page_title: Killucan and Rathwire
section_title: Royal Canal
hierarchical_section_title: Killucan and Rathwire / Transport / Royal Canal
caption_attribution_description: English: Royal Canal Lock No. 22, Killucan, Co. Westmeath Pictured from Heatherstown Bridge (which is also known as Riverstown Bridge).
context_page_description: The villages of Killucan and Rathwire are co-located in gentle, rolling countryside in the east of the County Westmeath, Ireland. They have a combined population of 1,370 according to the 2016 census. Killucan is on the R156 road about 15 km from Mullingar and 60 km from Dublin.
context_section_description: The twin villages reached the height of their prosperity during the 18th and 19th centuries due to the arrival of first the Royal Canal in 1805 and later the Midland Great Western Railway. The canal was built between 1790 and 1817, reaching Killucan from Dublin in 1805. It grew in the importance of transporting people and goods until the mid-19th century. After this, the advent of rail and road travel in Ireland led to its slow decline and it formally closed in 1961. It was abandoned and became unusable for many years. Nowadays, following effort from the Royal Canal Amenity Group, it has been restored for leisure boats from Dublin to Abbeyshrule in County Longford. The remaining section from Abbeyshrule to Cloondara was due to open in 2006. It is to walk the entire length using the Royal Canal Way. The canal is an important amenity in Killucan, being used for fishing, walks, boating and canoeing. The Harbour at Thomastown (1 kilometer South of Killucan) was recently expanded to cater for the growing number of tourists who rent barges from there. The canal through Killucan passes through the Killucan Flight, a stretch of eight locks over 2 km (1.2 mi). East of the flight there are no further locks for 27 km (17 mi) while there are no further locks to the west until past Mullingar, the highest point on the Canal.
caption: Royal Canal Lock No.22 at Killucan
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