Laois, pronounced leesh and sometimes spelled Leix, is in
central Ireland.
Major rivers are the Barrow and the Nore; the
county town is Port Laoighis (Maryborough).
The Slieve Bloom Mountains, with elevations to more than
520 m (1,700 ft), are in the northwest.
Agriculture is the mainstay of the economy; wheat,
barley, and sugar beets are the main crops, and dairy
cattle are also important.
Part of the kingdom of Ossory from the 1st to 11th century,
Laois came under the English crown in the
16th century.