Lord Walter Fitzgerald

According to the "Annals of the Kingdom Of Ireland",compiled by the Four Masters and issued in 1636, it was in the Age of the World 3500 that the Milesians or Celts arrived in Ireland and defeated the Tuatha-De-Dananns.

The following is the considered opinion of the historian, John O'Donovan regarding the existence of these Tuatha-De-Dananns.

"From the many monuments ascribed by tradition to this colony, and their frequent mention in ancient Irish historical tales, it is quite evident that they were real people. And from their having been considered gods and magicians by the Milesians or Celts Gaedhil or (Scott) who subdued them, it may be inferred that they were skilled in arts which the later did not understand".

My story deals with that great Celtic tribe who had conquered the country. Their two chief leaders were Eremhon and Emher and they assumed the joint sovereignty of Ireland, dividing it equally between them. At the end of one year, however, a dispute arose as to the possession of three celebrated hills. In the resulting Battle of Geashill, Emher was defeated and slain. This battle is no myth or legend, but is a part of real history.

DETAILED ACCOUNTS

The wealth of historic material regarding the Battle of Geashill is truly remarkable. There are engagements of much more recent date of which no such detailed accounts have been preserved.

In the first place, the division of the island then (as many times since) was into North and South. Eremhon was the Northern ruler and Emher was monarch of the South. It is said that it was the wife of Emher who incited the quarrel.

The three celebrated hills in dispute were

1. Druim-Clasach, a long ridge which lies between Lough Ree and the River Suck;
2. Druim-Beathaigh, a remarkable ridge which extends along the plain of Maenmagh near the town of Loughrea;
3. Druim-Finghin which extends from Castle Lyons, Co. Cork to Dungarvan Bay, Co. Waterford.

The actual battle site was the brink of Bri-Damh (the Hill of Oxen), at Togher-idir-da-mhagh (Causeway-between-two-Plains). Mr Blake, N.T.,gave the benefit of his local research to Offaly Archaeological Society some years ago. It is remarkable that despite the changes of centuries scholars can still identify most of the places mentioned in
the old records.

BRITISH SHIRELAND

It is a long jump from Eremhon's victory to the Geashill of two centuries ago when the district had become British shireland and formed part of King's County. In between, it had been for almost countless generations portion of the O'Connor territory of Old Offaly.

Every acre of the barony of Geashill became the property of Lord Viscount Digby. We find it an entirely rural district with no town and only the two villages of Killeigh and Geashill. Ballinagar was a mean hamlet. The native Irish existed in misery. Anyone who got little farms were allowed only thirty-one-year leases. The roads were bad.

ANOTHER NEW TRACTOR!

When Charles Coote visited Geashill in 1801 he discovered yet another new type of tractor, Dean Digby, who described as "the only gentleman of fortune" in the barony, had his plough drawn by four oxen yoked after a particular manner. This was how the power was generated:-

"He uses neither collars nor hames but a long beam of wood is laid horizontally across the necks of the bullocks, which are occupied together. It embraces their throat by an iron bow, which pierces this beam and is keyed at the top. From the centre of the beam the long draught-chain is attached to the plough. It is considered easy on cattle."

We have, of course, only touched some fringes of the history of Geashill but there we must leave it for the present.