Historic county of Ireland
Westmeath
Contae An Iarmhí / County of Westmeath
Province: Leinster
Lakes through the middle, Shannon waters west, open Midland country between.
Westmeath / An Iarmhí lies at the heart of the Irish Midlands, a low, gently undulating county distinguished above all by water. Around Mullingar lies a remarkable concentration of lakes, including Lough Owel, Lough Ennell and Lough Derravaragh; further west the landscape opens dramatically onto Lough Ree and the Shannon.
Between them stretch pasture, bog, woodland, eskers and broad agricultural country. Westmeath has little dramatic relief — even its highest ground is modest — but the lakes give the county an unusually varied and recognisable interior. It is a landscape of water threaded through the central limestone plain.
- Western half of the old kingdom of Meath
- Lough Ree, Mullingar lakes and central plains
- Viking presence (9th c.)
- Area: 710 sq miles / 1,839 km²
- Population: 86,164
- County Top: Mullaghmeen 856ft / 261m
County geography
The lake country
Westmeath’s central and northern lakes are not incidental features but one of the county’s defining geographical systems. Lough Owel, Lough Ennell, Lough Derravaragh and Lough Lene break up the lowland with open water, reedbeds and wooded shore.
They also give the county a strong cultural geography, with several lakes deeply embedded in Irish legend and local identity.
Shannon and Lough Ree
The western side opens onto the Shannon system and the broad waters of Lough Ree. Here Westmeath joins Ireland’s great central river corridor.
The scale of Lough Ree contrasts sharply with the smaller inland lakes further east, giving the county two distinct kinds of waterscape within a relatively compact area.
Uisneach and the Midland heart
Westmeath also contains the Hill of Uisneach, traditionally associated with the symbolic centre of Ireland and with the older kingdom of Mide.
That deeper territorial inheritance matters to the county’s story, but should not be confused with the later county itself. Westmeath emerged from the western part of the older Meath country and developed its own enduring identity.
County questions
Questions about Westmeath
Is Westmeath in Leinster?
Yes. Westmeath is one of the twelve geographic counties of Leinster.
Where does the name Westmeath come from?
It reflects the county’s origin in the western part of the older territory of Meath. The Irish name An Iarmhí similarly means the western Meath.
County record
Names and continuity
- Formal name
- County Westmeath
- Local name
- Contae An Iarmhí
- Province
- Leinster
- Alternative name
- County of Westmeath
- Foundation
- 1543
Westmeath, County Westmeath, An Iarmhí and Contae na hIarmhí are forms associated with the county. It became a distinct county in the sixteenth century, while lakes, Midland plain and Shannon waters provide its strongest geographical identity.