Located just 80km or an hour to the west of Dublin in the heart of Ireland, Mullingar is a vibrant town with a population of 20,000 people and a hinterland of the same size. Mullingar is the administrative town of the county of Westmeath [pop.89,000].
Mullingar has a long and rich history as an agricultural market town to the vast agricultural economy that surrounds it. It is also home to several of the leading national and international musical talents to come out of Ireland in the last 50 years. Mullingar is highly accessible being at the intersection of the N4 and N52, 6km west of the M4 and 10km north and west of the M6 as well as having the Dublin-Sligo railway line pass through the town.
As Ireland’s economy developed, Mullingar became the location for businesses that has seen the development of several fully occupied business parks on the edge of the town as well as some development in the town centre itself. There are also a number of large-scale employers located in the municipal area that specialise in the area of manufacturing for the automotive industries.
With a very well laid out and planned town centre with a rich retail heritage and offering, the town economy is currently in the middle of a significant transformation to an advanced manufacturing location and the electric vehicle centre of excellence in Ireland as well as several tourism and inward investment initiatives.
In recent years Mullingar has become the location of the National Science Park where leading-edge research and development is undertaken as well as product production in the life science space. In 2022 Mullingar was designated as the preferred location for the very first centre of excellence for electric vehicles in Ireland that is currently in the formal approval stages awaiting another announcement in 2023.
In 2022 Mullingar was identified as a location for the delivery of an Advanced Building Solution high tech manufacturing space that is currently in the planning approval stage with Westmeath County Council as part of the IDA Ardmore Business Park and will be fully funded by the IDA. This model is a proven success where the space is delivered by the national agency and is ready when a large international occupier decides to locate in Ireland, in Mullingar. It can also lead to the cluster effect where other occupiers in the same industry locate in the same area where economies of scale can be achieved, and supply chain efficiencies improved.
Other things happening in the town include the current planning application for a EUR75m studio, the IMR FactoryxChange plan IMR have at the National Science Park, the Ardonagh Group Data and Risk Management Centre announcement, the expansion of Ostoform with EUR3m investment by BFG, the development of an e-working centre, the extension of the local hospital to accommodate MRI, the Lidl completion of the EUR75m extension to their regional distribution hub, the Writech investment in the new research and development facility, the Mullingar Careers Expo, Winterfest 2022 with over 50,000 visitors as well as the development of the new cinema in the town centre and several housing developments on the edge of the town itself.
There are a lot of reasons to consider Mullingar as a place to live and work and one of the biggest endorsements of this location is the upcoming Fleadh Cheoil na hEireann which is on from Sunday 31st July to Sunday 7th August 2022. As the leading cultural event in Ireland this should being over 500,000 visitors to the town over a one-week period and be another opportunity for us to market Mullingar as a quality place to live and work and be a chance for everyone locally to take a break from work or business to soak up the atmosphere.
Mullingar Chamber supports all the initiatives mentioned and several more and we thank our members for their support in doing so. We are always on the lookout for more members and to this end, please feel free to get in touch if you are interested in joining us on this journey.