Writing a history of Birr should be an enormously satisfying experience. Birr is the second largest town in Offaly and in terms of its architectural heritage one of the leading towns in Ireland.


With a view to stimulating research into the history of Birr the Offaly Historical and Archaeological Society reprinted Cooke's History of Birr and Neighbouring Towns in 1990. This book was first published in 1875. Cooke had in 1826 published The Picture of Parsonstown (reprinted Birr, 1929). The range of source material for Birr is vast and would repay close study. Set out below are some sources for the history of the town.

Summaries of the published material on Birr will be found in Michael Byrne's Sources for Offaly History: Hayes's Periodical Sources and a bibliography of articles published on Offaly history 1960 - 79 in the Tenth annual report of the Offaly Historical Society. All of these publications will be found or can be had at the Birr Library or the headquarters of the Offaly County Library in Tullamore.

O'Carrolls and Parsons

For the history of Birr in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth century the reader should look for:
N.D. Atkinson: The Plantation of Ely O'Carroll 1619 - 1693, (a thesis in Trinity College, Dublin). Mr Atkinson traces the history of the reluctance of the O'Carrolls to see Ely O'Carroll incorporated into the County of Tipperary where it would come under the control of their enemies - the Butlers. This explains why the area from Kinnitty to Moneygall which is geographically and historically a part of ancient Munster and Tipperary was incorporated into the King's County (Offaly) in 1605. The plantation or colonisation of Ely O'Carroll from 1619 onwards can also be studied in Brian MacCuarta's M.A. thesis in University College, Galway on Newcomers in the Gaelic Midlands 1540 - 1641.

Other major sources for the history of seventeenth century Birr include the printed Chancery Inquisitions, the maps of the Down Survey of the 1650's, the Book of Survey and Distribution showing landowners in 1641 and again in 1660 after the Cromwellian settlement.

Material on the 1641 rebellion will be found in the King's County depositions in T.C.D. Manuscripts room and in the National Library (see Hayes' Manuscript Sources). Guides to the rich seventeenth century material include Michael Byrne's Sources for Offaly History and William Nolan's Sources for Local Studies.

House building

The physical development of the town of Birr can be followed in various maps from 1691 to the present day and also in leases in the National Library and in the Registry of Deeds. It should be possible to plot the history of house building and street development in Birr using Registry of Deeds material. Registration of deeds began in 1708 and continues to the present day through the use of the memorial to deeds in respect of the sale of "unregistered" land. Place and grantor indexes are available but the former only up to the 1930's. The Registry is located in the Kings' Inns, Henrietta Street, Dublin.

Estate records and newspapers will also provide material on eighteenth century Birr as also will travel books and journals such as that of John Wesley who visited Birr on many occasions over his much travelled life.

19th Century

The nineteenth century is tremendously rich in source material. A background to the period will be round in N.D. Atkinson's Ph.D. thesis on Sir Laurence Parsons, Second Earl of Rosse, 1758 - 1841. A copy of this is in Trinity College, Dublin and the Offaly County Library, Tullamore.

Many of the streets and principal buildings of Birr were built after 1800 including Oxmantown Mall in the 1820's and John's Place in the 1830's. For these developments see T.L. Cooke (1826) and (1875) - reprinted 1990.

Maps

Early maps of Birr include the Down Survey of the 1650's and a map of Birr in 1691 (see Irish Sword, 1979 - 80). In the early nineteenth century Mr T.L. Cooke appears to have had a map made possibly for inclusion in his book of 1826. A copy of this map is in the Offaly County library and copies also circulate in Birr. A manuscript book of Cooke's acquired by the National Library some years ago also has a copy of the map along with much other south Offaly material.

The first six-inch map of Birr was published in 1838 and is a useful starting point. A wealth of map material is available from 1838 including a five foot to one mile manuscript map of Birr in the Ordnance Survey, Phoenix Park, for 1838 and a very large scale printed map of Birr (1:500) of 1879. This can be seen at the National Library.

1821 Census

Birr is fortunate in that the manuscript returns of the 1821 census survive in the National Archives, Dublin, see also the summaries of returns [statistics] published every ten years from 1821 to 1911. Censuses were also published for 1926, 1936, 1946, 1951, 1956, 1961, 1971, 1978, and 1981. Most of the printed material can be had at the Offaly County Library. The 1821 Census of c. 16,000 entries has been indexed by the Offaly Historical and Archaeological Society.

Griffith's Valuation

Occupiers of property (land and building) were printed in Griffith's_Valuation in 1854. Copies of this can be had at Birr and Tullamore Libraries. Manuscript valuation material from 1840 to the 1970's can be studied at the Public Record Office and the Valuation Office, Ely Place, Dublin.

Newspapers

Birr is also extremely lucky with regard to provincial newspapers. A history of the King's County Chronicle (1845-1950) and the Midland Tribune (1881 - in progress) will be found in the history of the Midland Tribune (1981). Files of the papers back to 1845 can be seen on microfilm in the Offaly County Library headquarters. This is an excellent source Also in the County Library are Minute Books of the Birr town Commissioners and the Birr Board of Guardians, including the Famine years.

20th Century

Newspapers, censuses and valuation records will bring the keen student of Birr history right up to the 1980's. But for a valuable social survey of Birr in 1901 and 1911 see the manuscript returns of the censuses for those years in the National Archives. The 1901 census has been indexed by the Offaly Historical and Archaeological Society. While the Offaly County Library, the Offaly Historical and Archaeological Society and collectors gather material on Birr the real breakthrough will come when a serious student starts collecting and analysing the material. Many of the sources referred to above are also available for other Offaly towns.