The Midland Region, situated in the heart of Ireland, is steeped in history, culture and heritage. From early Christian times, the Midland Region has acted as a seat of learning and a point from which information flowed. The Midland's geographical landscape has shaped and influenced the region's history, it's culture, and social and economic development. The natural beauty of the region has made it an ideal tourist setting with it's many lakes, waterways and canals traversing the region.
  

The landscape of the Midlands lends eloquent testimony to the history of human settlement in the area. The first hunter-gatherers travelled by dug-out canoe to such sites as the Lough Boora camp around 7000-5500 BC. These Mesolithic pioneers were followed by Neolithic man. Their activities, in turn, were refined during the Copper, Bronze and Iron Ages. Later, the Gaelic clans and tribes were joined by the early monastic settlers, the Vikings, the Normans and the planters.

The Midland Region, situated in the heart of Ireland, is steeped in history, culture and heritage.

Sometimes existing settlements were replaced; more often they were adapted to suit the newcomers' needs. Eventually, the newcomer turned native, and the distinctive cultures blurred. The impact of all these eras remains visible and the confluence of cultures through 9000 years of settlement has provided an impressive cultural and physical resonance for the region.
  

Landscape has shaped the pattern of human activity in the region. The Shannon, the longest river in Ireland and Britain, is the central feature of the Midlands. It facilitated passage to the earliest settlements and along its bank stand the relics of millennia. Within every great moment of Irish history, the Shannon has played a prominent role. The hill of Uisneach, where fires were lit to pagan Gods and where High Kings of Ireland once kept their seat, surveys the central plain, offering views of twenty Irish counties. In the east the Slieve Bloom mountains reign majestic. Although rarely rising above 600m, The Shannon, the longest river in Ireland and Britain, is the central feature of the Midlands.

the context of hundreds of square miles of plains and lowlands, gives it an aura of legend lending authenticity to a mythology that places the greatest of Irish heroes, Fionn MacCumhaill, there in his youth.

It is the bogs that remain the most unique feature of the Midlands. As a living wilderness, replete with incomparable flora, fauna and wildlife, their unspoiled environment has brought international acclaim and is a constant source of wonder. As well as their contemporary vitality, they offer an archive to the past and have preserved, layer upon layer, the story of human presence in the Midlands. It is a story of complex interplay between landscape and peoples. Successive migrants came, but never truly conquered, ensuring a rich, diverse culture that has redefined itself, without ever losing its essence. It is the bogs that remain the most unique feature of the Midlands.