County Laois in Song

County Memory

The memory behind Laois in Song

County Laois is the heartland of the Ireland in Song project. It is a Midlands county of roads, fields, quiet towns, local memory, old monastic places, crafts, churches and family life. Its beauty is not always dramatic, but it is deeply human and close to the ground.

In Ireland in Song, Laois should be treated as a home county: Portlaoise, Mountmellick, Stradbally, Abbeyleix, Timahoe and smaller places all help shape the project’s first living roots. The tone should be warm, local, respectful and attentive to ordinary beauty.