Editing Athlone (section)

==Location and access==
[[File:Stmarys-3-athlone.jpg|thumb|upright|St. Mary's Church (Roman Catholic) in Athlone]]
With the two counties divided by the river, the part of the town that lies east of the Shannon is in the [[Provinces of Ireland|province]] of [[Leinster]], the county of [[County Westmeath|Westmeath]], the [[Barony (Ireland)|barony]] of [[Brawny (barony)|Brawny]], and the [[Civil parishes in Ireland|civil parish]] of St Mary's.<ref>[http://www.logainm.ie/256.aspx Placenames Database of Ireland]{{dead link|date=November 2016 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} - Barony of Brawny</ref> Unusually, the barony is coterminous with a single civil parish. In terms of ecclesiastical boundaries, the eastern part of the town is in the [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Ardagh and Clonmacnoise]] and the [[ecclesiastical parish|parish]] of St Mary's.<ref>[http://ardaghdiocese.org/athlone/page11.html Official website of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Ardagh and Clonmacnoise] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160414162219/http://ardaghdiocese.org/athlone/page11.html |date=14 April 2016 }} - St Mary's parish</ref> There are several other churches in the town including a [[Church of Ireland]] ([[St. Mary's Church, Athlone|St. Mary's]], [[Anglican Church|Anglican]]), the [[Church of Saints Peter and Paul, Athlone|Church of Saints Peter and Paul]], a [[Franciscan]] friary and a chapel of the [[Society of Saint Pius X]].

[[File:St Peter and Paul Church Athlone.JPG|thumb|upright|[[Church of Saints Peter and Paul, Athlone]]]]
However, seven [[townland]]s, or sections of the town, lie west of the Shannon: Athlone and Big Meadow, Bellaugh, Bogganfin, Canal and Banks, Doovoge, part of Monksland, and Ranelagh. Although surrounded by [[County Roscommon]] in the province of [[Connacht]], they are designated as part of [[County Westmeath]] to preserve the integrity of the town. These townlands lie in St Peter's civil parish in the barony of [[Athlone South]].<ref>[http://www.logainm.ie/57347.aspx Placenames Database of Ireland] - Barony of Athlone South</ref> In terms of ecclesiastical boundaries, the townlands west of the Shannon are part of the [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Elphin]] and the parish of Saints Peter and Paul.<ref>[http://www.elphindiocese.ie/diocese/parishes Roman Catholic Diocese of Elphin] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150709230652/http://www.elphindiocese.ie/diocese/parishes |date=9 July 2015 }} - parish of Saints Peter and Paul</ref>

===River===
[[File:Athlone canal.JPG|thumb|upright|Pleasure cruisers exiting the Athlone canal by the weir on the Shannon. June 2013]]
Athlone is a common stop for [[pleasure craft]] along the River Shannon.{{fact|date=October 2024}} [[Lough Ree]], the largest lake on the Shannon, is a short distance [[Source (river or stream)|upstream]] from Athlone, and many boat companies are based out of the town. For craft to pass through Athlone, it is necessary to use a [[Lock (water transport)|lock]] in the river, which is beside the weir and downstream of the current road bridge. The lock, weir, and bridge were all constructed by the Shannon navigation commissioners in the 1840s. Before then, boats used a canal, about a mile and a half long, to the west of the river. The canal was built by Thomas Omer for the Commissioners of Inland Navigation.<ref>Ruth Delany, ''The Shannon Navigation'', Lilliput Press, Dublin 2008.</ref> Work started in 1757 and involved the work of over 300 men. Omer built a single lock, 120' X 19' with a rise of 4.5', but there was also a guard lock, further upstream, with a single set of gates to protect the canal against floods. There were also two lay-bys, or harbours, one above the lock and another at the upstream end. The old canal is no longer navigable.{{fact|date=October 2024}}

===Rail===
[[Athlone railway station]] opened on 3 October 1859,<ref name="railbrit">{{cite web |url=http://www.railbrit.co.uk/Ireland/Irish_railways.pdf |title=www.railbrit.co.uk |access-date=13 August 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120813190623/http://www.railbrit.co.uk/Ireland/Irish_railways.pdf |archive-date=13 August 2012 |url-status=live }}</ref> with [[Irish Rail]] services travelling eastwards to [[Portarlington railway station|Portarlington]], [[Kildare railway station|Kildare]] and [[Heuston railway station|Dublin Heuston]] and westwards to the [[Westport railway station, Mayo|Westport]]/[[Ballina railway station|Ballina]] lines as well as to [[Athenry railway station|Athenry]], [[Oranmore railway station|Oranmore]] and [[Galway railway station|Galway]].

Connections from Athlone via a train transfer at [[Athenry railway station]] extend to [[Ennis railway station|Ennis]] and [[Limerick railway station|Limerick]], while a transfer at [[Portarlington railway station|Portarlington]] connects [[Limerick Junction]] and [[Limerick railway station|Limerick]]. There are trains from Portarlington to [[Mallow railway station|Mallow]], and from Mallow to [[Cork railway station|Cork]], [[Killarney railway station|Killarney]], [[Farranfore railway station|Farranfore]] and [[Tralee railway station|Tralee]]. Travel between Athlone and Killdare enables connections to [[Carlow railway station|Carlow]], [[Kilkenny railway station|Kilkenny]] and [[Waterford railway station|Waterford]].

===Bus===
For many years state-owned bus operator [[Bus Éireann]] provided hourly services to Dublin and Galway from its bus station in Athlone located beside the railway station, but in July 2021 these routes, 20 and X20 Expressway, were cancelled indefinitely. The company cited "continuing losses [..] resulting from the severe impact of the [[COVID-19 pandemic]]" as the reason.<ref name = cancel>{{Cite web|last=Cusack|first=Adrian|date=2021-07-26|title=Bus Éireann to end its Athlone services to Dublin and Galway this week|url=https://www.westmeathindependent.ie/2021/07/26/bus-eireann-to-end-its-athlone-services-to-dublin-and-galway-this-week/|access-date=2022-05-11|website=[[Westmeath Independent]]|language=en}}</ref> Bus Éireann services between Dublin and Belfast, Cork and Limerick were also cut following a "viability review" of 18 routes in September 2020.<ref name = cancel/> It was noted that from July 2021 onwards, bus journeys between Athlone and Galway, [[Ballinasloe]], [[Moate]], Dublin city or Dublin airport would be operated by private companies only, with passengers being dropped off or picked up at the Arcadia Retail Park and [[Athlone Institute of Technology]] rather than the bus station. Such private bus companies that stop in Athlone include [[Irish Citylink|Citylink]] and a new [[Aircoach]] bus route (Galway-Athlone-Dublin) which was established soon after Bus Éireann's decision, to cope with the demand.<ref name = cancel/>

There are also services to [[Limerick]], [[Dundalk]], [[Waterford]], [[Cavan]], [[Belfast]], [[Longford]] and [[Roscommon]]. The town is also home to a number of privately operated services, including the Flagline bus company, which operates local bus routes as well as service to [[Tullamore]].

[[Transport in Ireland|Transport for Ireland (TFI)]], the national public transport brand managed by the National Transport Authority (NTA), operates a local Athlone bus service in and around the town. The local services are as follows: Route A1: Bus Station, Willow Park (Norwood Court) via Golden Island Shopping Centre, Dublin Road and Athlone Institute of Technology; and Route A2: Monksland (River Village); [[Garrycastle, St. Mary's|Garrycastle]] (Moydrum Road) via Galway Road, St. Peter's Avenue, Saint Anne's Terrace, the Batteries, Connaught Street, Northgate Street, Bus Station, [[Golden Island Shopping Centre]], Dublin Road and [[Athlone Institute of Technology]]. The Athlone Town service became Ireland's first fully electric bus service in January 2023.<ref>{{cite web |title=First Carlow town bus service 'will prove transformative' – Minister for Transport |url=https://www.transportforireland.ie/news/first-carlow-town-bus-service-will-prove-transformative-minister-for-transport/ |website=Transport for Ireland |date=27 July 2023 |access-date=15 December 2023}}</ref>

===Road===
The town is located alongside the [[N6 road (Ireland)|N6 dual carriageway]], which is effectively a section of the [[M6 motorway (Ireland)|M6 motorway]] connecting Galway to Dublin. The N6 passes along the northern side of the town, crossing the [[River Shannon]] into [[County Roscommon]]. A number of [[national secondary road]]s connect Athlone with other towns and regions, namely the [[N55 road (Ireland)|N55]] to [[Ballymahon]] and [[Cavan]], the [[N61 road (Ireland)|N61]] to [[Roscommon]] and the [[N62 road (Ireland)|N62]] to [[Birr, County Offaly|Birr]], [[Roscrea]], and Southern Ireland.