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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
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.

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
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November 2017

The Dáil Éireann Courts of County Offaly, 1920 -1922 – Steven Egan

November 20, 2017 @ 8:00 pm - 10:00 pm
Offaly History Centre, Bury Quay
Tullamore, Ireland
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The Dáil Éireann Courts of County Offaly, 1920 -1922 - Steven Egan Nov 20th, Offaly History, Bury Quay, Tullamore Members €2 Non members €5 Steven Egan is currently a first year PhD candidate at Queen’s University Belfast. Egan received his B.A. in History and Politics fromUniversity Belfast in 2016 and completed his M.A. in History at Queen’s in September 2017. During his undergraduate studies, he won a scholarship place on the inaugural QUB-Vanderbilt University ‘Maymester’ class (2015) and was also…

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December 2017

Social life in Tullamore since the 1950s, political intrigue and the music scene in Ireland – Jackie Finlay

December 1, 2017 @ 8:30 pm - 10:30 pm
Offaly History Centre, Bury Quay
Tullamore, Ireland
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OFFALY HISTORICAL AND ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOCIETY has pleasure in inviting you to a reception at 8.30 p.m. on Friday 1 December 2017 at Offaly History Centre, Bury Quay,Tullamore (beside Tullamore DEW Visitor Centre) To mark the launch of Memories are made of this: Jackie Finlay on social life in Tullamore since the 1950s, political intrigue and the music scene in Ireland by Jackie Finlay Guest Speaker: Mr Barry Cowen, TD Published by Dillonite Press (Tullamore, 2017), retailing at €14.99. Following the…

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Flights of Fancy, Offaly Follies and their Demesnes – Rachel McKenna

December 7, 2017 @ 8:00 pm - 10:00 pm
Offaly History Centre, Bury Quay
Tullamore, Ireland
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Dec. 7th, 8PM, Offaly History, Bury Quay, Tullamore Members €2 non members €5 At the Tullamore launch of Flights of Fancy: Follies, Families and Demesnes in Offaly, the author, Rachel McKenna (Architect, Offaly County Council), will discuss the premise of the book which seeks to describe and illustrate the built heritage contained within the country house demesnes of county Offaly. It will look at the remarkable range of follies within the county including towers, eye catchers and gazebos. From the…

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January 2018

Suzanne Behan -The 50 Francis Street Photographer – a social history of Dublin in the 1950s and 60s through the work of photographer John Walsh

January 29, 2018 @ 8:00 pm - 11:00 pm
Offaly History Centre, Bury Quay
Tullamore, Ireland
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29th January 2018 @ 8PM. The 50 Francis Street Photographer - a social history of Dublin in the 1950s and 60s through the work of photographer John Walsh.  From the 1950s to the 1990s, John Walsh ran his photography business out of a small shop on 50 Francis Street in inner city Dublin. For over forty years, he took thousands of photos on all aspects of Dublin life - funerals, communions, weddings, christening, concerts, and events. Here in this collection, for the first time…

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February 2018

Matthew Stout on Early Medieval Ireland

February 22, 2018 @ 8:00 pm - 10:00 pm
Offaly History Centre, Bury Quay
Tullamore, Ireland
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A lecture by Matthew Stout on Early Medieval Ireland and a Tullamore, Offaly launch of his new book. Refreshments post launch. A chance to get a signed copy and a discounted price. Thursday 22 Feb. 2018 at 8 p.m. at Offaly History Centre, Bury Quay, Tullamore. This book is the first narrative history of early medieval Ireland in a single volume. It takes the reader from the foundations of a Celtic culture on the island of Ireland to the arrival…

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Cancelled -The Minnits of Anabeg – Film Screening

February 26, 2018
Offaly History Centre, Bury Quay
Tullamore, Ireland

We are sorry to announce that tonight's event has been cancelled due to circumstances beyond our control.  We apologise for any inconvenience. Cancelled Event -The Minnits of Anabeg which is also based on a true story, featuring Patrick Bergin. In 1850s Ireland, a land owner has to disinherit his only son because he marries a local Catholic girl. The Minnitts of Anabeg tells the true story of the Minnitt family and the generations that lived in Anabeg house near Nenagh,…

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March 2018

Dr George Cunningham on Round Towers

March 26, 2018 @ 8:00 pm - 10:00 pm
Offaly History Centre, Bury Quay
Tullamore, Ireland
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Dr George Cunningham on Round Towers with particular reference to Offaly and the Midlands. Monday 26 March 2018 at 8 p.m. at Offaly History Centre, Bury Quay, Tullamore. The evening will commence with the conferring of Honorary Life Membership on George Cunningham. George was unable to attend the December conferrings, but we benefit in that he accepted our invitation to speak to the society and his talk on the Round Towers of Ireland will follow. This is a very special…

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April 2018

Bernie Moran on River Systems – Super-highways of Early Christian Ireland.

April 23, 2018 @ 8:00 pm - 10:00 pm
Offaly History Centre, Bury Quay
Tullamore, Ireland
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Bernie Moran on River Systems - Super-highways of Early Christian Ireland.

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May 2018

Helen Bracken – The Heritage of Durrow – DEFERRED UNTIL HERITAGE WEEK

May 28, 2018 @ 8:00 pm - 10:00 pm
Offaly History Centre, Bury Quay
Tullamore, Ireland
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Helen Bracken - The Heritage of Durrow : progress to date and what is to come. An illustrated presentation in the days before the annual pattern of 9 June.

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June 2018

Members Outing: Dublin

June 30, 2018 @ 8:00 am - 10:00 pm
Dublin (tour) Dublin, Ireland

Members Outing: Dublin From Tullamore railway station, and then by shared taxis, Dublin outing: Marsh's Library, National Print Museum, Little Museum of Dublin, the new headquarters of the Irish Georgian Society.

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July 2018

Tour -The Historic Sites of Kilcormac and Ballyboy

July 8, 2018 @ 3:00 pm - 11:00 pm

The Historic Sites of Kilcormac and Ballyboy. To meet in the grounds of the Catholic church at 3pm (ample parking). The Historic Sites of Kilcormac and Ballyboy to include the Catholic church, the parochial grounds, the Mercy Convent, Born na Mona housing and on to Ballyboy , the village, church, cemetery and old hall concluding with refreshments in Dan and Molly's celebrated historic pub.

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August 2018

Tour – Sites of old industries of Tullamore from malting, distilling to silk and glass.

August 19, 2018 @ 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm

19 August, Sunday, Heritage Week tour of Sites of old industries of Tullamore from malting, distilling to silk and glass. Michael Byrne and David Egan,  2 00 p.m. from O’Connor Square. This will include the old distillery, the brewery of P. & H. Egan, the tobacco factory of Goodbody, the tanneries, maltings and bacon curing in Tanyard Lane, the coach factory in High Street.

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Tour – Durrow Monastic Site

August 25, 2018 @ 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm

Tour of the Monastic Site at Durrow and the Catholic Church and cemetery. Helen Bracken will meet callers to the old church from that time for a talk and tour of the site including the church, cemetery, High Cross and Holy Well.  

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Tour (Tullamore) Railway, Salts Factory, Kilcruttin Cemetery

August 26, 2018 @ 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm

Heritage Week tour.   Railway (Charlie Finlay), Salts (Pat Doheny and Paddy Cleary), Kilcruttin Cemetery (MB). Meet at Town Park car park at 2pm

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Book Launch – Four Offaly Saints

August 27, 2018 @ 8:00 pm - 10:00 pm
Offaly History Centre, Bury Quay
Tullamore, Ireland
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Book launch: Four Offaly Saints by Pádraig Ó Riain  Followed by a presentation on these Offaly saints by Professor Ó Riain, Professor Emeritus of Early and Medieval Irish at University College Cork. Professor Ó Riain was with us about six years ago when his best-selling Dictionary of Irish Saints was published. This is your chance to hear him again, or for the first time. He is a charming speaker with huge learning that he wears lightly. He will be signing copies of…

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September 2018

Launch of Offaly Heritage 10

September 24, 2018 @ 8:00 pm - 10:00 pm
Offaly History Centre, Bury Quay
Tullamore, Ireland
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Launch of the society’s tenth journal since 2003, Offaly Heritage 10 and presentation on the contents by some of the contributors.  

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October 2018

Dr Joachim Fischer – German visitors to Ireland and the Irish Midlands from 1750. POSTPONED

October 22, 2018 @ 8:00 pm - 10:00 pm
Offaly History Centre, Bury Quay
Tullamore, Ireland
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This lecture has been postponed until Spring 2019. Apologies for any inconvenience.   Dr Joachim Fischer on German visitors to Ireland and the Irish Midlands from 1750. Dr Joachim Fischer is Senior Lecturer in German and Joint Director of the Centre for Irish-German Studies at the University of Limerick.

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Ciara Molloy – The Islandmagee Witches

October 29, 2018 @ 8:00 pm - 10:00 pm
Offaly History Centre, Bury Quay
Tullamore, Ireland
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Join us for a Hallowe'en themed lecture by Ciara Molloy on the the Islandmagee witch trial which took place in 1710–1711.

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November 2018

Launch of Offaly and the Great War

November 11, 2018 @ 2:30 pm - 5:00 pm
Tullamore Central Library, O'Connor Square
Tullamore, Ireland
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December 2018

Ciarán Reilly – The history of Capard House in Slieve Bloom

December 13, 2018 @ 8:00 pm - 10:00 pm
Offaly History Centre, Bury Quay
Tullamore, Ireland
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Christmas Meeting with an illustrated talk by Ciarán Reilly on The history of Capard House in Slieve Bloom.  Followed by Christmas refreshments.

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January 2019

Offaly Historical and Archaeological Society AGM

January 28, 2019 @ 7:30 pm - 8:30 pm

Introduction  President Helen Bracken 1. Minute of the last AGM 2. Secretary’s Report – Michael Byrne 3. Treasurer’s Report of Society, Charles Finlay 4. Community Employment Scheme Report Lisa Shortall 5. Election of committee for 2019 – 14 places excluding President. 6. Offaly Archives Service – report from President and Lisa Shortall on the progress of the works. 7. The 50th anniversary of the Society – a cause for celebration. The Society was founded in 1969 and built on the…

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Kevin Corrigan – The story of the Tullamore Harriers Club 1953-2018

January 28, 2019 @ 8:30 pm - 10:00 pm

Kevin Corrigan will speak on ‘The story of the Tullamore Harriers Club, 1953-2018’. Kevin is the author of the history of the club published in November 2018. Tullamore Harriers was formed on a famous night in November 1953 when a group of nine young men, mostly in their twenties, gathered on the town’s William Street and held their first meeting in Clarke’s Hairdressers. It set the wheels in motion for an incredible sixty five years as the club became absolutely…

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February 2019

Archives: the raw materials of history. Illustrated lecture by Lisa Shortall

February 28, 2019 @ 8:00 pm - 10:00 pm
Offaly History Centre, Bury Quay
Tullamore, Ireland
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Archives: the raw materials of history. Illustrated lecture by Lisa Shortall What are archives and why do we need to keep them? Who decides what goes into an archive and what is left out? How can we use archives for historical research and what are the pitfalls to look out for? What archives are available in Offaly and where can you see them? All these questions and more will be discussed by Lisa Shortall in her whistlestop history of the…

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March 2019

German travel writers on the Irish midlands, 1750 to today. Lecture by Dr Joachim Fischer

March 25, 2019 @ 8:00 pm - 10:00 pm
Offaly History Centre, Bury Quay
Tullamore, Ireland
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25 March, Monday, 8 p.m.  Dr Joachim Fischer on ‘German travel writers on the Irish midlands, 1750 to today: A survey’. Dr Joachim Fischer is Senior Lecturer in German and Joint Director of the Centre for Irish-German Studies at the University of Limerick. In 1954, German Nobel Prize winning author Heinrich Böll spent an afternoon on Hare Island, Lough Ree. An illuminating chapter in his Irisches Tagebuch (An Irish Journal; 1957) describes his visit including the man who brought him…

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April 2019

Using early maps to explore local history and heritage – a midlands perspectives. Lecture by Dr Arnold Horner

April 11, 2019 @ 8:00 pm - 10:00 pm
Offaly History Centre, Bury Quay
Tullamore, Ireland
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11 April Thursday, 8 p.m. Dr Arnold Horner 'Using early maps to explore local history and heritage – a midlands perspectives'. His new book on Mapping Laois will be given an Offaly launch immediately after the lecture with refreshments to follow and signed copies available.

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May 2019

Commemorating the 100th anniversary of the death of Henry Egan. Walking tour in Tullamore led by Maurice Egan

May 18, 2019 @ 3:30 pm - 5:00 pm

18 May   Commemorating the 100th anniversary of the death of Henry Egan, first chairman of Offaly County Council (1899-1910) and one of the founders of P. & H. Egan Limited. We meet for a walk in Tullamore to the places associated with the firm starting at the town hall, formerly the residence of Henry Egan at 15.30. p.m. See our articles and blog on Henry Egan and a funeral you ought to have attended.   PLEASE NOTE CHANGE OF TIME…

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August 2019

Heritage Week tour – The old industries of Tanyard Lane, Tullamore

August 18, 2019 @ 2:30 pm - 4:30 pm

Meet outside Tullamore Central Library, O’Connor Square, Tullamore at 2.30pm The tour will include talks by Noel Guerin and Dan Geraghty on Tullamore Bacon Factory; John Flanagan on Tanyard Lane industries from the 1960s; Michael Byrne on tanning, malting, brewing.

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Heritage Week tour – the new Offaly Archives building

August 19, 2019 @ 10:00 am - 7:00 pm

Meet outside Unit IF, Axis Business Park, Clara Road, Tullamore (opposite Glenwood) The tour will include a talk by Lisa Shortall – ‘Introduction to the new Offaly Archives’ Booking essential as the tour is strictly confined to groups of ten at 11am and 7pm. Booking at [email protected]; 05793 21421

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Heritage Week tour – Offaly History’s library and exhibitions

August 20, 2019 @ 2:00 pm - 3:30 pm
Offaly History Centre, Bury Quay
Tullamore, Ireland
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Meet at Offaly History Centre, Bury Quay, Tullamore (beside Tullamore DEW). The tour will be of the library, exhibitions, and history bookshop of the society with a short illustrated presentation.

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Heritage Week tour – Offaly History’s library and exhibitions

August 22, 2019 @ 2:00 pm - 3:30 pm
Offaly History Centre, Bury Quay
Tullamore, Ireland
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Meet at Offaly History Centre, Bury Quay, Tullamore (beside Tullamore DEW). The tour will be of the library, exhibitions, and history bookshop of the society with a short illustrated presentation.

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Heritage Week tour – West Offaly castles, part 2

August 24, 2019 @ 10:00 am - 5:00 pm
Crank House Banagher, Main Street
Banagher, County Offaly R42 DE61 Ireland
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One of the highlights of last year's Heritage Week was a tour of the some of the castles of West Offaly, including Garrycastle and Clonony. James Scully and Kieran Keenaghan return this year to tour some other notable castles in the district.   Saturday 24 August 2019 at 10.00 am to 5 pm Meet at Crank House, Banagher. Carpooling recommended. No wheelchair access, admission free.

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Heritage Week tour – Durrow High Cross and exploration of the old families of Durrow buried in the Durrow cemeteries.

August 25, 2019 @ 2:30 pm - 5:00 pm

Meet at 2. 30pm, Sunday 25 August at the old Abbey Church in Durrow Demesne for a talk by Helen Bracken on the High Crosses and the story of St Columcille. At 3.30pm An exploration of the old families of Durrow through its cemeteries starting with that beside the Abbey Church (from the 1650s), next the Catholic Church (from 1832) and finally the Church of Ireland cemetery (from 1881)   Admission free   At Durrow Demesne on the Tullamore to…

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September 2019

Poverty and Poor Relief in Pre-famine Offaly (King’s County). Lecture by Dr Ciaran McCabe

September 23, 2019 @ 8:00 pm - 10:00 pm
Offaly History Centre, Bury Quay
Tullamore, Ireland
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October 2019

Tullamore launch of Buildings of Ireland: Central Leinster (Offaly Kildare and Laois). Andrew Tierney

October 10, 2019 @ 8:00 pm - 10:00 pm
Offaly History Centre, Bury Quay
Tullamore, Ireland
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Offaly in the Military Service (1916-1923) Pensions Collection. Lecture by Cécile Gordon

October 21, 2019 @ 8:00 pm - 10:00 pm
Offaly History Centre, Bury Quay
Tullamore, Ireland
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  Cécile Gordon  is Senior Archivist and Project Manager of the Military Service (1916-1923) Pensions Project in the Military Archives of Ireland. The Project is a Government initiative led by the Department of Defence and supported by the Defence Forces. The MSP Collection contains around 250,000 unique records covering the period of the Irish struggle for Independence. The Project's core mission concerns the preservation of the material and the provision of access to this major primary source. Cécile has been…

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November 2019

POSTPONED UNTIL 2020 ‘The Tudor transition in the midlands c.1547-1603’. Lecture by Dr Diarmuid Wheeler

November 18, 2019 @ 8:00 pm - 10:00 pm
Offaly History Centre, Bury Quay
Tullamore, Ireland
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'"Strongest...in the English Pale, walled with stone and guardable against any Irish rebel", the Tudor transition in the midlands, c.1547-1603.' Illustrated lecture by Dr Diarmuid Wheeler.

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Book launch: ‘Capard- an Irish country house and estate’ by Dr Ciaran Reilly

November 25, 2019 @ 8:00 pm
Offaly History Centre, Bury Quay
Tullamore, Ireland
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December 2019

Christmas Special: A miscellany of readings and songs relate the love story of Arthur Bell Nicholls of Banagher and the great Victorian novelist Charlotte Brontë. James Scully and friends.

December 5, 2019 @ 8:00 pm - 10:00 pm
Hugh Lynch’s Bar, Kilbride St
Tullamore, Co Offaly, Ireland (Ire)
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€12

A miscellany of readings and songs relate the love story of Arthur Bell Nicholls and the great Victorian novelist Charlotte Brontë. Using extracts from letters and poems written by the principals involved and their relations and friends, this romance unfolds gently with allusions to the great joys and sorrows that the passionate affair engendered. Covering the period 1825 to 1915 the performance recounts the early years of Arthur Bell Nicholls when he lived in Cuba Court then the Royal School…

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January 2020

AGM of Offaly Historical and Archaeological Society

January 27, 2020 @ 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Offaly History Centre, Bury Quay
Tullamore, Ireland
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Further memories of the Rural Electrification Scheme in County Offaly. By John Gibbons

January 27, 2020 @ 8:00 pm - 10:00 pm
Offaly History Centre, Bury Quay
Tullamore, Ireland
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February 2020

Richard Hayward and the River Shannon. By Paul Clements

February 17, 2020 @ 8:00 pm - 10:00 pm
Offaly History Centre, Bury Quay
Tullamore, Ireland
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March 2020

POSTPONED ‘Catherine Maria Bury and the design of Charleville Castle, Co Offaly 1800-1812’. Lecture by Dr Judith Hill

March 30, 2020 @ 8:00 pm - 10:00 pm
Offaly History Centre, Bury Quay
Tullamore, Ireland
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April 2020

POSTPONED-Offaly (King’s County) in the 1641 depositions. By Dr Eamonn Darcy

April 20, 2020 @ 8:00 pm - 10:00 pm
Offaly History Centre, Bury Quay
Tullamore, Ireland
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May 2020

POSTPONED-County Offaly in the National Folklore Collection, UCD. By Jonny Dillon

May 18, 2020 @ 8:00 pm - 10:00 pm
Offaly History Centre, Bury Quay
Tullamore, Ireland
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