Shannon River Basin a measurement of . When added to the Shannon's estuary this gives a total river flow of , which makes it the longest river within the River Shannon basin (from source to mouth)— longer than the Shannon Pot source. Thus the Boyle-Shannon river can be regarded as having the longest natural river flow in Ireland. The River Shannon Basin touches more than half (17) of Ireland's counties:- Limerick, Clare, Tipperary, Offaly, Westmeath, Longford, Roscommon, Kerry, Galway, Leitrim, Cavan, Sligo, Mayo, Cork, Laois, Meath and Fermanagh. There are many towns situated in the Shannon Basin. Towns and Villages (with 2011 populations)
Midlands Gateway Offaly and County Westmeath. The neighbouring counties are County Cavan, County Laois, County Longford, County Meath, County Monaghan, County Roscommon, and nearby Ulster counties. The principle urban centres concerned with the Midlands Gateway are Athlone, Tullamore and Mullingar. The proposed combined County council strategy aspires to provide the basis for the development of a world class, knowledge-based and competitive gateway. The strategy is designed to create an integrated linked Gateway comprising Athlone, Tullamore and Mullingar together with the other surrounding towns in the region with the objective of developing internationally competitive Gateway. The designation and development of the Midlands gateway