County Laois is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and in the province of Leinster. It was known as Queen's County from 1556 to 1922. The modern county takes its name from Loígis, a medieval kingdom. Historically, it has also been known as County Leix.
Sheela na gigs are figurative carvings of naked women displaying an exaggerated vulva. They are architectural grotesques found throughout most of Europe on cathedrals, castles, and other buildings. The greatest concentrations can be found in Ireland, Great Britain, France and Spain, sometimes together with male figures. Ireland has the greatest number of surviving sheela na gig carvings; Joanne McMahon and Jack Roberts cite 101 examples in Ireland and 45 examples in Britain. One of the best examples may be found in the Round Tower at Rattoo, in County Kerry, Ireland. There is a replica of the Round Tower sheela na gig in the County Museum in Tralee town. Another well-known example may be seen at Kilpeck in Herefordshire, England.
Dunamase or the Rock of Dunamase is a rocky outcrop in County Laois, Ireland. Rising 46 metres (151 ft) above a plain, it has the ruins of Dunamase Castle, a defensive stronghold dating from the early Hiberno-Norman period with a view across to the Slieve Bloom Mountains. It is near the N80 road between the towns of Portlaoise and Stradbally.
Straffan is a village in County Kildare, Ireland, situated on the banks of the River Liffey, 25 km upstream of the Irish capital Dublin. As of the 2016 census, the village had a population of 853, a nearly two-fold increase since the 2006 census.
Doonagore Castle is a round 16th-century tower house with a small walled enclosure located about 1 km south of the coastal village of Doolin in County Clare, Ireland. Its name may be derived from Dún na Gabhair, meaning "the fort of the rounded hills" or the "fort of the goats". Doonagore Castle is at present a private holiday home, inaccessible to the public.
Ballaghmore is a small village located on the western side of County Laois, Ireland, southwest of Portlaoise. It is approximately 7 kilometres (4 mi) east of Roscrea. The village is in the civil parish of Kyle in the historic barony of Clandonagh.
Redwood Castle is a Norman castle near Lorrha in County Tipperary, Ireland.
The kingdom of Uí Fháilghe, Uí Failge or Uíbh Fhailí was a Gaelic-Irish kingdom which existed to 1550, the name of which is preserved in the name of County Offaly, Ireland.
Dundrum Castle, a ruin standing over the town of Dundrum, County Down, Northern Ireland, must not to be confused with Dundrum Castle in Dundrum, County Dublin. It was constructed by John de Courcy, sometime near the beginning of the 13th century, following his invasion of Ulster. The castle, built to control access into Lecale from the west and south, stands on the top of a rocky hill commanding fine views south over Dundrum Bay and the Mourne Mountains, the lands west towards Slieve Croob and the plains of Lecale to the east. The Castle is a State Care Historic Monument in the townland of Dundrum, in Newry, Mourne and Down District Council area, at grid ref: J4047 3700.
Cullahill or Cullohill is a small village situated on the R639 road in County Laois, Ireland. Cullahill takes its name from an ancient forest that covered Cullahill Mountain and extended down to Cullahill Castle.
Ballinalacken Castle is a two-stage tower house located in Killilagh parish of County Clare, Ireland. It is of uncertain date but most likely was built in the 15th or early 16th century.
Scregg House is an 18th century house in the townland of Scregg, south of Knockcroghery, in County Roscommon, Ireland. It was built in 1769 and occupied by J.E. Kelly in 1837 and Eliza Kelly in the 1850s. In a sale rental document of 1856, the house is described as a "respectable mansion, 3 stories high with basement and attic stories and a view of the Shannon River". Occupied in 1906 by the representatives of Henry Potts, the house is extant but no longer occupied. It is included on Roscommon County Council's Record of Protected Structures. Between 2007 and 2009, the Irish Georgian Society provided grant funding for repairs to the house's roof and windows.
Cullahill Castle was the principal stronghold of the MacGillapatricks of Upper Ossory built around 1425 and destroyed around 1650. Cullahill Castle takes its name from an ancient forest that covered Cullahill Mountain and extended down to Cullahill village.
Redwood is a townland in the historical Barony of Ormond Lower, County Tipperary, Ireland. It is also an electoral district in the Dáil constituency of Offaly having previously been part of the Tipperary North Dáil constituency.
The Figile River is a river in eastern Ireland.
Killeshin Church is a 12th-century Romanesque church and National Monument located in County Laois, Ireland.
Athlumney Castle is a tower house and fortified house and a National Monument in Navan, Ireland.
Saint Patrick's Church, also called Old Straffan Church, is a ruined medieval church in Straffan, Ireland.
Rheban Castle is a castle located in County Kildare, Ireland.
White's Castle is a 16th-century tower house in Athy, County Kildare, Ireland. Built on the site of an earlier 15th-century castle, White's Castle was built to guard the main river crossing in Athy and was extended over successive centuries.
