County Westmeath

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County Westmeath (Irish: Contae na hIarmhí) is a county situated in the Irish midlands, also popularly called the "Lake county" in the western part of the province of Leinster. Area: 1,764 km². The county was once part of the ancient province of Meath and later of County Meath. This association ended in 1543 when County Westmeath was created under the Counties of Meath and Westmeath Act.

Mullingar with a population 18,529 is the county administrative centre, and has the largest urban population of the county. Athlone (population 16,888), Moate, Kilbeggan, and Castlepollard are also important commerce and marketing centres within the county.

[edit] Economy:

Westmeath has traditionally been an agricultural economy. Urban development centred on market centres like Mullingar, Moate, and Kinnegad. Athlone developed due to its critical military significance in the 1500s, as it was located where the main East-West route crossed the Shannon. Mullingar got considerable advantage from the development of the Royal Canal making possible bulk transport to Dublin, and the sea. Both Athlone and Mullingar developed further in significance with the construction of the Irish railway network.

After the famine the population of Westmeath dropped dramatically, and didn't recovered until the late 1950s. Agriculture has always been important in Westmeath and the county is renowned for its cattle production.

Tourism in Westmeath is centred on its water amenities. The county has lakes such as Lough Derravaragh, Lough Ennell, Lough Lene, Lough Owel and Lough Ree. Both the Grand Canal, and the Royal Canal go through Westmeath, and the Shannon (Ireland's key tourism waterway) has a considerable inland harbour in Athlone.

The development of industry in Westmeath was based on food processing and consumer products. Whiskey production in Kilbeggan, tobacco processing in Mullingar, and the meat trade were prominent. In recent times, the drug company élan has located in Athlone. The district to the East of Mullingar is now part of the commuter belt serving the technology parks on the western side of Dublin, proving popular with people who wish to work in Leixlip, County Kildare.

Notable Westmeath people include Michael O'Leary the CEO of Ryanair, Joe Dolan, broadcaster Marian Finucane, and Nuala Holloway, former Miss Ireland, model and actress, now artist and academic.

Westmeath's main achievements in Gaelic games were winning the Leinster Senior Football Championship, or Delaney Cup, in 2004, and winning the Christy Ring Cup in hurling in 2005.

According to the Irish Independent, 12 December 2006, Westmeath is the goat capital of Ireland, with five times as many goats as Kerry.

[edit] Towns and villages in Westmeath

• Athlone
• Castlepollard, Castletown-Geoghegan, Collinstown, Coole
• Delvin
• Finnea, Fore Abbey
• Glasson
• Horseleap
• Kilbeggan, Killucan, Kinnegad, Knockdrin
• Moate, Mullingar, Multyfarnham
• Raharney, Rochfortbridge, Rosemount

Westmeath is bordered by the counties of Cavan, Longford, Meath, Offaly and Roscommon.

[edit] Infrastructure

• Midlands (ATM) Gateway
• National Development Plan
• Transport 21
• Platform 11

[edit] Westmeath cattle

As the Golden Vale is to dairy produce, Mullingar Cattle are farmed for their high quality beef, veal, fattened upon the plains of Meath and Westmeath. Much of the countries weaned cattle, in particular, cattle from west of the Shannon, west of Athlone, arrive upon the Westmeath, Meath grasslands, for final fattening before they are conditioned for human consumption. This is also true to a lesser extent for other neighbouring counties, Cavan and Offaly pastures.
Such is the recognition of the beef quality produced in the area, popular sayings ring on from generation to generation, and one in particular: Beef to the heel like a Mullingar Heifer The saying coined, referred not the heifer beef quality, but to the attractive, well proportioned, and well shaped adolescent girls of a courting age.
These cattle are also employed to maintain grassland for wildlife for example, within the surrounding areas fringing the Bog of Allen. They are often used in some of the wildest places for livestock. Depending upon their breed, certain cattle are more suited to hill grazing, heaths, marshes, and moors. Today, consequential to specialisation certain tendencies have become more visible in Irish farm practices. Breeds of bovine cows have become more commercial than older breeds. Breeds, such as Charolais, ^[1] Limousin,^[1] Normande, ^[2] also known popularly as Short-horn, Aberdeen Angus, and Hereford,^[3] for meet consumption are those most likely to be encountered in this area. As there are exceptions to all rules, there are also Holstein^[4] dairy farms that possess milk quotas, who supply the dairy industry.

[edit] Typical Westmeath bovine grazing stock

• Aberdeen Angus
• Limousin
• Charolais
• Hereford
• Normand
• Shorthorn

[edit] The Westmeath Horse

Westmeath contains many stud farms. The animals are reared on the pastures allowing the bone structure to grow and form correctly. The rich plains of Westmeath, rich in calcium, marl contribute significantly to calcification of the foals bones during the formation years. Westmeath mares are put into foal preferably in spring so that the foal may grow through the summer, pregnancy lasts for approximately 335-340 days and usually results in one foal (male: colt, female: filly). Twins occur very rarely. Colts are usually carried 2-7 days longer than fillies. Females 4 years and older are called mares and males are called stallions.
Note: A castrated male is a gelding.
Horses, particularly colts, may sometimes be physically capable of reproduction at approximately 18 months but in practice are rarely allowed to breed until a minimum age of 3 or 4 years old, especially females or mares. When these Westmeath horses are about four years old, they are considered mature, even though the skeleton usually continues to develop until the animal is six years old, and the precise time of completion of development also depends on the horse's size (therefore a connection to breed exists), gender, and the quality of care provided by its owner. Also, if the horse is larger, its bones are larger; therefore, not only do the bones take longer to actually form bone tissue (bones are made of cartilage in earlier stages of bone formation), but the epiphyseal plates (two plates that fuse a bone into one piece by connecting the bone shaft to the bone extremities) are also larger and take longer to convert from cartilage to bone. These plates convert after the other parts of the bones do but are crucial to development.
Depending on maturity, breed and the tasks expected, young horses are usually put under saddle and trained to be ridden between the ages of two and four. Although Thoroughbred and Irish Draught^[5] three quarter bred horse, for show jumping, and race horses are put on the track early as two years old, by some horses proprietors. These horses of the lake districts, (north of the county), are specifically bred for sports such as show jumping and dressage are generally not entered into top-level competition until a minimum age of four years old, because their bones and muscles are not solidly developed, nor is their advanced training complete.
For endurance riding competition, certain horses may not compete until they are a full 60 calendar months (5 years) old.

[edit] References

[edit] Images

Hill of Ben Fore

[edit] See also

• List of abbeys and priories in the Republic of Ireland (County Westmeath)

[edit] External links

• Westmeath Census information
• Westmeath Community Development
• STRATEGIC DEVELOPMENT FRAMEWORK FOR THE MIDLANDS GATEWAY; Census stastics page 27
• Athlone Advertiser and Mullingar Advertiser local newspapers
• Local job vacancy listings online
• Westmeath County Council
• Westmeath Tourism
• Westmeath Enterprise
• Westmeath Examiner (Local Newspaper)
• Tullamore Life & Community
• Westmeath Bands

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