Banagher (
Beannchar na Sionna in Irish) is a town in Republic of Ireland, located in the midlands on the western edge of
County Offaly in the province of
Leinster, on the banks of the
River Shannon. The name Banagher comes from its Irish name, which translates to English as "the place of the pointed rocks on the Shannon". Banagher was a town of 3,000 people at the height of its economic growth in the mid-19th century. The current population is just over half of that figure, at about 1,600. Banagher has an important strategic position on the River Shannon, and was long one of the few crossing points between the provinces of Leinster and
Connacht. It thus became a natural focus for many great historical buildings, including a 19th-century
Martello Tower and a number of important
castles around the town, which were built in the 14th and 15th centuries.