Portlaoise s Medical Mile
Reporter:
Prof Henry O Connell Consultant Psychiatrist and Associate Clinical Professor (UL), and Triogue Community Mental Health Centre, Portlaoise
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Portlaoise is the county town of Laois and, with a current population of 22,000, one of the fastest growing towns in Ireland. Centrally located in the Irish midlands and within commuting distance of Dublin, Waterford and Limerick, Portlaoise has in recent years become increasingly cosmopolitan, with a young population and growth in many local industries.
Portlaoise began as a stone fortification built by English settlers in the mid-16th century. This was part of a wider Tudor plantation policy whereby English settlers were moved onto land confiscated by the Crown from the native Irish.