The county of Laois has played a key role in the development of aviation both in Ireland and worldwide with the first aeroplane built in the Republic of Ireland being built by the Aldritt brothers in their garage in Portlaoise in 1911.

These brothers along with their plane inspired a young Portlaoise man James Fitzmaurice who would later along with Capt. Hermann Kohl and Baron Gunther von Hunefeld make the first East West transatlantic flight in 1928 on board the Junkers W33 “Bremen” D-1167.

Today Laois is again at the forefront leading the way in providing the highest number of Remote Working Hubs of any county in Ireland.

These state-of-the-art facilities like the Webmill in Mountmellick are the perfect landing strip for inward investment and for those who no longer want to commute long distances to work.

From the humble beginnings of aviation in that Portlaoise garage all those years ago to flights into space Laois too has developed over the years into the ideal location to work, live and play.

Check out the Webmill and the Laois Hub Collective for more information.

The picture shows the Laois delegation attending the 90th anniversary of the Bremen Flight at Bremen airport.