OFFALY HISTORICAL and ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOCIETY
Bury Quay, Tullamore, Co. Offaly Telephone: 057-9321421
Opening hours 9 a.m-4.30 p.m Mon-Friday Office and Family History
Library openings 2pm-4.30pm Mon-Fri by appointment only
Email: info@offalyhistory.com
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Offaly History and Archaeology Complete List of Books For Sale
New Publications 2017
Rare and Old Books For Sale at Offaly History
Tullamore Town Historical Tour App is Live
Almost 40 years ago, A Walk through Tullamore by Michael Byrne was published with a map of the town and a numbered commentary on the history of the streets and buildings. This was updated some years ago with Exploring Tullamore, a short printed guide along the same lines and richly illustrated by Fergal MacCabe. Now with thanks to the Rotary Club and Tullamore Credit Union, the walking guide enters the 21st century in the form of a downloadable app for smartphones and tablets. Now you will be able to take a walk through Tullamore and listen to the history of the town at your leisure. Great for locals and visitors alike.
Book of the month -A Walkers Guide to Ballycumber – €10
Ballycumber village is situated in North West Offaly on the route of the Sli Mor which was the main thoroughfare for pilgrims travelling to the famous monastic settlement of Clonmacnoise in ancient times. The village derived from an ancient settlement and there is reference in historical documents to the fact that the monks of Lynally once had a “cell” in Ballycumber.
The village which grew from this ancient settlement is rich in history and this booklet attempts to briefly record for posterity, some of the people, places and events that contributed to this rich historical heritage over the last two hundred odd years.
Blog
A Murder at Birr Barracks, by Stephen Callaghan
Birr Barracks was constructed by Bernard Mullins between 1809-1812, during the height of the Napoleonic Wars (1803-1815) in Europe. The Barracks saw various regiments of the British Army stationed there. The Barracks was burned to the ground in July 1922 by North Tipperary Brigade, IRA. In 110 years of existence there were many notable, interesting events and scandals, one of the more macabre events was the murder of Adjutant Robertson Mackay of the 5th Fusiliers by Private George Jubee, this is their story. [continue reading]
New Media
We have added several new PDF’s in the Researching Offaly Section on the site and will continue to do so in the future.
We have also added new files to the Audio section on our SoundCloud account.
Upcoming Events
Monday 13 March, Terry Moylan, The Indignant Muse: Poetry and Songs of the Irish Revolution 1887-1926.
This landmark work by our speaker contains a remarkable selection of 560 of the thousands of songs and poems created during, and reflecting upon, the most extraordinary decade of Ireland’s history. This opened with the Dublin Lockout of 1913 and ended with the post-independence civil war, embracing World War I, the Rising of 1916, and the Anglo-Irish war. The Indignant Muse also includes 177 musical airs and 136 illustrations. Terry is Archivist at Na Píobairí Uilleann, 15 Henrietta Street.
Review of The Indignant Muse, by Diarmaid Feritter writing for The Irish Times
Online Archives Catalogue
We launched an online catalogue for archives in August 2016 which is available at www.offalyhistoryarchives.com. It is a work in progress and many more archival descriptions will be added to the database as soon as collections have been catalogued.
It also hosts, in conjunction with Offaly County Council Heritage Office and with the kind permission of Lord Digby of Minterne, Dorset, digitised images from the Digby Irish Estates Papers, the originals of which remain in Dorset. This is a marvellous resource for researching 19th and early 20th century Offaly, and over 1000 images of rental accounts for the Geashill Estate 1857-1872 are already online, with many more to come in the months ahead.
Offaly History and Offaly Heritage Office would like to acknowledge the support of the Heritage Council for sponsoring both the initial digitisation of the rental volumes and the ongoing archives work in Offaly History.
Family History
Offaly Historical Society is the designated research centre for the counties of Offaly (formerly called King’s County) and Laois (formerly called Queen’s County). The Centre offers a full research service. All initial enquiries are answered promptly within 2 – 3 working days and you will be advised how much information is located within all the Church Records, Civil Records, census records, some graveyard records and all other sources that are available at our centre. Our head research officer Margaret has sixteen years experience working in family history. She also has a wealth of local knowledge and is on hand to advise on the local area.
Enquirers can write to us with their request to Offaly History. Bury Quay, Tullamore, Co. Offaly Ireland or fill in an application form on our website here or why don’t you email Margaret your family history request- The name of the family, the location, the dates or any information you know and she will search all records available and let you know how much information she may uncover on your ancestors. The fee for this initial assessment is €35.
She will advise if there is enough information uncovered to compile a family history report and put together in a book form, to include a map of the parish where your family came from, also photos of the area long ago. if you require baptismal certificates, she will furnish you with the name of the Parish Priest.
Offaly History Books for Sale Catalogue (PDF Format, Downloadable)
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