County Laois – from the kingdom of Loígis to Queen's County
County Laois takes its name from Loígis, a medieval kingdom, though from 1556 to 1922 it was officially known as Queen's County. Its human story goes back around 8,500 years, when hunter-gatherers moved through the forests and fished its rivers.
Ireland's first farmers followed in the Neolithic, leaving burial mounds at Clonaslee and Cuffsborough. From around 2500 BC Bronze Age people made tools, weapons and gold objects, and left a stone circle at Monamonry and hill forts at Clopook and Monelly. Today Laois, with its county town Portlaoise, is a green inland county in the heart of Ireland. Have a Laois story or local tradition? Share it with the community!