When the Midland Tribune was founded in 1881, Birr in common with most other south midland towns had been in a state of gradual decline for almost forty years. That decline had intensified in the late 1870's following three bad harvests and a fall in prices that in turn resulted in a fall in consumer spending. The agricultural depression was matched by an industrial crisis and zero or negative urban growth rates. The Irish craft-based industries were being over-run by English large scale producers whose goods could now find a convenient route to every port of Ireland via the railways.

Decline Exacerbated

All the south midland towns declined during the fifty-year period after the Famine with the exception of Clara where the Goodbody jute factory provided employment for 700 workers in the 1880's. The towns of Birr and Banagher were most severely hit. The decline of Birr was exacerbated by the final closure of the large military barrack at Crinkill, outside Birr, in 1921. In the same year Birr workhouse was closed and amalgamated with Tullamore. At a time of depression and scarce employment opportunities it was not surprising that the County Capital, Tullamore, should draw to itself whatever job opportunities existed in the public service sector.

Many people in Birr felt that the town was being victimised by the Free State administrators for not giving its unanimous and wholehearted support to Sinn Fein. Birr had the most vociferous unionist minority of any town in the south midlands, but it appears to have been underlying economic rather than political factors that led to its continued decline until the 1960's.

The overall change between 1861 and 1926 as shown in the accompanying panel hides the stark contrast between Roscrea and Birr in the period 1911-26. During that fifteen year period Birr lost two service "industries", the workhouse and the military barracks, while in Roscrea Fr. Cunningham's bacon factory project was increasing in importance and employing about sixty persons by the mid-1920's. Roscrea was one of the few towns in the Free State, outside the Dublin area, to show an increase in population of 19 per cent between 1911 and 1926. In contrast Birr suffered a decrease in population of 16 per cent during the same period.

Urban Hierarchy

It was during the latter half of the nineteenth century that the present urban hierarchy in Offaly took definite shape. In 1871 the population of Tullamore exceeded that of Birr for the first time, but only because the rate of decline at Tullamore was 8.5 per cent for the previous decade as compared with 19.5 per cent at Birr. Banagher also suffered severely andin 1881 moved from fourth to fifth place in the County's urban hierarchy. Banagher gave way to Clara where a remarkable turnabout in population occurred between 1861 and 1926. With an increase of 69 per cent Clara could lay claim to being the only industrial town in Offaly prior to the 1930's. However, a close second was Edenderry where Alesbury's coach and furniture factory gave substantial employment until its closure in 1931. Evidence as to the industrial situation in Birr and Roscrea in the latter half of the century was given before a house of commons select committee on Irish industries in 1885. It was noted that:-" In Birr, King's County, there were forty years ago extensive factories of tobacco, snuff, candles, combs and brushes. It had also two extensive distilleries, two breweries, and an extensive production of woollen and stuff goods both for general and local use. There is now only one distillery working in Birr and one factory. At Roscrea there were forty years ago a thousand men employed at wool combing, weaving, and spinning. There are now only two men."

The Roscrea woollen industry was almost extinct by the mid-1850's, but a good retail trade in wool survived a little longer as also did a large factory for coarse cloths. This and several flour mills contributed to the prosperity of the town in the 1850's and 1860's, whereas at Birr one of its two distilleries survived until a disastrous fire in 1889.

Birr Distilleries

The destruction of Birr's last distillery was seen as a death blow to the town. Birr had strong associations with whiskey distilling from at least the 1800's. Probably, the large military barracks at Crinkill acted as a stimulus to production. In1818 only two distilleries were operated in County Offaly and both were located in Birr. In competition with Birr was the Birch distillery at Roscrea. One of the Birr Distilleries, that of Robert Robinson, was located at Castle Street and formed part of what is now Williams-Waller Ltd. (formerly Birr Maltings Ltd.). The second distillery, established in 1805 by the Hackett family, was located Elmgrove on the eastern side of the town. The third distillery, described as the 'old distillery' in 1838 was located near what is now the Mill Island Park. Ample remains of all three distilleries still survive. The Castle Street distillery of Robert Robinson and later Arthur Robinson remained in production until the late 1840's when the latter was declared bankrupt. At the time the whiskey business was in a depressed state due to the success of Father Mathew's temperance campaign. Hackett's distillery continued in business until the fire in 1889. In the 1860's or 1870's it had been leased to the Wallace brothers and was generally known as Wallace's distillery at the time of the fire. The output of the distillery was about 200,000 proof gallons per annum in the mid-1880's and as such was similar to distilleries at Kilbeggan and Tullamore, but much smaller than distilleries in Dublin and Dundalk.

The Fire

Despite several major fires at Springfield mills near Birr in 1851, and at Boyne's coach factory in 1888 the Birr town commissioners were reluctant to equip a fire brigade, presumably on the grounds of economy. In 1889 the town was dependent on an old fire engine purchased some forty years earlier and the army fire engines which had to travel from Crinkle.

When the distillery fire started (March 1889 ) the hose of the town commissioner's engine was placed in the river, but quickly became useless as the sand in the river bed forced its way into the hose. Despite the work of 100 soldiers, the Scottish Fusiliers, very little of the distillery was saved. The Tribune commented: "The destruction of the distillery will prove a great loss to all classes in the community. Town and county will suffer by it. A number of workmen have been knocked out of employment, a market for the sale of corn and the purchase of grains, and wash has been closed to the farmers, and the outlay of money consequent upon the influx of country people into town has been lost to the traders of Birr.

Over the next two years efforts were made to re-establish the distillery but without success. Mrs. Hackett, the owner of the property, was prepared to set up a company with local shareholders, but the invitation to subscribe fell on deaf ears. It was just as well for the prospective shareholders as the distilling industry was in a depressed state in the 1890's and again after 1910 until the 1960's. Over that long period the only prosperous years were those of the two World Wars.

Older Industries

The Midland Tribune supported the setting up of a new distillery company and in doing so reviewed the fortunes of Birr since the Famine years. The older inhabitants could remember the Manor, Springfield and Derrinsalla flour mills. The rape mills at Springfield had been destroyed by fire in 1851 but may have been rebuilt. Eventually the milling business here was superseded by a new industry, that of mineral water manufacture. Under the ownership of Messrs. Dillon and Dagg this industry began in1882 and closed in1885 when the owners were declared bankrupt. The machinery at Springfield could handle 40 dozen bottles per hour. The Dillon and Dagg enterprise was followed in 1890's when St. Brendan's mineral water works was established. The mineral water and whoesale bottling business of Clark and Co., Birr was purchased by the Midland Mineral Water Co., Street in 1924.

No Investment

The Tribune writer of 1891 could also recall "the busy hum of Wallace's saw mill and" the hundreds of sturdy toilers who enlivened the town with their presence are no longer to be seen marching in their groups from the old brewery ".
This may be a reference to Newbridge Brewery witch carried a "To be let" tag in 1846 and may have closed soon afterwards. The decay of Birr in 1891 the Tribune writer blamed on the "general disinclination on the part of many to invest in ordinary speculations." The effect of this lack of entrepreneurial flair was everywhere to be seen: "The streets of Birr daily present a shocking appearance of inactivity; the shops are seserted and the artisan and the labourer grow sick of enforced idleness during nine out of every twelve months."

However this pessimistic view of Birr enterprise was perhaps coloured by the distillery fire and the destruction a year earlier of Boyne's coach factory. During the 1860's the Wilmer Road Iron works had been established and in 1873 a steam saw mill was added. However, the proprietors of this business were declared bankrupt in 1878. Lord Rosse (the fourth earl) established a saw mill in 1887 at the old manor mills situated on the river near Moorpark Street.

Building Activity

Despite the low level of industrial activity in Birr in the latter half of the nineteenth century building contractors did well with a surprising amount of progress made in this area. This was in contrast to Tullamore where few new structures were erected until after the 1900's. The extent of the building activity tends to confirm the Tribune writer's view that Birr owed its lack of industrial activity to want of entrepreneurs rather than want of capital. Among the public buildings and monuments to be erected or improved upon was St. Brendan's Catholic Church which was completed in 1824. It was now remodelled and enlarged. Improvements were carried out at St. Brendan's Church of Ireland church in 1879 under the supervision of Mr. Drew, architect. The church was enlarged by extending the eastern gable. The organ was removed as also were the horse-box pews. In 1885 the stone was laid for a new Presbyterian church at John's place, beside the house of the parish priest, Dr. Bugler. The new church here was part of the southern side of John's Place. The old Crotty meeting house in Castle Street was sold for secular use.

John's Place

The completion of the building of John's Place in the 1880's was perhaps the grandest of the building developments of the period, but to it should be added the opening of St. Brendan's Street in 1887, (opposite Castle Street) and the erection of labourers dwellings at Cappaneal by Lord Rosse in the 1870's and 1880's at a cost of c. £120 each. The John's place development began in the late 1820's and 1830's with the construction of the present houses on the Northern side and the mechanic's institute (John's Place).

Apparently, no further building development took place here until the 1870's when it was decided to place the Foley sculpted monument of the third earl of Rosse in John's Place rather than Oxmantown Mall where the sculpor would have preferred to see it. Over the period 1866-78 about £1,900 was subscribed towards a monument to commemorate the dead astronomer earl. After paying £1,600 for the monument, a balance of £300 was in hand for improvement to John's Place. It was decided to construct two oval plots at either side of the statue to be enclosed by a handsome chain supported on ornamental metal pillars, and at intervals, four three-light gas lamps. The fourth earl, for his part, promised to replace the "unsightly cabins" that run from Dr. Bugler's house (the present parish priest's house) by an uniform row of houses and at the same time to widen the road to give perfect uniformity to John's Place. The substitution of neat houses for the unsightly wall opposite the Provincial Bank was also to be part of the improvement programme. Many of these improvements went ahead in the 1880's as planned.

Lord Rosse had improvements in mind of for the Market Square / Castle Street area from the late 1870's, but seems to have been thwarted in his efforts by property owners likely to be affected. It was his intention to demolish semi-ruined houses in the Castle Street area extending round to Market Place so as to extend the Market Place, thus facilitating the sale of agricultural produce. This scheme was later abandoned and in its place came a suggestion to open a new street from the Market square to the Catholic church. The Birr painter and decorator, Mark Quigley, applied to Lord Rosse for a lease of the area with the intention of widening the street and building about a dozen tenements at a cost of £1,000. It appears that no more than five tenement houses were built along with several larger houses.

A Review

Reviewing the progress of Birr buldings the Tribune's rival thr King's County Chronicle reported in May 1885. "Parsonstown can look back in time when its status in the industrial world was higher, but neither is it sinking so rapidly as some inland towns. Many of the mean looking tenements which disfigured the streets are giving way to better houses. In Bridge Street, William O'Meara is erecting a fine block on the site of the old buildings which formerly occupied this locale, and belonged in the last century to a Mr. James, the official assignee, who was a celebrated goldsmith in Birr…….
Close to where the Main Street debouches into Bridge Street the Earl of Rosse is rebuilding the house which was formerly used by Mr. O'Carroll as a pawn office. After this is done the two houses next door will be removed to allow the opening of the new street……this is the oldest part of the town……The Presbyterian Church is finishing in John's Mall. In Newbridge Street Mr. William Woods, J.P., has worked a change for the better among the cottages. And along the Eden Road the dwellings erected by Lord Rosse are models of what habitations of the workers ought to be. In Cumberland (Emmet) Square the National Bank has spent a large sum adopting it to banking purposes…..

Oxmantown Hall

Birr's premier residential area, Oxmantown Mall, did not escape improvement. On the recommendation of the architect Mr. Fuller, it was decided to place a proposed new hall in the Mall. The idea of a new large room for meetings in Birr was first mooted in 1885. Following bazaars and other fund raising exercises work began in 1888 under the Birr contractor, Mr. William Sweeney, and was completed a year later at a cost of almost £2,000. The hall is in the Elizabethan style of architecture with grey limestone and Bridgewater brick. The ornamental timber beams at the front form a kind of lattice work and are supported by superbly carved corbels. Further improvements to Oxmantown Mall was made in 1889 when it was regrassed and a wall erected on the rising green.

Martyrs Memorial

So far as building activity is concerned the 1890's appears to have been quiet in Birr. The only significant addition to the town in the 1890's was the Manchester Martyrs memorial in the Market Square. After four years of fund raising under the chairmanship of John Powell, the Tribune editor, the monument was unveiled by O'Donoval Rossa in July 1894. The monument was sculptured by the Birr "monumental artist" Mr. Daniel Carroll and is similar to one erected in Ennis - John Powell's home town.

The first decade of the present century was almost as active as the 1880's. Mr. William Hickey, a Birr Contractor, erected the new Birr Post Office in 1903-04 at a cost of £5,000. Soon after he rebuilt the Chronicle office following its destruction by fire. The Hibernian Bank built a new bank house and Mr. Hoctor, a Birr merchant, erected two business houses in the Main Street. Mr. G.A. Lee of Castle Street, the cycle specialist, reconstructed his premises. Also in the middle of that first decade of the century Mr. William Egan of Green Street purchased the old Mathew's Hotel and erected a new frontage at a cost of £600 to £700. Compliments were paid to D.E. Williams on the modern frontage to his Castle Street shop erected in 1905. This included a "magnificant sign board and plated glass window" . Williams had purchased the premises from the O'Meara family in 1898.

"Whither Birr"

After the First World War expansion and improvement in Birr came to a halt as the effect of the decline in population began to make itself felt. In the years 1861 to 1926 the population of Birr town declined by almost 45 per cent. During the period 1926 to1971 it increased by 13.3 per cent. Although an improvement, it was possibly the smallest increase in the south midlands and was half that of Tullamore at 26.6 per cent. The emigration rate was high because of the scarcity of job opportunities in Birr and the continuing decline in agriculture. An editorial in the Tribune on 'Whither Birr' in 1935 had led to the formation of Birr Industrial Development Association. This body was instrumental in attracting the promoters of a shoe factory to Birr.

However neither Birr Shoes Ltd. nor the later Birr Fabrics Ltd. were sufficiently large employers to stem the tide of emigration. Further improvements came in 1960 with the establishment of Erin Peat Ltd. and more recently IDA grant aided industries such as Ko-Rec Type Ltd. Birr is expected to benefit from the more intensive promotion of the town by the Shannon Free Airport Development Company since the transfer of responsibility for the development of small industry in South West Offaly to SFADCO in July 1980.

Housing

Because of the decline population the demand for new housing and slum clearance was not so severely felt as elsewhere and in the period up to 1932 the rate of house building by the council was poor. From 1902 to 1930 Tullamore U.D.C. built 198 houses by contrast to Birr U.D.C. where only 46 houses were erected. After 1932 when government subsidies for slum clearance were much increased the pace quickened and a further 177 houses were built in Birr by 1940. By the mid-1970's the Birr U.D.C. had completed 350 houses or about one-third of the present housing stock.

The slow rate of economic growth in Birr had undoubtedly helped to preserve much of its historic character. Birr is now well geared to benefit from Ireland's second largest industry, tourism, and were it not for the general depression in tourism in Ireland because of political troubles this industry it is thought would show a significant return for the town.