA circles, as The O’Moore County after the most prominent Gaelic clan in the locality. The well-known tune, ‘March of the Kings of Laois’, which first appeared in Bunting’s 1809 collection, has long been associated with the O’Moores.

Portlaoise grew up around a fort founded by English settlers in 1548. The settlement was initially called Fort Protector but, in 1557, the name was changed to Maryborough in honour of Queen Mary. At the same time, the local area became known as Queen’s County. In 1922 the county was renamed Laois, and Maryborough became officially known as Portlaoighise - Gaelic for 'The fort of Laois' - which was subsequently ‘modernised’ to Portlaoise.

The town’s greatest contemporary landmarks - and significant employers - are probably Portlaoise Prison and, since 2000, its next-door-neighbour, The Midlands Prison (establishments to which many locals have an ambivalent attitude); the Government offices beside the Garda Station; and the Heritage Hotel, an imposing edifice whose sheer size and columned facade initially divided local opinion but has since become a popular meeting-place.

In recent years, Portlaoise, like many Irish towns, has undergone tremendous social and commercial change and, ostensibly, great prosperity. The town has seen a huge influx of commuters attracted by the affordability of housing compared to Dublin (a Sunday Times survey published in August 2006, found that Portlaoise was one of the most popular towns for commuters to Dublin); large numbers of immigrants, especially from the Baltic States and Eastern Europe; buildings springing up like the proverbial mushrooms. Portlaoise is one of the fastest-growing towns in Ireland. At the 2006 Census, the population was more than 14,000 - a figure which didn’t include many of the newer housing estates - and it is estimated that by the year 2020, the town and environs will be home to some 30,000.

It seems most appropriate that The World Fleadh should come to Portlaoise this year as there has been a huge recent upsurge of music-making in the locality. Laois School of Music provides tuition and performance opportunities to many young musicians; the achievement of numerous local bands is now recognized by the Laois Music Awards; éistmusic, a small club that features original music of all genres in intimate, atmospheric surroundings, has been a huge success since it began in September 2006.
www.laois.ie/LeisureCulture/ArtsEntertainment/LaoisSchoolofMusic/
www.evolutionents.com/
www.myspace.com/eistmusic

According to local legend/history, there once existed in Laois the leac reda, a stone which marked the spot where the lands of the ancient seven septs of Laois met. Its whereabouts have long since vanished in the mists of time, but, for seven days in August, 2007, the town of Portlaoise will become a meeting place for bands of singers, musicians and dancers whose exploits may also pass into the realms of local legend and beyond.

For detailed pictorial information on Portlaoise please go to www.portlaoisepictures.com