Abbeyleix is a town in County Laois, Ireland, located around 14km south of the county town of Portlaoise.Abbeyleix was formerly located on the N8, the main road from Dublin to Cork, and thus provided a bottleneck, with up to 15,000 vehicles passing along the town's main street every day. Since May 2010, however, the town has been bypassed by the M8 motorway, with the former N8 consequently downgraded to the N77 national secondary road.HistoryAbbeyleix is one of the oldest planned estate towns in Ireland. It was largely built in the 18th century by Viscount de Vesci and is situated near a 12th-century Cistercian monastery beside the River Nore. Today, there is a large range of historical structures still standing in and around the small heritage town - ancient ring forts, burial grounds, churches and beautiful estate houses. The town once had a carpet factory, established in 1904 by Yvo de Vesci, the 5th Viscount – notably producing some of the carpets used on the RMS Olympic and RMS Titanic.Heritage House is the heritage centre, with visitor information and an exhibition on the county's history and local attractions. Original antique carpets and vintage costumes are on display alongside archaeological and historical artefacts.