NEWSLETTER May June 2008
The Society propose to visit Belmont Mills on Saturday 21 June to depart at OHAS Bury Quay at
Monday 30th June – Friday 4th July. Offaly Summer School. Daily field trips to proposed Eco-Nodes. Venue to be confirmed. Booking required with Heritage Office 05793 46839. Cost €100. Co-ordinated by John Feehan.
Friday 4th – Sunday 7th September. Geology Weekend based in Kinnitty Community Centre, two outings on the Saturday and Sunday. Booking essential. Please contact the Heritage Office on 05793 46839. Price €20.
Rocks in the making: the geology of Offaly over the last 10,000 years.
This year the geology weekend looks at how the events of the Ice Age and its aftermath shaped the world we live in – and may influence our future.
As part of the Heritage Week Celebrations during the month of August we have organised the following:-
ESB Restored House in Fitzwilliam
The Exhibition Strangers to Citizens
The Irish in
The Photographic Exhibition in Templebar
The print Museum at Begger’s Bush
We have fixed on a tentative date with Orlaith Egan to give a lecture on recent developments in relation to the archaeological discoveries on the Tullamore By Pass and on the Kinnegad to Athlone By Passes. The talk will be preceded by our annual general meeting and on which separate details will follow in September.
Monday 13th October
Saturday 1st November. Wintering birds walk at Turraun / Boora. Bird Atlas winter fieldwork starts on this date. Meet at Turraun Car Park, adjacent to Pullough, at
November 10th to be finalised.
December 5th Friday will see our Christmas meal take place in the Tullamore Dew Heritage Centre adjoining our own building at
Journal 2007/2008 Hard copies of the Journal are now available and we are hoping to have launch date shortly. The cost of the hardback edition of the Journal is €30 which approximates to the cost price. There are only fifty copies so if you would like a copy please contact the Heritage Centre immediately to order same.
Hidden Landscapes: Searching for the Lost
NRA archaeological exhibition at Belvedere House, Co. Westmeath
April-September 2008
Discover life in the early Christian monastery of Clonfad and find out about its residents and their crafts. Find out about hundreds of skeletons that were uncovered at Ballykilmore and learn about who suffered from aching diseases and who died by treacherous means. Learn about ringforts and the people who may have lived there.
A series of archaeological excavations were carried out in advance of the N6 Kinnegad-Kilbeggan and N52 Mullingar-Belvedere Road Schemes between 2004 – 2006. Over sixty archaeological sites were excavated ranging in date from prehistoric to post medieval times. The results of these excavations have now come to fruition and have produced some very interesting and exciting evidence.
This exhibition, Hidden Landscapes: Searching for the Lost Kingdom of Mide, will focus on the results of three of the large-scale excavations at Clonfad, Ballykilmore and Rochfort Demesne in Co. Westmeath. It will provide a glimpse into the early medieval world of the ancient
A selection of both original and replica artefacts will be displayed which will provide a unique opportunity for the people of Westmeath to view firsthand these wonderful discoveries.
The exhibition will also introduce the public to the fascinating world of archaeology and the archaeologists and scientists who fit the pieces of our past together.
Dr. Aidan O’Sullivan of UCD will launch the exhibition at Belvedere House on Wednesday the 16th April. lt will be open to the general public from mid April to September 2008. It will also go on tour at various venues around the county after this period.
Admission is free
This exhibition was undertaken by Valerie J. Keeley Ltd. on behalf of the National Roads Authority.
For further information contact Orlaith Egan, NRA archaeologist at Westmeath National Road Design Office T. 044 9334250 or
Declan McSweeney memoir
Declan’s account of his time as a journalist and his reflections on the changing Tullamore in the 1990s is now sold out.
Rahan Monastic Site
A beautiful new publication on Rahan Monastery will be launched shortly and copies will be available from the Society for c €10. Details of the launch should be in the local press
Conflicts in Birr during the Williamite War 1690.
If any of our members have details of the location of sites of skirmishes in Birr during the Williamite wars of 1690 would you get in touch with Headland Archaeology Limited at info@headlandarchaeology.ie Further details can be had from the Society.
This course is held in June and July 2008 and further information can be had from www.irisharchaeology.net
NLI News and old Irish newspapers
You can view this on the NLI site with the previous newsletters. Please send in your email to us and we will send you a copy. Members who have already supplied same will receive a copy now.
Contact us at info@offalyhistory.com or ohas@iol.ie
Edenderry Historical Society’s call for old photographs of the Edenderry area for book of photographs including old buildings, people, sports, drama, etc. Please contact Ciaran Reilly 0861751686 or email ciaranreilly32@hotmail.com