Anniversary of the ' Battle of Tullamore'. This event involving soldiers in the British Army and the King's German Legion will be recalled at Kilcruttin Cemetery at 7.00pm on Thursday 13 July and will be followed by refreshments in the Heritage Centre, Bury Quay. The event occurred on 22 July 1806 and details will be published in the local press.

Books for sale at the Research Centre
Members are reminded that the Society's journal volume 4 was published recently and is available at €15 (€20 to non members). As stated in the last newsletter only 500 copies of this issue have been printed and it is anticipated that it will be sold out fairly quickly. Vols 1,2, and 3 are also available at a special offer of $50 or €65 for all 4 volumes. Copies can be collected and paid for at the Society's office at Bury Quay or from Steve McNeill, Michael Byrne and other members of the committee. Copies will be available at Hoey & Denning for members on the southern side of town.

Stories from a sacred landscape, from Croghan Hill to Clonmacnoise by Caimin O'Brien was published recently and the Society has got a small number for sale to members at the 10% discount to members. This number is dwindling fast so if you want a copy, don't delay.

The King's County Directory, 1890
ISBN: 1-84630-061-4
Price: Euro20.58 ex VAT
Description: The King's County Chronicle newspaper published the King's County Directory in 1890 in an attempt to "give in handy form concise details concerning matters of local character". As well as having all the traditional aspects of an almanac and calendar, the King's County Directory covers the towns and villages of Offaly, with brief histories of the local areas and lists of the prominent inhabitants. Also included is an alphabetical list of all the parishes in the county as well as lists of all the Guardians and ratepayers for the Unions and the Municipal voters. Due to the level of detail in this publication a real insight into the break down of political structures at a local level is possible.

With over 350 pages, a detailed colour map and place index to accompany the map, this publication is a mine of information for anyone researching County Offaly or tracing their ancestors there.
This book is now available from us on CD and in hard covers as Offaly 100 years ago. The CD is searchable and printable and is as such very useful. It is a good companion to the book if you already have it.

August 26- 3 Sept Heritage Week
Second illustrated lecture from Bill Jaffray on the history of Tullamore with particular reference to High Street preceded by launch of book by Hermann Geissel on the Eiscir Riada and the ancient roadway from Dublin to Galway

Hermann Geissel will be publishing a book on the ancient roadways of Ireland with reference to the old Eiscir Riada roads and it is intended that this book would be launched on the 31st of August on the same night as the Bill Jaffray lecture. The Society is supporting the book to the sum of €2,500 in recognition of its importance and the work that has been done by the author. We hope to see you in attendance on that evening.

1-3 Sept Macregol Conference at Birr. Details from Margaret Hogan, Hillside, Birr, email: mhogan@eircom.net or phone 057 9220337.
2-7 October Society trip to Germany. See details below. 20 people have now booked and there are five places still available for members.
19 October lecture by Margaret Hogan on Birr Workhouse.

Offaly Atlas 1809
Dr. Horner's work on the Atlas of King's County of 1809 is expected to be ready for launch in the Autumn. The Society is supporting the publication and has assisted in various other practical ways. Details of the launch date will follow.

Journal 2007 vol. 5 The editor is now calling for papers. Why not work on something for this journal.

Tombstone Inscriptions
Members of the project team at the Research Centre are currently working on recording tombstone inscriptions in Offaly and Laois cemeteries. In recent days they have completed Rearymore near Clonaslee in Laois together with Bracknagh, Cloncrane, Coolygagan and Walsh Island in Offaly. Currently Rhode village cemetery is being recorded. St. Kevin's Church of Ireland at Clonbullogue and Garr (Ballinabrackey parish) in east Offaly remain to be done.
We intend to list all Laois cemeteries in the same manner in our next Journal as the article on Offaly cemeteries in the last issue. If any member has information on particularly south Laois cemeteries which have been recorded and/or published in book form or in articles could they please let us know at the Research Centre, Bury Quay, phone 057 9321421 or email info@offalyhistory.com . We already know that Castlebrack, Errill, Graigue (Mountmellick), Moyanna and around Killeshin have been published. Records of the Quaker burial ground at Rosenallis are held at Mountmellick Development Association offices.
Many thanks to Mr Ronnie Mathews who recently provided a most interesting tour of St. Paul's Church, Portarlington and Lea Castle. Thankfully there was a sizable contingent from the Society.

*NB Only a few seats left on the trip to Germany. If you want to go get your deposit in immediately.
Trip to Rheinbrohl Germany 2nd - 7th Oct. 2006
5 nights - half board - accommodation Hotel-Restaurant Jägerhof
We are going to stay with Klaus & Clare again. They are looking forward to welcoming us once more. We are booked in for 5 nights with half board accommodation.
* Aer Lingus Dublin to Dusseldorf *Total cost €600
*Booking deposit €200 *25 places only of which 10 reserved for committee.
On our last visit to Germany we learned about the history of the Rhine Valley. This time around Dorothee would like to bring us closer to famous inventors and the industrial heritage in the area.
2nd Oct. Depart Tullamore from OHAS, Bury Quay - approx. 1.30 pm travelling by Carroll's Bus to Dublin Airport.

The wine festival will be celebrated in the area on the day of our arrival. It would be a very great opportunity to meet the local people of Rheinbrohl.

3rd Oct. Today we celebrate the anniversary of German Unification.The Germans take Sundays and Bank Holidays off - everything closes down. Sorry, shops will be closed today - restaurants and bars are open. Tuesday morning we will take it easy. Around 1 pm we will leave the Hotel and go to Siebengebirge - the gate to the romantic Rhine.
4th Oct. Visit to Mainz Here we are going to have a guided tour (about 2 hrs ) at the museum of the book printer Johannes Gutenberg. We will hear about the development of books and printing from hand writing to modern high-tech times. We will see 49 original Gutenberg Bibles, which are kept safe within the museum.
5th Oct. Visit to the historic town of Limburg. After the evening meal we will visit Weingut Scheidgen in Hammerstein for a wine tasting and a great evening.
6th Oct Welcome to the World of Asbach the famous German specialty from Ruedesheim on the romantic Rhine. We are going to tour the Asbach Visitor Centre and experience Asbach with all our senses.
7th Oct Depart Cologne airport at 10.50 am arriving at Dublin at 11.45 am and Tullamore approx 2 pm.