In a time of war in eastern Europe and the coming to an end of the Decade of Centenaries period in Ireland, 1912–23 with the cessation of the civil war, here we today publish the second of two blogs on the protection of innocent people in times of strife. The article is by Jim Houlihan … Continue reading The Law of the Innocents, Birr 697 AD. By Jim Houlihan

It was cold, dark and rainy that November 2017 night as we left the Embassy. My mood did not fit the weather. The warm glow of a job well done wrapped itself around my stomach and spread out to envelop my whole being. It was all hard to believe that my scribbling had brought me … Continue reading After the Break. By Terry Adams

In the last blog we noted that the August 1923 General Election in Laois-Offaly was remarkably peaceful given that the civil war had only ended in May. Offaly was still strong in support for the Republicans as was clear from the fact they gained two seats, but, of course, were committed to not entering the … Continue reading The 1923 General Election in Laois-Offaly: Cumann na nGaedheal papers in Offaly Archives. An Offaly History contribution to the Decade of Centenaries. By Michael Byrne

In a time of war in eastern Europe, and the coming to an end of the Decade of Centenaries period in Ireland, 1912–23 with the cessation of the civil war here, we today publish the first of two blogs on the protection of innocent people in times of strife. The first article is by John … Continue reading The Synod of Birr, 697AD. By John Dolan

St Catherine’s Church, 1815. This is the second article to mark the successful Heritage Week 2023. The new St Catherine’s Church was designed by Francis Johnston and was built in the Gothic style with a Latin cross plan, side-aisles, a tower in the west and a crypt at the east end for the burial place of … Continue reading St Catherine’s Church, 1815-2015: central to the heritage of Tullamore. By Michael Byrne

The news that the Laois-Offaly constituency is to come to an end at the next general election, following the recommendations of the Electoral Commission, is an occasion to reflect on its long history. Under the Government of Ireland Act of 1920, the constituency was established as King’s County-Queen’s County, a four-member constituency for the House … Continue reading Declan McSweeney reflects on the Laois-Offaly Constituency and its history

Laois Offaly is again to be divided into two three-seat constituencies according to the just announced electoral commission report. ‘This would be the first time that the Offaly constituency would fully align with its county boundary.’ For the 2016 General Election Laois and Offaly were divided and to the Offaly constituency was added 24 electoral … Continue reading The 1923 General Election in Laois and Offaly: a remarkable outcome. Tar barrels in O’Connor Square for Pat Egan and a […]

Bracknagh Heritage Society unveiled a statue of Saint Brochan in Saint Brochan’s Well, Clonsast, County Offaly for National Heritage Week. The Blessing was performed by Fr. Gregory Corcoran, P.P and by Reverend Alan Melbourne. Mary Briody on behalf of Bracknagh Heritage Society welcomed a large crowd who gathered at the Holy Well and Monastic site at Clonsast (on farmland) as Frances Cunningham unveiled the statue. Mary Delaney gave a talk … Continue reading Statue of St […]

Father Grogan was born on June 14th, 1873, in Brocca, Screggan County in Offaly. His parents were Joseph Grogan and Mary Molloy. He received his early education at Mucklagh National School, Saint Columbus School, Tullamore and Saint Finian’s College Navan. At the solicitation of his uncle, the Reverend, Anthony J. Molloy of the New York … Continue reading Father Anthony Grogan of Mucklagh, Tullamore, Ireland and Ellis Island. “First look for the Statue of Liberty, then look for Father […]

Neville’s Atlas of the 3,000-acre estate at Philipstown in 1786 has not before been seen by the public and has probably not been consulted for fifty years.  The surveyor was Arthur Richards Neville who was Dublin City Surveyor, 1801-1828 and he prepared the map on the instructions of the Molesworth Estate, the owner of 3,000 … Continue reading A map of the Philipstown/Daingean  Estate of the fourth Viscount Molesworth, 1786. The map was conserved with the support of the Heritage Council […]

To mark Heritage Week 2023 we have two articles on St Catherine’s Church, Hop Hill, Tullamore. This week the background from the 1700s to the completion of the new church in 1815. When coming to Tullamore by boat or rail the two most prominent sites to greet the visitor are the spire of the Catholic … Continue reading St Catherine’s Church steeped in the early history of Tullamore, 1700s to its completion in 1815. By Michael Byrne. Marking Heritage Week 2023.

The Tullamore and County Offaly Agricultural Show may be described as a unique cross urban/rural community undertaking and a traditional family day out attracting up to 60,000 people to the show. The Tullamore show was rekindled in 1991 by a small group of local people representing urban and rural communities. The Tullamore and Co. Offaly … Continue reading The Tullamore and County Offaly Agricultural Show: part of the heritage of the county and now a national event. Contributed by […]

If walls could talk and archives survived, what would we learn about GV no. 48 High Street, Tullamore. A lot over its 275-year history so far. The number in the first printed valuation map of 1854 was no. 48. It is convenient to use this as the street was built by 1820, except for the … Continue reading Exploring 48 High Street, Tullamore: From Col. Crow to Colton’s Hotel, Hibernian Insurance, Galvin Auctioneers, Sambodino’s and Jade Inn Chinese. A contribution to the Living in Towns […]

Please see an invitation from the community in Lemanaghan about two events  this Saturday 12 August as part of Heritage Week. We are publishing early this week as part of our Heritage Week Specials from 12 to 20 August. So keep in touch with us on Social Media and do call to Offaly History Centre … Continue reading A new edition of the Annals of Clonmacnoise by Nollaig Ó Muraíle. Explore the link with Lemanaghan, Saturday 12 August, 2.30 p.m. Heritage Week Special no. 1

The abolition of Tullamore Town Council in 2014 evoked many memories for me of my years covering that body and its predecessor, Tullamore Urban District Council (UDC) from 1988 to 2007 for the Offaly Express, and for a year and a half before that for the Offaly Independent. I also covered a number of meetings … Continue reading Reporting the Tullamore Town Council. By Declan McSweeney

This week, in part 2 of his article on Mag Léna, John Dolan covers another split and a far more important event than a battle in Mag Léna. This synod was just one matter in a significant dispute between the Irish or Celtic church and Rome in the 7th and 8th centuries. Background The expansion … Continue reading The Synod of Mag Léna. By John Dolan

Mag Léna is of interest for two events that occurred in the early historic period. The first event is the pseudo historic Battle of Mag Léna.  The second event was the significant Synod of Mag Léna and the Letter of Cummain, part of the Irish church row with Rome over the dating of Easter. Both … Continue reading The Battle of Mag Léna. By John Dolan

The dismantling of the barrack structure of the British military establishment advanced rapidly in the aftermath of the signing of Anglo-Irish Treaty in December 1921. The great exodus in Offaly began in February 1922. The newly issued Offaly Independent (absent since November 1920 due to its destruction by the British military) was now able to … Continue reading Offaly evacuated,  not a British policeman or soldier now in the county.  Tullamore R.I.C. barracks occupied by I.R.A., troops […]

Work continues on the Irish Mist Liqueur book to be published by Offaly History with the support of Creative Ireland in October. The book will have 240 photographs and a good quality text by a number of contributors. This product was the first such liqueur in Ireland and employed up to sixty people before its … Continue reading Closing the old Tullamore distillery in 1983. By John Flanagan

James Weale was appointed to the position of clerk in charge of Irish land revenue in the Commissioners of Woods, Forests and Land Revenue in 1827. The Commissioners managed the English kings’ estates. His actual position was that of the tenth clerk in the London Office but that did not describe his role in Ireland. … Continue reading James Weale’s trip to King’s County, Offaly, Ireland in 1829 to meet Kinnitty tenants of the Crown with comments on his visit to Tullamore. By Timothy […]

The 1937 Pulitzer Prize winning book and subsequent Oscar winning movie were set in Clayton and Atlanta, both in Georgia, during the American Civil War and Reconstruction Era. It depicts the struggles of young Scarlett O’Hara, the spoiled daughter of a well-to-do plantation owner, who must use every means at her disposal to claw her … Continue reading Gone With the Wind and the Offaly Connection. By Danny Leavy

208 years ago, the Battle of Waterloo took place in Belgium. The armies under the command of the Duke of Wellington defeated Napoleon, putting an end to the Napoleonic Wars, which had begun in 1803. To mark the victory and acknowledge the men that fought at the battle, a campaign medal was decided upon by … Continue reading Private John Dargin, Tullamore, County Offaly fought at Waterloo. By Stephen Callaghan

This week we provide an extract from the book to be published in November 2023 on Irish Mist Liqueur, a unique Tullamore-based product for almost forty years. Many homes have the Irish Mist Soldier in pride of place on a dresser so here is some more information about it from John Flanagan, the production manager … Continue reading The Irish Mist Figurine/ Soldier. By John Flanagan

The closure in 2012 of Offaly Express, where I served as a staff reporter from 1988 to 2007, marked the end of an era in local journalism. When I was a schoolboy, living in Tullamore, the dominant local paper was the Offaly Independent, though the Midland Tribune circulated to a degree from Birr. The growth … Continue reading Declan McSweeney on the Offaly Express

We are drawing to the end of a period of remembrance and reflection on the events that took place during the period 1912–1923 and the emergence of the Irish state as we know it today. These commemorative events have been referred to as the Decade of Centenaries (www.decadeofcentenaries.com) As we proceeded through the decade of … Continue reading Caitlín Kingston Brugha (1879–1959). By Deirdre Stuart

High Street is still the principal street in Tullamore and this has been so for the past two hundred years. It, together with Bridge St., O’Connor Square, O’Moore St., and Cormac St., deserve detailed attention because of the quality of the surviving urban fabric. The same might be said of the terrace in Church St. … Continue reading Exploring High Street, Tullamore: no 11 article on High Street in the Living in Towns Series. By Michael Byrne

Bracknagh a small village in east corner of Co. Offaly, formerly, in the Barony of Coolestown. While originally part of the parish of Clonsast, today it forms part of the parish of Clonbullogue. It borders Co Kildare to the east, lying approximately six kilometres from Rathangan, and borders Co Laois to the west, situated seven … Continue reading Bracknagh Village, County Offaly, 1900–1930. By Mary Delaney

We are used to hearing of the formal gardens at Birr Castle Demesne and the famous box hedges. The landscape of the demesne has been manicured since the time of Mary, the third Countess of Rosse in the 1840s and 1850s. Later the fifth, sixth and the present seventh earl have devoted much time to … Continue reading John Feehan has collaborated with Birr Castle Demesne to produce a book on meadows with a specific focus on the meadow at Birr Castle, County Offaly

A contribution to Tullamore 400 and the Living in Towns initiative of the Heritage Council. Sit down and have a cup of tea with this blog! A visit by an Irish Press journalist to Tullamore in 1933 provided a nice puff for the Williams tea business and its brand Red Cup Tea. At the time … Continue reading ‘Sweet Tullamore’ and Williams’ Red Cup tea, as described ninety years ago by A.K. in the Irish Press

A contribution to Tullamore 400 and the Heritage Council’s Historic Towns Initiative. The Hibernian Bank opened in Tullamore’s Bridge Street in 1864. The footprint of the original site was the  Ridley leasehold of 1786. In 1948 the bank was extended by the inclusion of the Berrill shop on Bridge Street. About 1970 the Wakefield shop … Continue reading Banking in Tullamore: The Hibernian Bank now part of Bank of Ireland. One of Tullamore’s finest buildings at the junction of Bridge […]

1. Sculpture of Mick the Miller by artist Elizabeth O`Kane on Killeigh village green. Mick the Miller was the first great star of greyhound stadium racing in Britain. Born in Killeigh, Co Offaly in 1926, he had a successful Irish career before he began racing in England in 1929. By the time he retired in … Continue reading Mick The Miller – A Sporting Legend – a greyhound born and bred in Killeigh, County Offaly, Ireland. By Brendan Berry

The Christian Brothers have enjoyed a mixed press in Irish history. Earlier generations tended to ‘canonise’ the order, founded by Blessed Edmund Ignatius Rice, while in later years the tendency has been to ‘demonise’ it. Much of the criticism has, of course, related to issues around the alleged sexual abuse of boys attending residential institutions … Continue reading Coláiste Choilm, Tullamore (formerly St Columba’s CBS): Declan McSweeney recalls his time in the school, […]

Dr William Moran, a distinguished man of letters and former parish priest of Tullamore (1949–65), published the article below in 1962 and in the same year as his pamphlet on the history of Tullamore.  In many ways it was a seminal overview that has not as yet been superseded.[1]  Material has of course been published … Continue reading ‘Education in Tullamore down the Years.’ By Dr Moran, From Centenary records, Christian Brothers, St Columba’s Tullamore,1862-1962

The name of Kathleen Cowan is virtually synonymous with accounts of the suffrage movement in Co Offaly during its most vital phase. As secretary of the Birr Suffrage Society, she reported on its activities in the local and suffrage press, organized and spoke at meetings in the town and throughout the county, and represented it … Continue reading Kathleen Cowan, Birr Suffrage Activist. By Rosemary Raughter

Mary Angela Fitzgerald had a tough life by most measures, but nonetheless, it was a life fully lived in the caring and serving of others. Despite enormous hardship, her generosity of spirit was learned early in her life. Angela, as she was called, was the eldest daughter and was born in 1890, in Galbally, County … Continue reading The Remarkable Story of Sister Angela Fitzgerald and the Empress of Japan. By Maurice Egan

The site on which Hollow House can be found on is one that has changed and adapted throughout its time starting in the 17th century. The first sign of life in the area is the bawn wall for the residence that was said to be “built by de Renzi” it can be assumed that there … Continue reading Hollow House, Tinnycross, Tullamore:  from fortified planter’s home to scenic gardens. By Aisling Walsh

Pre-Christian Irish Society When Christians arrived in Ireland and started to write about the country they found an island of Gaelic kingdoms, perhaps up to 150, that was dynastic and the political organisation was based on the tuath.  The tuath was the bedrock of the Gaelic political system and is described as a small kingdom. … Continue reading Gaelic Assembly and Inaugurations Sites in County Offaly. By John Dolan

I am always intrigued, and fascinated to learn of a person, who in their time was famous, but somehow or other has faded into the mists of time. Such a person is our subject Joseph Stirling Coyne. He was during his lifetime a very famous dramatist, writing upwards of 100 plays, a theatre reviewer and … Continue reading Joseph Stirling Coyne of Birr, County Offaly: dramatist and littérateur. By Pádraig Turley

  About two kilometres from Shannonbridge on the Clonmacnoise road (R444), in the townland of Clerhane, a narrow laneway leads to the site of all that now remains of a once thriving industry in limestone quarrying.  While the origins of the quarries are lost in the mists of time it can be assumed that the … Continue reading The Marble of Clonmacnoise: Limestone Quarrying at Clerhane, Shannonbridge, County Offaly. By Declan Ryan

Terence Dooley in his Burning the Big House: the story of the Irish country house in a time of War and Revolution (Yale, 2022) devoted fourteen pages to a case study of the burning of Tubberdaly, Rhode. He concluded that the house was burned as a result of labour disputes, local agrarian issues and the … Continue reading The burning of the Big House at Toberdaly/ Tubberdaly, Rhode, County Offaly and the departure of E.J. Beaumont Nesbitt. By Michael Byrne

In 1120 Turlough O’Connor, high-king of Ireland, built a ‘principal’ bridge on the River Shannon at a place called Áth Cróich. Recent study has proven that this is an earlier name for Banagher. SIR MATHEW DE RENZY (1577-1635) Sir Mathew De Renzy writing in December 1620 about West Offaly with particular reference to roads and … Continue reading The recent discovery of the earlier name for Banagher, County Offaly and its significance. By Kieran Keenaghan and James Scully

The founding of Tullamore Credit Union in April 1963 was one of the best things that ever happened in Tullamore. The same can be said of the credit union movement founded in Ireland in the late 1950s. How did it come about? How was it sustained? Who were the leaders, managers and staff at the … Continue reading Tullamore Credit Union marks its sixtieth anniversary. A contribution to Tullamore’s 400th series from Offaly History

April 16th 2023 was the 100th anniversary of the death of James Perry Goodbody, a significant figure in business and political life in County Offaly. His family were connected with the commercial life of Clara from 1825 and were by the 1900s the largest employers in the county. He was a contributor to local government … Continue reading James Perry Goodbody, Offaly’s leading industrialist and county council member for 21 years (1853–1923). By Michael Byrne

Today, 14 April 2023, will see the first event in the new Esker Arts Centre at High Street, Tullamore. Part of the new arts building was once ‘a ballroom of romance’ when owned by the Kenny family of musicians with their own dance hall to the back of their house at no. 12 High Street. … Continue reading Kenny’s ballroom, GV 12 High Street, Tullamore now forms part of the Esker Arts Centre. Another story in the Tullamore 400th series contributed by Offaly History

Rathrobin House, Mountbolus was the most modern and one of the finest of the ‘Big Houses’ burnt by the anti-Treaty IRA during the Civil War of 1922-3. Its loss was a tragedy for the district and for its owner and builder Lt Col Middleton Biddulph. Today the house is a ruin and the intended tomb … Continue reading The burning of the Biddulph ‘Big House’ at Rathrobin, Mountbolus, County Offaly, Ireland during the Civil War, 18 April 1923. By Michael Byrne

This week saw the launch of John Feehan’s latest work Camcor the River of Birr published by Offaly County Council. It could be argued that it is a book that he has been working on for a lifetime as he was reared on the banks of the Camcor in Birr town and has been living … Continue reading Celebrating the publication of Camcor, the River of Birr, County Offaly and stepping up to the environmental challenge

With preparations for the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement now underway, and especially with the historic visit of President Joe Biden to Ireland fast approaching, I find myself thinking again about the crucial importance of Irish America throughout our recent history. This is true not only with regards to current events, but also … Continue reading Sean MacCaoilte (John Forrestal): a Tullamore man on the delegation to Irish America, March 1922. By Dr Anne Good

On 24 October 1822, the newly-appointed Church of Ireland archbishop of Dublin, William Magee (1766-1831) delivered a sermon (a charge) in St Patrick’s Cathedral, calling for a greater and more zealous endeavour to evangelise among the Irish Catholics. While Protestant evangelicals and missionaries had been active throughout Ireland since the late eighteenth century, Magee’s sermon … Continue reading The ‘Second Reformation’ and Catholic-Protestant relations in pre-Famine Ireland’ […]

There are a few surviving published diaries of soldiers who served in the British army in Ireland from the 1700s to the 1900s.[1]  One such is that of colour sergeant Calladine whose account of his time stationed in the Midlands in 1822 (at pp 108-109)  is of interest as to how soldiers were occupied at … Continue reading The Diary of Colour-Serjeant George Calladine, 19th Foot, 1793–1837, and his stay in Tullamore in the 1820s. By Michael Byrne

Do you want to know more about your townland? In this article you will discover the origin name, meaning and history of some of the townlands in the parish of Kilbride, Tullamore. The civil parishes of Kilbride and Durrow are closely aligned with the boundaries of the Catholic parish of Tullamore The Parish of Kilbride … Continue reading Place names in the parish of Kilbride, Tullamore, County Offaly: no.1 in a new series

Bell Hill is a small townland close to the village of Clareen, Co. Offaly.  The Bell Hill itself is situated on high ground with good views in all directions.  A large bush sits on the hill and is known locally as the Bell Bush.  There are a few other locations in Ireland called Bell Hill. … Continue reading The Bell of Bell Hill, Offaly: St Patrick, Ciarán of Saighir, Cooke of Birr and more. By John Dolan

Happy St Patrick’s Day to all our followers. A good day to recall a talented young man who died all too early. Sean Mac Caoilte/John Forrestal of Henry (now O’Carroll) Street, Tullamore is forgotten in his home town. Why is that? For one thing he died in Dublin at the age of only 37 having … Continue reading Remembering Sean Mac Caoilte/John Forrestal of Tullamore (1885–1922). Great talent we lost during the revolutionary period. By Michael Byrne

For about forty years Tullamore was home to the production, bottling and marketing of a world-class product, Irish Mist liqueur. The background to the project to establish a whiskey-based liqueur came from English contacts of the Williams distillery company, B. Daly, and arose out of the scarcity of whiskey in England as the war came … Continue reading Irish Mist Liqueur: a unique Tullamore product, and now a chance to talk, recall and publish recollections. We need your help. By […]

Oliver Mulpeter was heard to say he ‘would not miss it for the world’ and carrying the national flag which he proudly bore as the nephew of one of the wounded soldiers, he was among the first to arrive. The commemoration was to honour soldiers of the National Army who were wounded in a Civil … Continue reading A Civil War Ambush Centenary at Raheen, Geashill, County Offaly, January 1923-2023. By P.J. Goode

Standing at the bridge in Bridge Street and looking south towards the Windmill hill at Cormac Street is to observe 300 years of development comprised of three and two-storey houses and no single-storey properties or ‘cabins’. The latter were reserved for the lanes, side streets and long gardens to the rear of these large houses. … Continue reading High Street : Tullamore’s leading street since 1720. A contribution to the Living in Towns series from Offaly History

                                                   Nestled in the foothills of the majestic Slieve Bloom Mountains, Ballyboy or Baile Buí, meaning the town of the Yellow Ford, is a picturesque village of rich historical significance. Like many villages in Ireland, the modest present-day facade of Ballyboy belies a history that has seen the rise and subsequent fall of an early … Continue reading The History of Ballyboy, County Offaly in story […]

So we are soon reaching the day when the new Esker Arts Centre building will open in Tullamore. Is it the first public building since 2013 and the new bridges on the canal. Before that we had the town library (2011), the regional hospital, the town park, bypass, courthouse and the swimming pool. When Revd … Continue reading The new Esker Arts Centre at no. 13 High Street, Tullamore. A contribution to the Living in Towns series by Offaly History.

I dreamed of someday going to Ireland and exploring my ancestry. But I am afraid to fly; not only because of feeling trapped in a plane high in the sky over the ocean but because of the pain I have experienced in my ears on domestic flights. Can you believe it, this past November my … Continue reading Impressions of an Ireland Dream. De Jean Frazer, T.C. Luby and a Birr book launch. By Laurel Jean Grube

The Country is currently celebrating and remembering what have become popularly known as the Revolutionary years or Era spanning the timescale 1913–23. These years witnessed the formation of the Irish Volunteers in 1913, the Howth gun running in 1914, as well as the Easter Rising, the growth of Sinn Féin and the formation of the … Continue reading Daingean GAA Club experience lean times during the revolutionary years, 1913–23. By Sean McEvoy. Decade of Centenaries Series

‘The Beaujolais’ Sometime in the 1830s, the architect William Murray (1789-1849), best known for designing mental hospitals all around Ireland, presented a quick outline of a new public square in Tullamore which would be bounded on three sides by fine houses and dominated on the fourth by the imposing portico of the recently erected County … Continue reading Planning for a new central Tullamore. By Fergal MacCabe. Knowledge-based support for creativity and innovation

Now what would Edward Crow say if he came back 200 years after his death to view the street that he created in the 1800–1815 period. That was during the time of the wars with Napoleon and before Waterloo. After the war Pensioners Row (now O’Molloy Street) was built for the army veterans by the … Continue reading Crow Street/Tara Street, Tullamore in the past 200 years. A contribution to the Historic Towns Series. By Michael Byrne

My story starts as a small boy growing up in Dillon Street, Tullamore in the 1940s. I remember seeing a cutting from a newspaper which I presumed was from a Tipperary weekly paper. The article covered a report of a feis and sports held in a field at the Golden Vale Hotel in Dundrum Co. … Continue reading The shooting of Jack Finlay of D.E. Williams, Tullamore, in a robbery at Lemanaghan, Ballycumber, County Offaly on 12 February 1923. By Jackie Finlay.

In Midnight Oil (London, 1971) V.S. Pritchett (1900-97) describes how The Christian Science Monitor sent him to Ireland early in 1923 to write about the Irish Civil War. The Anglo-Irish treaty had been signed, the Irish politicians split, and the two parties were killing each other. When Pritchett arrived the siege of the Four Courts in Dublin was … Continue reading V.S. Pritchett on disturbed Ireland during the Civil War. A visit in 1923 reporting for the Christian Science Monitor and in […]

Last year Offaly County Council and Waterways Ireland appointed advisors to prepare regeneration plans for the town centre and for the Grand Canal Harbour at the heart of it. The consultants brief required ideas for the redevelopment of the key underused sites, proposals for linking them all within a coherent, livable, safe and attractive town … Continue reading 2023 will be remembered as the year in which Tullamore tried to reinvent itself: the Dream Team. By Fergal MacCabe

Offaly History have a vacancy for a qualified archivist at Offaly Archives (see our blog of 6 Jan. 2023 in regard to the post). Arriving for interview by air balloon would strike a chord. Speaking of which the balloon fire of 10 May 1785 is perhaps the best-known event in the history of Tullamore and … Continue reading A rare item for Offaly Archives: Hibernian Magazine for the year 1785. By Michael Byrne

Growing up on Clontarf Road, Tullamore, on the banks of the Grand Canal in the 1950s and 1960s I spent many childhood hours playing beside the canal. This was where my father’s family had lived for generations in East View Terrace before he and several of his siblings had acquired houses in Frank Gibney’s new … Continue reading ‘Back in the Minutes’: Offaly in the Grand Canal Company minutes, 1900-1950 with special reference to the 1911-23 period. By James Scully

Fr Colm Gaynor was a Catholic curate in Birr in the years 1922–37. Originally from Tyone, Nenagh his valuable memoir was published in 2003 and included with that of Sean Gaynor and Eamonn Gaynor. The book was published by Geography Publications as Memoirs of a Tipperary family: the Gaynors of Tyone, 1887–2000. It is available … Continue reading The execution of three young Tullamore men at Birr during the Civil War, 26 January 1923. By an eyewitness, Fr Colm Gaynor, a Birr curate (d. […]

On the 29th March 1919, 20 IRA Volunteers escaped from Mountjoy jail in broad day light.  This escape was planned by Michael Collins on the outside and Piaras Béaslaí on the inside.  A prison strike had been taking place in the jail in support of four prisoners who were not being afforded political status.  In … Continue reading Clara and Ballycumber men among twenty that went over the wall at Mountjoy in 1919. By Pat McLoughlin

Cormac Street is somewhat unique in the story of Tullamore street development with its forty houses, two major institutional buildings and a town park. Rarely is a street preserved without blemish with so many elements over a two-hundred-year period. Cormac Street was also the home of the town’s major property developer and rentier Thomas Acres … Continue reading Cormac Street, Tullamore: a significant achievement for the planning process, 1786–2020. A contribution to Tullamore 400th and […]

@offalyarchives @offalyheritage @courthouses @offalycountycouncil. See our blog of 6 January in regard to a vacancy at Offaly Archives for an archivist. Vacancy for an Archivist, Offaly Archives: a singular opportunity https://offalyhistoryblog.wordpress.com/2023/01/06/vacancy-for-an-archivist-offaly-archives-a-singular-opportunity/ Reports vary as to how much destruction of the Offaly County Council’s papers took place. A report of 22 July 1922 was upbeat as to … Continue reading The […]