The Great Telescope 'Leviathan'

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About this place

The Leviathan of Parsonstown, or Rosse six-foot telescope, is a historic reflecting telescope of 72 inches (1.83 m) aperture, which was the largest telescope in the world from 1845 until the construction of the 100-inch (2.5 m) Hooker Telescope in California in 1917. The Rosse six-foot telescope was built by William Parsons, 3rd Earl of Rosse on his estate, Birr Castle, at Parsonstown (now Birr) in Ireland.

Summary from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Updated 2026-11-14 Suggest an edit / Report issue

Getting There & Parking

The Great Telescope 'Leviathan' is located in County Offaly, roughly 87 km (1h 15m drive) from Limerick and 146 km (2h 10m) from Dublin. The nearest public car park is 296 m away (Paid). Nearby highlights within a short drive include Historic Science Centre (0.2 km away).

Limerick87 km

~1h 15m drive

Galway100 km

~1h 30m drive

Dublin146 km

~2h 10m drive

Nearest car park Paid

Marian Hall Car Park · 296 m from landmark

Directions to car park ↗