Walsh Island
| Walsh Island Inis na mBreatnach | |
|---|---|
| Town | |
|
Entrance to Walsh Island | |
  Walsh Island Location in Ireland | |
| Coordinates: 53°13′51″N 7°13′22″W / 53.2307°N 7.2228°WCoordinates: 53°13′51″N 7°13′22″W / 53.2307°N 7.2228°W | |
| Country | Ireland |
| Elevation | 89 m (292 ft) |
| Time zone | IST (UTC+0) |
| • Summer (DST) | IST (WEST) (UTC-1) |
| Irish Grid Reference | N518204 |
Walsh Island (Irish: Inis na mBreatnach) is a small village in Offaly,with plenty of charm Ireland. It takes its name from the surrounding hinterland which is a fertile area of land on a hill (104m) located in a vast area of bogland known as the Bog of Allen, (hence, "island"). The village is one kilometre west of the R400 regional road which runs through the bog below. Walsh Island is 12km from the nearest town, Portarlington.
Sports and Culture
Walsh Island is known throughout the country for its achievements in Gaelic Athletic Association. The small village has produced two All-Ireland winning football captains in Willie Bryan and Richie Connor. Walsh Island's Matt Connor was also selected in 1999 as a member of the GAA Millennium Football team. Matt was also the subject of a Laochra Gael television programme on TG4. The team in 2006 was also featured on the RTÉ programme ParkLive.
The local soccer team, the Walsh Island Shamrocks, had been very successful during its 20-year history. The team plays its home games at Carty Park. They play in the C.C.F.L League (for teams from Counties Offaly, Laois, Westmeath and Longford).
The village also has a small handball alley which was restored by Walsh island development group in 2015 officially opened on August 1st 2015 and is known for having a well preserved blacksmith's forge in the village centre.
Walsh island has a festival each summer to celebrate the harvest season called the hoppers harvest it incorporates a vintage tractor run, traditional cooking ,butter making ,animal display and dog show this event brings all the villagers together in all age and sizes (9th of August 2015)
Walsh island is a popular location for tourism especially for bogland areas Walsh island has a bog train that people can view mountlucas wind farm and also the scenic views of the bog of Allen
Shops
Walsh Island is known for thriving business especially in the past but still has many small businesses it has had two shops: Kavanagh's Store which incorporates the local post office, owned by John and Breda Kavanagh, and the Island Shop (now stopped trading). The village has one pub called 'The Hoppers', featured recently on "Pub Spy" with a glowing report and 4 star pint. The Hoppers is run by Paul and Madeleine Flint.