Ferbane is a small peaceful town situated in the midlands 18 miles from the towns of Ballinasloe and Tullamore and twelve miles from Birr and Athlone. The Slieve Bloom mountains with their beautiful trails and scenery are also in close proximity.
With a population of around 1500 Ferbane boasts a good complement of bars and restaurants, as well as many small shops including butchers, draperies, a petrol station, a chemist, a bank with ATM, a credit union, a dry cleaners, a supermarket and laundry service. The town also has an excellent library, Health Centre, several hairdressers and a beautician. Many artists work in bog oak/yew and wrought iron.
Ferbane is situated along the main Limerick /Athlone Road which benefits from over 17,000 passing Vehicles each day
A printing press, winner of national awards, also graces our town. We also have the usual urban services, including a local fire service and Garda Station.
Two primary schools, one for boys and one for girls, cater for first level education in Ferbane. They are soon to amalgamate into the new St. Cynoc's National School with a new building accross from St. Cynoc's Terrace.
The towns' two-second level education institutions, Ferbane Community College and St. Joseph and St. Saran’s secondary school have also amalgamated to form Gallen Community School and a new school is due to start construction shortly.
A new Childcare Centre is near completion in Ferbane Business & Technology Park on the Ballycumber Road. A play-school facilitates the pre-school child while a mother and toddler group provides another welcome facility. Athlone Institute of Technology is less than eleven miles from Ferbane and is serviced by a local bus company every morning and evening. So, the educational needs of our children are well catered for from the cradle to adulthood.
The town is situated on the River Brosna, a trout and salmon river, while the Grand Canal, just a mile away, with roach, pike and bream is a haunt for coarse fishing anglers. You can visit the local tourist information centre located in the Maidin Gheal Restaurant for more information. Banagher and Shannonharbour, both major centres of the Shannon cruiser industry, are within six miles of the town. Clonmacnois and the Bog Rail Tours are again just a few miles from Ferbane.
The art of Bog Oak sculpture is carried out in the Celtic Root studios in Leamonaghan, just a few miles east of Ferbane on the Tullamore road. The showrooms and retail shop are in Ballinahown, just six miles away, on the way to Athlone. A few miles away in Boher Church, is the foremost early Christian shrine, Saint Manchan’s Shrine. Saint Manchan’s well and an ancient monastic settlement are situated in Leamonaghan.
Ferbane is rich in heritage and was once the home of the McCoghlans, chieftains who built many castles in the area and were known in their time as the MacCoghlans of the Fair Castles. Today the tower houses of Coole and Clononey are the best preserved and a visit is always worthwhile, steeped as they are in history and culture. Within half mile of the town is the old assembly point, tulach tionoil, where the chieftains had their inauguration ceremony, at Ard na gCros. The Gallen Cross, an unusual cross of the Christian period, can be viewed in the grounds of Gallen Priory, as well as a collection of Early Christian grave slabs. The Priory, once a landlord’s residence and later a novitiate of the St. Joseph of Cluny Order, is now a nursing home.
Ballylin, a half-mile outside the town, was the birthplace of Mary Ward, a famous scientist of the mid- nineteenth century. Mary was born in 1827 and spent most of her life in Ballylin House where her father was the local landlord. She was an author, artist and a botanist. The third Earl of Ross, the inventor of the “Leviathan” Telescope was her cousin. She was a victim in 1869 of the first motoring fatality.
Today the “Fair Green”, which has a history
dating back three hundred years, houses the Ferbane Heritage and the Arts building.
The flora and fauna of Ferbane is not to be
missed, with virgin bogland the habitats of rare orchids and meadows of wild flowers, many only to be seen in this area. The wild life in our surrounding bogs is also a great delight to see and with Turraun Wetlands and Boora lakes just a few minutes drive there is no excuse for missing these treasures.
For those who like a more relaxed atmosphere the Grand Canal makes an ideal place to take a stroll, or a visit to the local Catholic Church, which has recently been refurbished, and incorporates a history area, will prove rewarding.
Ferbane has numerous B&B’s and is serviced by Bus Ēireann, whose buses run through the town three times daily, providing a service between Belfast and Limerick. There is a fast train service from Clara and Athlone railway stations. Two local cab companies provide an excellent service in the town.
Ferbane is noted for its talent both in music and sport and is lucky to have great sporting facilities, including GAA, Soccer, Pitch and Putt, Badminton, Bridge, Drama, Macra na Feirme and various Women’s Groups.
The youth is well catered for with Girl Guides, Foróige and the Boy Scouts.
The Ferbane Town Plan launched in 2002 focused the community on the changes needed to be made to revitalize the town and the transformation to date has been remarkable. Great credit to those involved for the hard work and vision making Ferbane a dynamic town that promotes development and offers a high quality of life.
Our town sees improvements and changes each day and with the new investment opportunities, looks forward to a bright and successful future.