Visit to Shinrone 7th July 2001

Depart from OHAS Bury Quay at 1p.m. to arrive at Main Street in Shinrone at 2p.m. for a guided tour by Noel McMahon. Noel McMahon has worked on the history of Shinrone and District for many years and has lately published an attractive history of the town and district which is available from the Society and from Noel directly. This is an area in the Barony of Clonlisk and which has more association with Tipperary then with Offaly. It is a part of the County which was in the Ely O'Carroll territory and was annexed to the existing County Offaly in about 1605. The village was well known in the nineteenth century as having strong orange lodge associations. It should be an interesting tour and will include the glass works now the subject of excavations and also the subject of recent articles in the local press and in Archaeology Ireland. Please bring a picnic tea if you wish. Cars will depart from OHAS and you might indicate if you will be coming by giving a phone call to the Centre at 21421 and letting us know if you are bringing a car or will be seeking to come as a passenger.

Recent visit to the RSAI at 63 Merrion Square, the Irish Architectural Archive at 73 Merrion Square and the Chester Beatty Library were very successful. We had a good tour of the RSAI Library and Irish Architectural Archive and it was interesting to see how both of these national organisations work. We had a look at their filing systems, computer systems and storage systems apart from viewing the general collections. The experience was well worth while and our sincere thanks to RSAI and in particular the President Con Manning and the Treasurer Charles Smith. In the Irish Architectural Archive we handed over a set of the Magan Photographs for the use of the Architectural Archive and we were presented with a number of books in return. At the Irish Architectural Archive we met the curator David Griffin and colleague archivist Mr. Colm O'Riordain. Again this was very beneficial to us in that the Society has about 30,000 photographs now and what we learned on filing systems etc was useful.

Laois and Offaly Cemeteries Report

Strong progress is being made here by Maureen Kincaid with help from contacts in Laois and Offaly. We wish to thank sincerely all who have provided Maureen with valuable information, especially in Laois, on work which has been done already, some having been published and not known to us.

Offaly Voters Lists

We are currently trying to track down Offaly Voters Lists and as some of you may know these lists are not that common before 1930 and more or less full set of the voters list is available at the Offaly County Library. The Society has a scattering of these voters lists from the 1820s up to the present day and we have lately indexed a list of 1890 published in the King's County Directory another list for Tullamore Town of about 1,500 voters of 1919 -1920. Both of these lists are now going into our Family History Data Base for use in family history research.

Noel Guerin our hardworking committee member is working on putting together a master data base of all of our particular MS Access program based files so as to build up at data base of miscellaneous sources for family history. We have also a computer expert retained to improve on the existing Digital Microvax system with a view to transferring it over to CD and to network it with the existing PC systems.

Our target would be to have circa 1.5 million records on one data base ultimately. At present we would have this amount of records, or more, on three systems. The whole work is being done to speed up the process of dealing with family history queries to try and make this work more user friendly. We have lately added three more computers to the existing profile of systems and we are making big efforts to tidy up the existing data bases in family history and in local history with a view to making the whole service more efficient.

Library Catalogue

The Library Catalogue is now in excess of five thousand volumes and we are adding books to the library at the rate of about fifty per month. We hope shortly to purchase the Offaly Independent on microfilm from about 1894 to 1911 and from 1922 up to 1970. This will be expensive but we hope to have your support and that of the National Library and the Offaly County Library in connection with microfilming the original copies, likewise the Midland Tribune from 1953 to 1976.

Internet History and Irish Midlands Ancestry

Our new second site for Irish Midlands Ancestry is now up on the internet and we would welcome your comments on this offering. The site is intended to promote family history in Laois and Offaly and in particular the work of the centre in regard to commissioned reports. Your views on the site together with your views on offalyhistory.com would be appreciated as we are trying to improve these sites all the time. Our thanks to John Kearney and Sandra Dunne in connection with work done on the www.irishmidlandsancestry.com site. In particular a warm thanks to Sandra who has done considerable work on it.

In relation to www.offalyhistory.com improvements are being made by Sean Hackett all the time and he has now loaded an Offaly Tourist Guide which we prepared in 1999. We think this is the best current guide available to Offaly and again would appreciate your comments.

Future activities

14th July visit by Laois Heritage Society to Tullamore and District to commence at our Research Centre at 10.30a.m.

Tour of Laois District

With particular reference to Rosenallis Clonaslee and Portlaoise to depart from the Centre at about 9.30 a.m. on Saturday the 25th of August.

Heritage week 2nd to 9th September 2001

This will include lectures as follows:-

Open week at the Centre for locals and visitors alike during office hours to include Sunday the 2nd from 2p.m. to 5p.m. and Saturday the 8th from 10 to 5p.m.

2nd September 2001 Walk in Charleville Demesne to start at 3p.m. at Charleville Gate for a historic walk about the estate courtesy of the Hutton Bury Family.

3rd September 8.30p.m. Illustrated talk on Tullamore Distilling Tradition with particular reference to the Tullamore Distillery and the Williams Group.

5th September 8.30p.m lecture on the Grand Canal in County Offaly.

6th September illustrated talk on Tullamore history from 1700 to 1950 using photographs of the streets and town and taking each street and in turn.

8th September walking tour of Tullamore at 9a.m. to finish at 11a.m. starting at the Research Centre Bury Quay.

20th Sept. Lecture on Bord na Mona in Offaly by Mr Paddy Hughes

Oct. (date to be fixed) John Feehan on Eskers

In November one of our USA based members, James P Cullen will give a talk on his life reminiscences in Ireland and the US.

9th Dec. Annual Lunch in Bridge House, Tullamore. After lunch speaker will be Niall Sweeney, Offaly County Manager.

2001 Membership renewal

Is your subscription due for 2001? There isn't a label on an envelope to remind those receiving the Newsletter be email if their 2001 membership fee is still due. They will know themselves or can enquire by phoning (0506) 21421 or email info@offalyhistory.com

FAS Project in progress

Numerous projects are ongoing. The maintenance staff are continually keeping the building in fine trim - painting and outdoor tidying plus their daily "housekeeping" duties, security, day to day maintenance, etc.

Computerised work includes Voters Lists, Newspaper Articles, Offaly Chronology, Internet Site Development, Coote's Survey typescript, Ordnance Survey Field Books, Library Catalogue, Trinity College Graduates database, Moran Manuscripts database, Access database of Graveyard Inscriptions, updating of Membership and other lists. Reports on Family History enquiries are ongoing.

In conjunction with these tasks staff are participating in training courses on an ongoing basis to upgrade their skills for the work at the Centre and their own personal development.

Books for Sale

Byrne, Michael Tullamore Catholic Parish 187p. HB £20.00 (€25) SB £9.99 (€12.50)
Byrne, Michael The People of Tullamore in the Twentieth Century HB £15.99 (€20.50)
Byrne, Michael (ed) Durrow in History 299p. SB £9.99 (€12.50), HB £20 (€25)
Byrne, Michael Towards a history of Kilclonfert 141p. SB £4.99 (€6.30)
Egan, Oliver Tyrellspass Past and Present 210p. SB £15 (€19)
Ferbane Parish and its Churches 158p. HB £10.00 (€12.70)
FitzPatrick, Elizabeth, Heaney, Paddy and Rosse, Alison The Wet Hillside of Saint Lugna 39p. £2.95 (€3.75)
Heaney, Paddy At the foot of Slieve Bloom HB 369p. £12 (€15.20)
Joyce, J. St. George The King's County, Epitome of its History, Topography &C. Reprinted 1998 79p. SB £4.95 (€6.30)
Kearney, John The Long Ridge [Killeigh parish] 174p. SB £7.99 (€10.20)
Kehnel, Annette Clonmacnoise - the Church and Lands of St. Ciaran 347p. SB £20.00 (€25)
Kilcormac Historical Society Kilcormac - Killoughey Parish Album 190 pp SB £10 (€12.70)
Killoughey Jubilee 2000 Committee Killoughey - A Pilgrimage to our past 288 pp HB £13.99 (€16.50)
King, Heather A (ed.) Clonmacnoise Studies Volume 1 144 pp PB £12 (€15.20)
Laois History & Society 748 pp £40 (€50.50)
Lewis, Samuel A-Z of Offaly in 1837, c. 160 p. PB £7.99 (€10.15)
Liostai Logainmneagha. Uibh Fhaili [Offaly place-names] 76p. SB £4.00 (€5)
McCormack, Stan Kilbeggan 2000 Millenium Book of Photographs SB £12.50 (€15.80)
Moore, Desmond Love's Old Sweet Song. [Account of James Lynam Molloy] 44p. SB £3.99 (€5)
Moore, Patrick The Astronomy of Birr Castle 81 pp £7.75 (€9.85)
Murray, Tom The Young Haymakers: A Midland Boyhood SB £6.99 (€8.85)
O'Brien, Caimin & Sweetman, P. David Archaeological Inventory of County Offaly 232p. HB £22.00 (€27.95)
O'Brien Caimin & FitzPatrick Elizabeth Offaly Medieval Churches 186p. HB £18 (€22.85)
Office of Public Works, Clonmacnoise 48p SB £2.50 (€3.20)
O.H.A.S. Farming in Offaly Down the Years 38p SB £3.00 (€3.80)
O'Neill & Nolan Offaly History & Society. c. 1100 pp. HB £45.00 (€57.15)
O'Sullivan, Dr. Muiris The Illustrated Guide to Seir Kieran 36p. SB £5.00 (€6.35)
Rolt, L.T.C. Green and Silver [Grand Canal] 275p. HB £16 (€20.30)
Rosse Six Foot Telescope 41 pp £4.50 (€5.70)
Shaw, Rev. Andrew The History of Ballyboy, Kilcormac and Killoughy SB £7 (€8.85) [Reprint]
Sheil, Helen Falling into wretchedness: Ferbane in the 1830s c. 60 p. SB £5.99 (€7.60)
Through the Locks (Grand Canal and Edenderry interest mainly) 189 pp £8 (€10.15)
Trodd, Valentine Midlanders [Banagher] 226p. £9.95 (€12.60)
Walsh, Sr. Dolores Grow where you are planted A History of Tullamore Mercy Sisters 229p. SB £9.95 (€12.60)
Wrafter, Sr. Oliver Rahan looks back. 144p. SB £10.00 €12.70)
Wright, John Offaly One Hundred Years Ago (reprint of King's County Directory of 1890) 344p. HB £25.00 (€31.75)