Located in the north midlands among drumlins, this town stands on the banks of the River Shannon and comprises a main urban core on the northern bank and a tiny cluster on the southern end of the bridge. In recent times the N4 has been diverted to form a relief road immediately to the southeast. It has been selected because it combines a midland location, bi-nuclearity, hilly terrain, river, marshland, linearity, informality and a relief road resulting in new urban frontage and a process of extroversion of the core into the suburbs.