Above: Classic house in Leinster

County Wicklow lies on the shore of the Irish Sea, south of County Dublin. Except at Bray Head and Wicklow Head, the coast is low and has few harbours. The surface of the county is a mass of mountains, having less level land than that of any other county in Ireland. The Wicklow Mountains are thrown together in groups, separated by long narrow valleys. They reach a height of three thousand feet. The rivers are small, and of no importance.

Wicklow, on St. George’s Channel, is the county town. It lies at the north side of
Wicklow Head, and has lead and copper mines. Bray, on the coast, at the month of the river Bray, and near Bray Head, is the finest watering-place in Ireland. Arklow, also on the east coast, at the mouth of the Avoca, near the south-east border of the county, has a herring-fishery.

County Kildare lies inland, west of Wicklow and Dublin. It lias a more level surface than any oilier county in Ireland, showing a great contrast to its neighbour Wicklow. In the north and north-west there are portions of the Bog of Allen. The river Boyne rises in tlie north-west of tlie county, and the Liffey passes through it on its way to Dublin Bay. In the west the Barrow forms part of its boundary.

Athy, on the Barrow, the county town, has a grain market. Naas (Nace), on the Grand Canal, was in old times one of the religious centres of Ireland, and the ruins of a grand church still remain. Near the town is the Curragh, the most perfect racecourse in the British Islands. It is a plain covered with grass like velvet; and always green. Near the northern border of the county is Maynooth, with its ruined castle, and a college for the education of Roman Catholic priests.

Offaly (originally King’s County, named after Philip of Spain, the husband of Mary, Queen of England), lies between Kildare and the Shannon. A large part of the Bog of Allen is in this county. Bogs and marshes, large and small, extend in every direction. The Slieve Bloom Mountains are on the south-west borders. The Shannon, the Boyne, and the Barrow, are the chief rivers.

Tullamore, on the Tullamore river, is the county town. It is a business centre, and
has a distillery. Philipstown, on the Grand Canal, was named after King Philip of Spain. At Parsonstown, Lord Rosse erected what for many years was the largest telescope in the world.

On the banks of the Shannon is the burying place of the ancient kings of Ireland. To this spot came many kings and chiefs to spend the last years of their lives in prayer and religious worship. It contains the ruins of many churches, and many other curious relics of the past.

Laois (originally Queen’s county, named after Mary, Queen of England, the wife of Philip of Spain), is south east of Offaly. The Slieve Bloom Mountains separate the two counties. The Barrow, and the Blackwater which flows into it, are the chief rivers.

Maryborough, named after Queen Mary of England, is the county town. Mountmellick, on a branch of the Grand Canal, makes woollens and leather.