“An Muileann gCearr”
Built on the River Brosna and encircled by the Royal Canal, Mullingar is a thriving commercial centre.
The town takes its name from the Gaelic “An Muileann gCearr” meaning the left hand mill and is associated with a miracle that occurred at the mill.
The town of Mullingar was founded by the Normans over 800 years ago.
The Norman settlement was a Manor and Borough with a castle, a parish church, Augustinian and Dominican monasteries, a hospital and a Frankhouse.
The population of the borough was a mixture of Gaelic Irish and French, English, Welsh, Flemish and Breton immigrants.
Mullingar became an important resting point for travellers and traders, and the recently discovered Augustinian graveyard provides evidence that Mullingar people undertook pilgrimages to Santiago De Compostela in Spain, some 600 years ago.