  ballyfin () is a small village and parish in county laois, ireland. located in the slieve bloom mountains, the village is in the midlands of ireland. it is located on the r423 regional road mid way between the towns of mountrath and mountmellick. there are many hill walks nearby in the slieve bloom mountains. most of the area is covered in forest. the trees were planted by local farmers on marginal land unsuitable for farming. ballyfin demesne is a 600-acre estate successively home to the oâmores, the crosbys, the poles, the wellesley-poles and the cootes. over the years, several houses have stood on the site, the present building is a neo-classical mansion built by sir charles coote (1792â1864) in the 1820s to designs by the leading irish architects, richard (1767â1849) and william vitruvius morrison (1794â1838). the house is considered the most lavish regency mansion in ireland. for much of the twentieth century it served as a school, having been sold in 1928 by sir ralph coote to the patrician brothers, a roman catholic teaching order. since 2002 it has been the subject of an extensive restoration project and in may 2010 it opened its doors as a small hotel. ==history== according to legend, fionn mac cumhaill is said to have been raised here. fionn ate the salmon of knowledge which gave him untold knowledge. later he became leader of the fianna. in the medieval period ballyfin was part of the cantred of laoighis reta, the territory of the o âmordha, or oâmore, clan who lost out in the laois-offaly plantations, the most comprehensive settlement of the tudor conquest of ireland. in 1550 edmund fay was granted a lease fo
Townlands_of_County_Laois Towns_and_villages_in_County_Laois