Abbeyleix is quite a historical town. It was founded in the 18th century as an estate town by Viscount De Vesci and is situated near a 12th century Cistercian monastery beside the River Nore.

Today, there is a huge range of historical structures still standing in and around the town - ancient ring forts, burial grounds, early monastic buildings, Norman and medieval castles, churches and colonial estate houses. The town once had a major carpet factory - notably producing some of the carpets used on the RMS Titanic.

Today it is an attractive town with tree-lined streets, retaining many of it's original 19th century architectural buildings. Abbeyleix was awarded Heritage Town status in the late 1990's and has benefited from a tasteful face lift with authentic old world street lighting etc.

The town has a magnificent 18 hole golf course, a very active tennis club, fishing in the nearby river Nore, delightful walks from the old Church of Ireland through the Lords Walk, the largest Polo Club in Ireland, a plethora of beautiful gardens to visit, traditional pubs and lots lots more.