beyond until the Irish financial crisis. Sport Mountmellick is a town rich in sporting activity. Mountmellick GAA is the town's club for Gaelic football and hurling, while other nearby Gaelic games clubs are The Rock GAA and Kilcavan. Transport Bus Mountmellick is served by Bus Éireann as part of its route between Athlone and Waterford, with three daily services in each direction. It is also on the local Townlink route, with daily connections to Portlaoise and Tullamore. Rail Mountmellick railway station opened on 2 March 1885, at the end of a short branch from Portlaoise. It closed to passengers on 27 January 1947, but the branch remained open for sugar beet and special trains until 1 January 1963. The station building is now a private residence. Canal The Mountmellick branch of the Grand Canal became operational in March 1831 and closed in 1960. Notable people Oliver J. Flanagan, and his son Charles Flanagan, politicians. Anne Jellicoe - Founder of Alexandra College, born in Mountmellick in 1823. Michael Mills – Political Editor of The Irish Press and Ombudsman of Ireland, grew up in Mountmellick. James Jeffrey Roche – 19th century Irish-American poet and diplomat, born in Mountmellick. James Sheane - Architect and designer of St. Cronan's Church, Roscrea (Church of Ireland), lived in the Manor House, Mountmellick. See also List of towns and villages in Ireland Further reading Notes 1.The house that Isaac Jackson's grandson built in Pennsylvania still stands there, and is a Pennsylvania Historical site, as it was used as a way-station on the Underground Railroad during the civil war by Jackson descendants. Isaac sired a long line of Quaker families down to William Miller Jones (b. Philadelphia, 1852) who converted to Catholicism and hyphenated his middle and last names as Miller-Jones. To this day his heirs continue to use the Miller-Jones surname. External links Mountmellick Development Association web site Prominent Quaker Families of Mountmellick Mountmellick Community School website References Towns and villages in County Laois Townlands of County Laois Planned communities in the Republic of Ireland