East Coast and Midlands is a region of Ireland, centred on Dublin and roughly corresponding to the ancient kingdom of Leinster. It's never been a unit of government, it's simply a collection of counties for statistical and planning purposes, known to the lyrical Irish as "NUTS Level 2 - IE06". It consists of three subregions: Dublin (IE061, population 1,345,402 as at 2016), Mid-East (IE062, Counties Kildare, Meath, Wicklow and Louth, population 688,857) and Midlands (IE063, Counties Laois, Longford, Offaly and Westmeath, population 292,301).
It's more than the city: the coast has a series of old harbours, fortifications and breezy headlands.
You're probably here for the races and the National Stud.
For Emo Court, Rock of Dunamase, Timahoe Round Tower and Slieve Bloom mountains.
Of all its prehistoric sites, the oddest is the track into Corlea bog.
This has prehistoric and medieval ruins aplenty, and long sandy beaches.
Here are Hill of Tara, Brú Na Bóinne, Kells Abbey and Loughcrew Cairns.
See Clonmacnoise and the highs and lows of Victorian astrophysics and Georgian aviation.
For historic Athlone on the Shannon, and the dark story of Belvedere House near Mullingar.
Its mountains enfold monastic Glendalough, and form the backdrop to great mansions at Powerscourt and Russborough.
In the souvenir tea-towel version of Irish history, Leinster was the large eastern territory of the four that made up Ireland, the others being Munster, Ulster and Connaught, with a High King presiding over all. In reality in early medieval times there were more like a dozen, forever warring and shifting boundaries, and recognising no overlords. The Normans arrived in the 12th century and began a land-grab, starting in the fertile lowlands of the south and east, and divided Ireland into shires or counties. Resistance from Leinster was a tad stiffer than they cared for, so they effectively bribed that kingdom to keep quiet. They also subdued Meath the kingdom to its north, and this became absorbed by Leinster, creating something like the present East Coast and Midlands Region.
The Normans pushed on west but were thrown back by the Gaels, and weakened by plague and internal strife. They held onto Dublin and an arc of territory - "The Pale" - extending roughly 150 km out, and it was only from the 16th century that the English Tudors were able to resume conquering the rest. The battles fought in Leinster were extensions of those in Great Britain: Cromwell's ruthless campaign against the Royalists, and King James' rearguard action against the Protestant King William. Thereafter, peace for the most part, and the region developed agriculture, industry and transport on modern lines. Georgian Leinster was very much part of Britain, with Dublin constructing its elegant wide streets and leafy squares, and even the formerly "beyond the Pale" County Offaly witnessing the world's first aviation disaster, cutting-edge astronomy, and the world's first automobile fatality. In the 19th century canals then railways snaked across terrain that was little impeded by mountains or bogs, and all these routes focussed on Dublin. They still do.
This meant that even before independence in 1921, the area was heavily built upon and its antiquities rifled or ploughed under. That build-up has continued in the century since, so it's remarkable how much heritage remains. There are prehistoric monuments older than the pyramids, ancient Christian sites, much-battered castles and stately mansions. Dublin is the place to start exploring because, quite apart from having the visitor amenities and transport connections, its excellent museums display the best of the region, indeed the best of the country. But you do need to get out from the city to the many places that can only be experienced on site. The region is promoted by the national tourist agency as "Ireland's Ancient East".
Dublin Airport (IATA: DUB) is at the north edge of the city. It has a wide choice of flights at competitive fares, and direct buses across the entire region.
Trains run to Dublin Connolly from Belfast, Sligo and Rosslare ferry port, and to Dublin Heuston from Galway, Limerick, Cork and Waterford.
Ferries sail to Dublin port from Liverpool, Holyhead and the Isle of Man. Dún Laoghaire is no longer a ferry port.
Motorways and bus routes radiate out from Dublin, so you can reach this region within 3 hours from almost anywhere in Ireland.
See Irish Rail for timetables, fares and online tickets. Because the railways radiate from Dublin across lowland terrain, they're a good travel mode between the towns along them.
Dublin Connolly has trains from Belfast stopping at Dundalk and Drogheda; from Sligo stopping at Longford, Mullingar and Maynooth; and from Rosslare stopping at Arklow, Wicklow Town, Bray and Dún Laoghaire. Connolly is also the hub of DART suburban services to the coastal towns of Malahide, Howth, Dún Laoghaire, Dalkey, Bray and Greystokes - inter-city trains ply the same track but mostly rush through these places.
Dublin Heuston has trains from Galway and Mayo stopping at Athlone, Clara, Tullamore, Portarlington and Kildare. From Limerick and Cork they stop at Portlaoise, and from Waterford they stop at Kildare. Commuter trains also serve Naas.
Connolly and Heuston stations are 5 km apart so journeys involving separate lines are less convenient. For instance between Wicklow Town and Kildare you'd have to travel into Dublin, take the cross-city tram then travel out again.
Buses from Dublin city and airport run everywhere but seldom stop while crossing the region. Some you might use are:
- Dublin - Sligo / Ballina bus calls at Maynooth, Mullingar and Longford.
- Dublin - Galway bus calls at Maynooth and Athlone.
- Dublin - Limerick / Kerry bus calls at Kildare.
All the other main towns have direct daytime buses from Dublin. There are night buses to Naas, Kildare and Portlaoise, and to Ashbourne, Navan and Kells.
Cross-country inter-city buses are sparse, but radiating from Athlone are buses to Mullingar, to Tullamore, Portlaoise, Carlow and down through the midlands to Waterford, and to Longford and Monaghan.
See individual towns for other short-haul connections, urban buses (Dublin has a huge network) and the Local Link buses that wind through the back lanes.
Car rental is best arranged from Dublin airport, or at a pinch from the city. Book in advance for the best deals and to ensure availability.
The main roads radiate from Dublin, with M50 (toll) ringing the city, and a motorway tunnel (toll) between the port area and the M1 / M50 junction. These roads are fast unless you catch commuter rush hour. The principal routes are:
- M1 Dublin - airport - Drogheda (toll) - Dundalk - Belfast
- M3 / N3 Dublin - Navan - Kells - Cavan - Enniskillen - Donegal
- M4 / M6 Dublin - Athlone - Galway, with N4 for Mullingar and Sligo
- M7 Dublin - Portlaoise - Limerick, with M8 for Cork, and M9 for Carlow, Kilkenny and Waterford
- M11 Dublin - Bray - Wicklow - Wexford
Wrap up well in the Wicklow mountains, but the area is mostly lowland and the hazards are man-made - especially traffic.