Portlaoise

Ireland

Portlaoise sits where the M7 and M8 motorways cross, making it Ireland's key transport hub for traffic heading to Cork, Limerick, and Galway. The county town of Laois connects to Dublin in an hour by train or 87 kilometers up the M7, while over 30 EV charging points serve electric vehicles crossing the country. Major routes fan out in all directions: Cork 167 kilometers south via M8, Limerick 114 kilometers and Galway 162 kilometers west on the M7, with shorter hops to Kilkenny, Athlone, and Tullamore. The ruins of Fort Protector on Main Street mark where this transport crossroads began as the English Plantation town of Maryborough.