The Ordnance Survey Letters for County Offaly, part of a country wide series, are commonly known as O'Donovan's Ordnance Survey Letters, after John O'Donovan, the famous historian.
The Ordnance Survey Letters of 1837-1838 represent the first attempt on a systematic basis to collect material on Offaly's historical and archaeological remains. The pioneering effort of the Ordnance Survey and of its topographical department in particular was not emulated until the publication some 150 years later of the Archaeological Inventory of County Offaly. O'Donovan's Ordnance Survey Letters are in manuscript form in the Royal Irish Academy and were published in a typescript by Fr. Michael Flanagan in 1933.
The Offaly material consists of letters of John O'Donovan and of Thomas O'Conor. O'Conor, a native of Carrickmacross, was assistant to O'Donovan. Both men had spent September, October and November of 1837 in County Westmeath and in late December of 1837 their attentions turned to Offaly, then and until 1920 called King's County. The letters concern local antiquities, place-names, early Irish history and the genealogy of the native families
It should be noted that in the Westmeath letters are one of John O'Donovan's from Tullamore and another from Edenderry. That from Tullamore is dated 1st January 1838 and could properly be in the King's County volume.
In this first letter written from Portarlington in late December 1837 O'Donovan speculates on the history of the O'Dempsey's, who's lands forfeited included the district of Porrtarlington where the settling of the new town begun in earnest after 1690.
ORDNANCE SURVEY LETTERS KING'S COUNTY
[ Letter no. 1 from John O'Donovan ]
Portarlington,
December 18th 1837.
Dear Sir,
We are suffering most awfully from the rain, but no matter, I will not leave this County till I examine it minutely. It is of great importance as our writers have pointed out but very few of its pagan and primitive Christian localities. We are now investigating the Territory of Clanmaliere and have made several discoveries but we have not sufficient data to illustrate them satisfactorily.
I wrote for a passage in the Four Masters about the Bell of St. Evin, which was preserved in the Country of the O'Dempseys but it has not been sent me. It is to be found as sure as I exist and I beg that it will be sent. [South East Offaly]
Does the name Cluain Thorc
or Cluain-Da-Thorc occur in the Annals? (It does).
[Ballykane]
Does Baile Ui Chein or anything like it occur as the name of the mansion
seat of O'Dempsey? It is pointed out at this day, about six miles north
or north and by west of Portarlington, as a Townland containing a small
Church in ruins, a castle effaced with the exception of six feet of one
round tower, and parts of the walls of a Bawn, said to have been the Castle
of Lord O'Dempsey (others say that O'Conor Faly lived here who, when he
was invaded, leaped clear and clean over the trench and left Ireland,
where he was never seen since) Viscount Clanmaliere, who lost his property
during the last War of Ireland. [1690's]
Not far from this castle on the verge of a bog, is shewn a curious entrenchment called "the Sconce" resembling the site of Felim O'Conor's Palace at Clonfree near Strokestown and said to be the fortification thrown (sunk) up to defend O'Dempsey's wooden house (locally "Frame House").
It is probable that this was the site of the House of the Chiefs of Clanmaliere before they erected the adjoining Bawn in comparatively modern times. In the same Townland is shewn O'Dempsey's Ring, resembling one of the Bull-rings in Westmeath, but larger, at which this nobleman is said to have trained his horses, and from this ring to the castle is shewn the track of an old road, but much (I may say almost entirely) effaced, by which he led his horses to the Castle.
Not far from the old Church is pointed out a spewy spot which formerly contained three holy wells sacred to St. Fionnan, at which crowds of pilgrims were accustomed to perform Stations about three generations back but now entirely neglected (forsaken). Do any of our Hagiologists make mention of these Wells of St. Fionnan?
The Village of Clonygawn, lying about three miles to the northwest of Portarlington in the parish of Ballykene, contained a residence of a branch of the O'Dempsys but, as there are no ruins of a castle there. I suppose that it was only a wooden house surrounded by "a Sconce". The place is a cluain.
The Four Masters refer to this at the year 1576:-
"Owney, the son of Hugh O'Dempsey, was treacherously slain in his own residence of Cluain na nGamhan."
There are the ruins of another castle of the same family in the Townland of Raheen (near the roadside). Is this mentioned by the Annalists?
I want the description of the boundaries of Ely O'Carroll, as given in the English Records. I have inserted it in a note to the Annals but it has not been copied. Why? I shall be only groping in the dark without those lights.
Are there any descriptions given of the limits of Delvin Mac Coghlan or Farcall (Feara Ceall) in any of the early Inquisitions or other English documents?
The Extracts from Colgan should be sent us immediately. We are about to separate: O'Conor goes to Edenderry and I go to Tullamore, where he joins me as soon as possible.
It is horrible weather and the Name Books are as bad.
Your obedient
servant,
J. O'Donovan.
Finished this letter at Tullamore on the 29th of December, after having visited that part of Ofalia in the Queen's Co.