Lecture on Shinrone

Mr. Noel McMahon will give an illustrated Lecture on the pictorial history of Shinrone on Thursday the 17th of October at OHAS Centre at Bury Quay at 8.30p.m. Mr. Noel McMahon has published a book on the history of Shinrone and is now publishing a photographic record. He has been working on this book for the past year and the lecture will be of great interest for a wide variety of reasons - the number of big houses in that part of the country, the orange tradition of Shinrone, the Nationalists tradition and so forth.

Notice of Annual General Meeting of Offaly Historical and Archaeological Society 17th October 2002

Please note that the annual general meeting of the Society will be held at 7.30p.m. at OHAS Bury Quay on 17th October 2002 that is one hour before the lecture on Shinrone. Your presence is requested and the Agenda is as follows:-

1. Chairman's report - Steve McNeill
2. Secretary's report - Michael Byrne
3. Treasure's report - Peter Burke
4. FAS Scheme Report - John Kearney
5. Election of Committee for 2003 (see list of committee on separate sheet)
6. Report of Honorary Editor Mr. Rory Masterson.

If you would be interested in working on behalf of the Society on the Committee would you please come forward at the meeting or before that. The Society are always keen to have new blood on the committee and are anxious that everybody on the committee would have a specific job to do in promoting the Society.

The Society was re -established in 1969 after failing during the war years and this is the thirty third annual general meeting.
Our thanks to the outgoing committee for all their work during the year in putting the Society into such a strong position to carry out its objectives.

Thursday 21 November
The Story of the History of Charleville Demesne from the 1600s to the 1950s is the subject of an illustrated lecture by Michael Byrne on Thursday the 21s of November at 8.30p.m.

Annual Lunch 8th December
Mr. Joe Kenny will be giving his reminiscences of fifty years in Tullamore after the annual lunch at the Bridge House at 1p.m. on 8th December. Tickets will be available shortly.

Meeting with Teachers from Primary and Second Level Schools
This meeting took place on Thursday last the 10th of October and was a useful exchange of ideas. It was agreed to meet in three months time. Two immediate proposals which emerged from the meeting were :-

1. The preparation of a power point CD on the Story of Archaeology in Offaly
as known to date in a simple format with pictures and stories.
2. The possibility of putting James Scully's Looking Around on a CD on power
point with the text available on the same CD

The website
offalyhistory.com and irishmidlandancestry.com Work has been almost completed on the re-development of these sites. While the current sites are very useful the new site will have more information and will be better laid out in terms of the volume of the data which is now available.

Publications available
Jipcat Pigs, Pigs Head, Petticoats and
Combinations - €10
Michael Dalton, History of Tullamore
& District Gardai - €15
Offaly History and Society - €57

Library and Microfilm
As we advised in the last newsletter we now have the 1911 census for the counties of Laois Offaly and Westmeath. We have also improved the position in relation to readers and we now have four or five readers all in working order. We have ordered the Leinster Leader for the period from 1965 to 1985 and we are looking at purchasing other newspapers at present which have a bearing on Offaly History.

Roscrea Autumn Conference 2002
This conference the 31st to be organised by George Cunningham has as its theme Preaching in Medieval Ireland and will be held at Mount St. Joseph Abbey Co. Tipperary commencing on the 1st of November and finishing on Sunday the 3rd of November. Details of the conference are available from Reverend Fr. Nivard Kinsella Guest Master Mount St. Joseph Abbey Roscrea, 0505/21711. A copy of the conference brochure can be seen at the OHAS Centre.

Durrow High Cross
There are no developments on this in relation to any improvements to the site save that Duchas are considering cutting some of the trees in the vicinity. Currently the County Council are in process of considering an amendment to the County Development Plan so as to facilitate the development of a hotel and housing at the Durrow Abbey Estate. There is as yet no planning application for this but it is expected that in the event of an application it may succeed because of the re-zoning of the land.

2003 Programme of outings and lectures etc
If you have any suggestions to make on the 2003 programme would you let Steve McNeill or the Secretary know as soon as possible.

Reunion of Clontarf Road Residence and Historical Project
Any members having photographs or recollections of Clontarf Road which they would like to make available for a presentation on 22 of November at a reunion in the Court Hotel might leave in the material to Anne Horan at the Centre.

New Publications
Dr. Michael P. Flynn has published a memoir which is available in local bookshops. Dr. Flynn is based in Mullingar and his book will add to the medical history of the Midlands.

Brother Linus H. Walker
Brother Linus H. Walker has published a history of Doonane in the Parish of Kildare and Loughlin and Co. Laois, entitled beneath Slieve Margy's Brow.

A third book issued recently was on the History of Abbeyleix called Time and Tide reflections of rural life and times past by Sadie Venett.

Brendan Ryan's new book on Ferbane is expected out in the next few weeks and copies of it will be available for purchase at the Society.

Patrick Fagan's The Diocese of Meath in the 18th Century is a very interesting book on the Diocese and the first of its kind for Meath of a type that offers analysis of the history of the diocese as distinct from detailing each parish. Of particular Offaly interest will be the chapter on Steven McEgan who was appointed bishop of Clonmacnois in 1725 and Bishop of Meath in 1729.

Outgoing Committee 2002

Chairman - Steve McNeill
Secretary- Michael Byrne
Treasurer- Peter Burke
Manager - John Kearney

Committee Members
Fred Geoghegan
Owen Clyne
Noel Guerin
Helen Bracken
Breda Hoey
Mary McGuinness
Matt Mooney
Anne Horan
James Kenny
Shap Mangan
Ted Maxwell
Marie Neville
Sean Hackett
Dr. Rory Masterson