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    Founded in 1938 and re-established in 1969, Offaly History (Offaly Historical and Archaeological Society) aims to preserve and promote the rich heritage of County Offaly. Since 1993, the Society has occupied premises at Bury Quay, Tullamore offering a Bookshop, library, reading room, and lecture hall for researcher and members of the public.  Offaly History Centre is beside the new Aldi Supermarket and Old Warehouse restaurant), and best approached from Kilbride Street via Patrick Street or Main Street.

    The main objective of the society is the collection and sharing of research and memories. We do this in an organised way; through exhibitions, the publication of local interest books, weekly blog posts, monthly lectures, and more. The bookshop and reading rooms at Bury Quay are open to the public Monday to Friday, 9am-4:30pm. Regular updates can also be found at our website, www.Offalyhistory.com and on our social media channels on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and X.

    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.
    • Photographic collections of County Offaly
    • Purchase and sale of Offaly interest books though the Society’s book store and website with over 3000 history books in our shop and up to 1000 online.
    • Publication of books under the Society’s publishing arm Esker Press.
    • The Society subscribes to almost all the premier historical journals in Ireland.
    • The Society manages the collections if Offaly Archives under the care of a professional archivist.

    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 artefacts.
    • 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 social media. Organising tours during the summer months to places of shared historical interest.
    • The publication of an annual journal Offaly Heritage – to date twelve 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 1,000,000 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 artefacts (now over 25,000 items and a catalogue online)
    • OHAS Collections
    • OHAS Centre Facilities
    The financial activities of the Society are operated under the aegis of Offaly Heritage Centre c.l.g, 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.

    2024 Committee
    • Helen Bracken (President)
    • Shaun Wrafter (Vice President)
    • Michael Byrne (Secretary)
    • Dorothee Bibby (Treasurer)
    • Charlie Finlay (Assistant Treasurer)
    • Niall Sweeney
    • Ciarán McCabe
    • Noel Guerin
    • Angela Kelly
    • Rory Masterson
    • Oliver Dunne
    • Frank Brennan
    • Pat Wynne
    • Laura Price
    Co-opted
    • Reneagh Bennett
    • Michael Scully
    • Jim Keating
    • Eamon Larkin
    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 at [email protected] or let an existing member know.  
    +353-5793-21421 [email protected] Open 9am-4.30pm Mon-Fri

    Soccer, Rugby and Dancing at Spollanstown, Tullamore, County Offaly. By Michael Byrne

    The growth of the soccer club and the rugby club from the mid-1960s led to increased pressure on the grounds such that from time-to-time fixture lists had to be substantially revised so that a pitch would be available. The soccer club enjoyed a tremendous burst of success right through the 1960s while the rugby club was fielding a 2nd XV from the mid-1960s. It was this pressure on the resources at Spollanstown that, more than anything else, led to the dissolution of the Sports Club in 1971. But a secondary factor was the collapse of the carnivals and marquee dancing as a profitable venture from 1966. Thereafter for some five years substantial revenue was earned from Saturday night dancing. These Saturday night hops were largely the responsibility of the rugby club and the profits generated made the argument for independence irresistible. In January 1968 the rugby committee noted that the Sports Club had had a disastrous year financially and would be down £300 but for the profit of £540 from the Saturday night dances. The view of the meeting was that the rugby club wanted a home of its own even if this meant leaving Spollanstown. Soon after the Sports Club met and agreed to dispose of the bungalow built for the caretaker adjacent to the grounds for the sum of £2,650 to pay off the liabilities of the trustees.

    First trustees of the Tullamore Rugby and Soccer Club, 1956. Back row: T. Kelly, G. Smyth, H.L. Egan, W. Champ, D. Kilroy; front row: Terry Adams, W. Stephens, J. Kilroy, O. McGlinchey.

    The rugby club was at the time availing of land lent by Michael Galvin of Ardan and the Tullamore Harriers Club for use by the 2nd XV and to resolve the accommodation problem negotiations opened with the soccer club in mid-1968 for the purchase of their interest. The soccer club countered with an offer of £2,000 for the grounds but this was rejected. An offer of £4,000 by the rugby club followed and in December 1968 the soccer club wrote offering £5,000 to the rugby club to vacate Spollanstown. This offer was accepted and the rugby club began to look around for new grounds. The agreement provided for the payment of the first instalment of £1,250 before August 1969 with the balance payable before the end of April 1970.

    The current and former presidents of Tullamore Rugby Club gathered for the golden jubilee memoir in 1987:

    The rugby club was now in search of new grounds and by May 1969 a suitable field was selected at Durrow and agreement in principle reached to buy it at £3,100. Tullamore-born architect, Fergal MacCabe, was requested to prepare plans for a clubhouse and these were ready in early 1970. The tenders received put the cost of the clubhouse at c. £17,000 which was beyond the club’s resources at the time. It was reckoned that the club would need a income of £3.000 per year to finance repayments and this at a time when the main source of income, Saturday night dancing, was beginning to falter as a result of the competition from two new ballrooms in Tullamore. The club would have to severely curtail its plans for the new pavilion at Durrow, because even allowing for a loan from the Rugby Union the cost would be too heavy. This unpleasant aspect of economic reality was sinking in when out when out of the blue came the news from the soccer club that they would have difficulty, not so much in raising the £5,000, as the additional finance necessary to improve the pavilion and the personnel to manage it on a day-to-day basis. At the a.g.m. of the rugby club held in May 1970 it was announced that the soccer club had accepted a final offer of £6,500 for its interest in Spollanstown together with playing rights for three seasons free of charge and two more if required. The rugby club was to take possession in September 1970 and the pitch and putt course was to go one year later so as to expand the pitches.

    The immediate financial problems for the club of finding £6,500 for Spollanstown and c. £3,500 for Durrow were taken care of by the Rugby Union who now bought Durrow with an option to purchase at a later date by the Tullamore club and also bought the sports field at Spollanstown (but not the pavilion) for £6,500. The Rugby Union later bought the freehold title to the Spollanstown grounds for an additional £2000.

    One of great supporters at Spollantown was Micky Byrne. He was known to shout jokingly to a visiting referee: ‘You came down with them, You played with them, You can go home with them’.

    Repair and improvement works were carried out in the first season and such works were continued on an irregular basis for the next ten years until 1981 when a major reconstruction job was completed. In the 1970–71 season a sum of £4,500 was spent renovating the pavilion, but at the end of the season the club had an overdraft of only £1,700 because of the income from the bar (£1,500 on a turnover of £4,000), dances and subscriptions. Bar revenue had proved buoyant at a time when income from dances was dropping, notwithstanding such innovations as dancing during Lent from 1970.

    The clubhouse about 1987.

    Despite the fall in dance income, the failure of discotheques first on Wednesday and later on Friday nights, the overdraft of £1,700 was wiped out in 1971–72. There now followed work on the grounds and this was effected in 1972–73 at a cost of c. £3,000. Even though the Saturday night dances finished in that season the club’s income was still good because of bar sales. The club had a good financial year in 1973–74 having a surplus of income over expenditure of c. £3,000. Club income at the time was derived from the following:

    Gross profit on bar takings (32.5%)…………. £3,840                                                                             

    Socials and dances ……………………………   £620                                                Subscriptions ………………………………….   £387                                             300 and 200 draws …………………………… £1,017

    In 1975 the club decided to purchase the lease of the Durrow playing field from the I.R.F.U. by the way of a first instalment of £1,000 and four annual payments of £1,000 each. This was to be of the greatest benefit to the club in 1979 when the Durrow property was sold by Tullamore for improvements to the pavilion. In 1975 the pavilion was again improved by the addition of a porch at the back and a new store at a cost of almost £4,000. Much needed drainage work on the pitches cost £1,300.

    A feature of the rugby club throughout the 1970s and indeed into the 1980s was its ability to keep within certain budgetary limits and avoid any excessive burden of debt. An overdraft in one year was usually converted into a credit balance the following year. In terms of physical development 1978–79 was another great year for the club with the completion of a pavilion extension by contractor and club member, the late Vincent Ennis, for c. £10,000 and the purchase of a field at Spollanstown measuring about 2.75 acres from Mr. Harry Lawrence for c. £20,000. The new acquisition would serve as a third pitch. The completion of both major developments had been made possible by the sale of the grounds at Durrow for £40,000.

    Book launch 1987 at Tullamore Rugby Club: -, Paul Wrafter, Dermot Kilroy, Claude Hill.

    The improvements to the pavilion in 1979 were of an interim nature and the final stage in the process of reconstruction and decoration was completed over the period July to October 1981 by Vincent Ennis, at a cost of £55,000. The architect was Tony Bennett, club member, and an associate of Eugene Garvey and Partners. This involved the addition of 700 square feet, the revamping of a further 800 square feet and the redecoration of the entire premises. Thanks to a contribution of £15,000 from the club’s Tour committee fund this major undertaking was achieved without any significant loan funding.

    The enormous workload the growing club was generating was tackled in mid-1979 by the creation of sub-committees to manage the various activities of the club and report back to a nine-man executive. Sub-committees were created for the bar, socials, catering, coaching, selection and youth. This new system, introduced as a result of a report from Vincent Cannon and his working party, has operated well since its inception and has served to bring more of the playing members into the administrative activities of the club.

    Tullamore Rugby Club team about 1960 with some familiar faces including John Doyle, Tom Hayden and name the rest.

    Tullamore Rugby Club by 1987 had first-class facilities for all its members on and off the field. Besides the bar and dance floor it could boast six dressing rooms, shower accommodation to match and three top-class, full-size pitches. Notwithstanding this the club was not content to sit on its laurels and commenced a new phase of development in jubilee year which would upgrade the pavilion and improve the lighting to the third pitch.

    The Club will celebrate its centenary year in 2037. Affiliation to the IRFU came in 1937 with the revival and the founding of the second club. The new Offaly Heritage 12 has an article on Association Football in Tullamore and a piece on the Sterling family. Very soon we will run articles on Tullamore’s first gym and on early golf in Offaly.

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