Who are we?

Offaly History (short for Offaly Historical & Archaeological) was first formed in 1938 and re-established in 1969 and is located at Bury Quay, Tullamore, Co. Offaly since 1993(next to the new Tullamore D.E.W Visitor Centre).

We are about collecting and sharing memories. We do this in an organised way though exhibitions, supporting the publication of local interest books, our website Offalyhistory.com , Facebook, open evenings, our library and offices at Bury Quay.

Our Mission

Our Mission
To promote Offaly History including community and family history

What we do:

  • Promote all aspects of history in Co. Offaly.
  • Genealogy service for counties Laois and Offaly.
  • Co. Offaly photographic records for study and sale in addition to a limited number of publications on Laois and Irish general historical interest.
  • Purchase and sale of Offaly interest books though the Society’s book store and website.
  • Publication of books under the Society’s publishing arm Esker Press.
  • The Society subscribes to almost all the premier historical journals in Ireland.

Our Society covers a diverse range of Offaly Heritage:

  • Architectural heritage, historic monuments such as monastic and castle buildings.
  • Industrial and urban development of towns and villages.
  • Archaeological objects and artifacts.
  • Flora, fauna and bogs, wildlife habitats, geology and Natural History.
  • Landscapes, heritage gardens and parks, farming and inland waterways.
  • Local literary, social, economic, military, political, scientific and sports history.

Structure

Offaly History is a non-profit community group with a growing membership of some 150 individuals.

The Society focuses on enhancing educational opportunities, understanding and knowledge of the county heritage while fostering an inclusive approach and civic pride in local identity. We promote these objectives through:

  • The holding of monthly lectures, occasional seminars, exhibitions and film screenings.
    Organising tours during the summer months to places of shared historical interest.
  • The publication of an annual journal Offaly Heritage – to date nine issues.
  • We play a unique role collecting and digitising original primary source materials especially photographs and oral history recordings
  • Offaly History is  the centre for  Family History research in Counties Laois and Offaly.
  • The Society is linked to the renowned Irish Family Foundation website and Roots Ireland where some 900,000 records of Offaly/Laois interest can be accessed on a pay-per-view basis worldwide. Currently these websites have an estimated 20 million records of all Ireland interest.
  • A burgeoning library of books, CD-ROMs, videos, DVDs, oral and folklore recordings, manuscripts, newspapers and journals, maps, photographs and various artifacts.
  • OHAS Collections
  • OHAS Centre Facilities

The financial activities of the Society are operated under the aegis of Offaly Heritage Centre Limited, a charitable company whose directors also serve on the Society’s elected committee. None of the Society’s directors receive remuneration or any kind. All the company’s assets are held in trust to promote the voluntary activities of the Society. Our facilities are largely free to the public or run purely on a costs-recovery basis.

Acting as a policy advisory body –  Offaly History endeavors to ensure all government departments, local authorities, tourism agencies and key opinion formers prioritise heritage matters.

Meet the current committee:

Our Committee represents a broad range of backgrounds and interests. All share a common interest in collecting and promoting the heritage of the county and making it available to the wider community.

2017 Committee

  • Helen Bracken (President)
  • Pat Wynne (Vice President and Joint Treasurer)
  • Niall Sweeney (Vice President)
  • Michael Byrne (Secretary)
  • Lisa Shortall (Deputy Secretary)
  • Dorothee Bibby (Record Secretary)
  • Charlie Finlay (Joint Treasurer)
  • Darrell Hooper
  • Brian Pey
  • Fred Geoghegan
  • Noel Guerin
  • Henry Edgill
  • Peter Burke
  • Angella Kelly
  • Rory Masterson
  • Shaun Wrafter
  • Ronnie Matthews
  • Oliver Dunne
  • Ciara Molloy
  • Stephen Callaghan (Heritage Items)

If you would like to help with the work of the Society by coming on a sub-committee or in some other way please email us or let an existing member know.

+353-5793-21421 [email protected] Open 9am-4.30pm Mon-Fri

Michael Byrne

Is a solicitor and notary public. He has been active in the promotion of local studies in County Offaly for many years and is general secretary of the Offaly Historical and Archaeological Society. He is a regular contributor to Offaly Heritage, Offalyhistoryblog and was editor of Offaly and the Great War (2018). His most recent book was Printing and bookselling in Offaly in the nineteenth century (2020).

Articles by Michael Byrne

Birr – ‘‘A constitutional island in a sea of Sinn Fein’: the account of Wilfrid Ewart of his walking from Cork to Belfast via Birr and Tullamore in 1921 – Micheal Byrne

Offaly 100 years ago: the year 1913 – Michael Byrne

The scene in King’s County in 1914 – Michael Byrne

The scene in King’s County in 1914 – Michael Byrne

1916 and the politics of the Midland Tribune and Tullamore and King’s County Independent – Michael Byrne

The Tullamore malt workers strike fiasco of 1916 and the malting industry in Tullamore – Michael Byrne

Another Decade of Centenaries, 1913-1923’: The Biddulphs, the Great War and the decline of the big house in King’s County/Offaly – Michael Byrne

A Birr official in Dublin: Experiences of the fighting of Easter Week, 1916 – Michael Byrne

Henry Brenan, the King’s County Crown Solicitor, 1916- 1921 – Micheal Byrne

A tale of two Kerry men drinking after hours in Hayes’ Hotel, Tullamore in 1916 – Micheal Byrne

The diary of Geraldine Fitzgerald, a Birr nurse working from Stephen’s Green during Easter Week 1916 – Michael Byrne

Blog posts by Michael Byrne

Tullamore on the verge of the War and Home Rule: the image of stability. By Michael Byrne

An Englishman’s walk through Birr, Kilcormac and Tullamore in mid-1921, as the War of Independence intensified. By Michael Byrne

Marking the opening of the first public library in Tullamore: May 1921. By Michael Byrne

Teresa Wyer (1868–1959): the first woman chairperson of a public board in County Offaly and prominent in Sinn Féin in the revolutionary years. By Owen Wyer and Michael Byrne

Remembering Lieut. Matthew Kane, Tullamore, died 1 April 1921 in the service of his country. By Michael Byrne

T.M. Russell (1868–1932): a huge loss to Offaly in the early years of Independence. By Michael Byrne

The regulation of public morality in Offaly during the war years, 1914–18: a story from Birr. By Michael Byrne

The killing of Sergeant Henry Cronin in Tullamore on Sunday 31 October 1920 and the consequences in Tullamore and Clara. By Michael Byrne

The King’s/ Offaly County Council election of June 1920: ‘remarkable, memorable, and revolutionary’.

The IRA attack on Clara Barracks on 2 June 1920: the opening salvo in the War of Independence in Offaly. Michael Byrne

THE WAR OF INDEPENDENCE IN OFFALY: ACTIVITIES AND PART1CIPANTS Report from Offaly Brigade 1. Who was in or about Clara on 2 June 1920?

Ernie O’Malley in Tullamore and Offaly in April 1918. Offaly History

Brigade Activity Reports of the IRA, 1916–23 and Tullamore and Clara in the aftermath of the killing of RIC Sergeant Cronin in October 1920 during the War of Independence. Michael Byrne

Fate and the killing of Sergeant Cronin of Tullamore in October 1920 during the War of Independence: release of Brigade Activity Reports from the Military Archive. Michael Byrne

The by-election and the general election in Offaly in 1918, Michael Byrne

Durrow Abbey House, Tullamore A better future on the horizon for the monastic site, house and lands?

Liam Ó Briain visits Tullamore on Easter Sunday morning 23 April 1916 to issue countermand orders to the Volunteers and tell them the Rising was off.

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