Events Search and Views Navigation
November 2017
The Dáil Éireann Courts of County Offaly, 1920 -1922 – Steven Egan
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…
Find out more »December 2017
Social life in Tullamore since the 1950s, political intrigue and the music scene in Ireland – Jackie Finlay
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…
Find out more »Flights of Fancy, Offaly Follies and their Demesnes – Rachel McKenna
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…
Find out more »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
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…
Find out more »February 2018
Matthew Stout on Early Medieval Ireland
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…
Find out more »Cancelled -The Minnits of Anabeg – Film Screening
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,…
Find out more »March 2018
Dr George Cunningham on Round Towers
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…
Find out more »April 2018
Bernie Moran on River Systems – Super-highways of Early Christian Ireland.
Bernie Moran on River Systems - Super-highways of Early Christian Ireland.
Find out more »May 2018
Helen Bracken – The Heritage of Durrow – DEFERRED UNTIL HERITAGE WEEK
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.
Find out more »June 2018
Members Outing: Dublin
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.
Find out more »July 2018
Tour -The Historic Sites of Kilcormac and Ballyboy
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.
Find out more »August 2018
Tour – Sites of old industries of Tullamore from malting, distilling to silk and glass.
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.
Find out more »Tour – Durrow Monastic Site
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.
Find out more »Tour (Tullamore) Railway, Salts Factory, Kilcruttin Cemetery
Heritage Week tour. Railway (Charlie Finlay), Salts (Pat Doheny and Paddy Cleary), Kilcruttin Cemetery (MB). Meet at Town Park car park at 2pm
Find out more »Book Launch – Four Offaly Saints
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…
Find out more »September 2018
Launch of Offaly Heritage 10
Launch of the society’s tenth journal since 2003, Offaly Heritage 10 and presentation on the contents by some of the contributors.
Find out more »October 2018
Dr Joachim Fischer – German visitors to Ireland and the Irish Midlands from 1750. POSTPONED
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.
Find out more »Ciara Molloy – The Islandmagee Witches
Join us for a Hallowe'en themed lecture by Ciara Molloy on the the Islandmagee witch trial which took place in 1710–1711.
Find out more »November 2018
December 2018
Ciarán Reilly – The history of Capard House in Slieve Bloom
Christmas Meeting with an illustrated talk by Ciarán Reilly on The history of Capard House in Slieve Bloom. Followed by Christmas refreshments.
Find out more »January 2019
Offaly Historical and Archaeological Society AGM
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…
Find out more »Kevin Corrigan – The story of the Tullamore Harriers Club 1953-2018
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…
Find out more »February 2019
Archives: the raw materials of history. Illustrated lecture by Lisa Shortall
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…
Find out more »March 2019
German travel writers on the Irish midlands, 1750 to today. Lecture by Dr Joachim Fischer
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…
Find out more »April 2019
Using early maps to explore local history and heritage – a midlands perspectives. Lecture by Dr Arnold Horner
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.
Find out more »May 2019
Commemorating the 100th anniversary of the death of Henry Egan. Walking tour in Tullamore led by Maurice Egan
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…
Find out more »August 2019
Heritage Week tour – The old industries of Tanyard Lane, Tullamore
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.
Find out more »Heritage Week tour – the new Offaly Archives building
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
Find out more »Heritage Week tour – Offaly History’s library and exhibitions
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.
Find out more »Heritage Week tour – Offaly History’s library and exhibitions
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.
Find out more »Heritage Week tour – West Offaly castles, part 2
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.
Find out more »Heritage Week tour – Durrow High Cross and exploration of the old families of Durrow buried in the Durrow cemeteries.
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…
Find out more »September 2019
October 2019
Offaly in the Military Service (1916-1923) Pensions Collection. Lecture by Cécile Gordon
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…
Find out more »November 2019
POSTPONED UNTIL 2020 ‘The Tudor transition in the midlands c.1547-1603’. Lecture by Dr Diarmuid Wheeler
'"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.
Find out more »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.
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…
Find out more »
