offalyhistoryblog

The year 2024 was another good year for publications on Offaly history with overviews of County Offaly towns, books on Tullamore, Birr and a musician from Killeigh who acquired fame in the United States. We also had Cloneygowan, canals, peat, a Feehan bibliography and natural history.

Some new Offaly interest publications in 2024

Michael Byrne (ed.), Tullamore in the Sixties, A decade of innovation and improvement (Esker Press, Tullamore, 2024), 452 pp, €22.99 softback, €29.95 hardback, full colour, ISBN 978-1-909822-40-5 (hardcover), ISBN 978-1-909822-41-2 (softcover); 29 chapters, 350 photographs, 18 essayists. The 1960s was a critical period in the development of Tullamore with significant change by contrast with the forty years previous. Local improvements reflected national trends, but Tullamore enjoyed significant trade because of its local businesses of D.E. Williams, P. & H. Egan, Salts, Tullamore Bacon Factory, Michael Galvin and Cappincur Joinery. Tullamore was the home of Irish Mist Liqueur, Tullamore Dew whiskey, and the Tullamore sausage. Tullamore was the administrative centre of the county with county council offices, that of Tullamore Urban District Council and other service facilities for banks and insurance companies. It was the location of the county hospital and of St Vincent’s ‘County Home’. Success in the national Tidy Towns Competition in 1961, 1963 and 1965 had given the town an air of confidence and a willingness to invest in its appearance. In the region Tullamore was strong and on a par in shopping with Athlone and Mullingar and larger than Portlaoise and Longford. Growth in the first half of the decade was greatly underpinned by the success of Bord na Móna and the ESB in harnessing the peat resources of the county. Available from Offaly History Centre, Midland Books, Tullamore, and online at www.offalyhistory.com

The changing face of Offaly towns in the early 1900s: An illustrated history of Offaly towns in a time of modernisation and innovation. Michael Byrne with contributions from Paul Barber, Stephen Callaghan, Grace Clendennen, Kevin Corrigan, Michael Goodbody, Ger Murphy, John Powell, Laura Price, Ciarán Reilly and Brendan Ryan. Hardback, 368 pages, full colour, large format. ISBN 978-1-909822-38-2 (hard back), €27.99. This is the first book to provide a photographic record of the towns and villages in County Offaly (formerly King’s County) in a time of tremendous political, social and economic change from 1900 to 1923.

Available from Offaly History Centre, Midland Books, Tullamore, Birr Castle Demesne bookshop and online at www.offalyhistory.com

Step into Nature by Rachel Mc Kenna ISBN: 9781781179529 2024 Mercier Press, 432 pp €16.99 is a captivating seasonal Irish nature diary. Rachel McKenna’s writing style is not just direct and simple, it’s a personal invitation to explore nature. Her words, accompanied by stunning photographs and artwork, create a nature diary that speaks directly to the reader’s heart. Step into Nature is an inspiring account of direct encounters with the everyday flora and fauna that surround us. It encourages readers to stop and look and engage with the natural world. This book will appeal to both experienced naturalists and neophyte nature enthusiasts, opening doors to a new generation of readers who wish to discover the wonders of nature in their own corner of the world and preserve it for future generations.

The Erin Story – the power to Grow – Jackpot Ltd, Erin Peat Products Ltd, Erin Horticulture Ltd, by John Molloy and Shane Garvey, compiled and edited by Anthony Dargan, 2024, 143 pp, €20.00 softback A4

‘THE Erin Story, The Power to Grow’, a book about the founding and development of a successful and unique company in the Irish midlands.

Irelands Grand Canal: People, Peat & Porter, Eunice Jeffers, 2024 publishers The Heritage Boat Association, 72pp, Soft back €20.00

– People, Peat & Porter is the first in a new series of “Studies from our Waterways” from the Heritage Boat Association. This limited edition is based on a dissertation written by Eunice Jeffers. It looks at canal development in general and the Grand Canal in particular and covers the history of one canal boat in particular which was in the Jeffers family for a time. It also looks at the lives of some of the people associated with the boat and the canal. Copiously illustrated, it contains some images from the Shortall collection. Ireland’s Grand Canal: People, Peat & Porter  was launched in August 2024.All interested in the Grand Canal and industrial archaeology will need this first class study of the impact that the canal made on communities and business. It is available at our shop and online at www.offalyhistory.com €20.

Memories of Offaly, Aidan Grennan, 2024, Brosna Press, 116 pp Soft Back €15.00. This book is filled with interesting recollections, from someone who has grown up and lived in Co. Offaly. Aidan Grennan tells us what it was like visiting some of the shops in Tullamore, when he was a child. He relates the stories of visiting the town’s two cinemas, the Ritz and the Grand Central.

Aidan fills us in on what it was like going to the dances in both the Central Ballroom and the Tullamore Harriers. His one year at the Tullamore ‘Tech’ is also included. Memorable Sundays following the Offaly hurlers and footballers are brought back to life, too. The great variety of stories in this book cover frog-swallowing in Ballycumber and recounting his own father’s wit. And there’s one lengthy chapter on the news and events in Offaly, over the last 100 years. If you like nostalgia, there’s plenty to interest you here.

Charlotte, a novel, Martina Devlin, publisher the Lilliput Press, 2024, 329 pp, Softback, €16.95

Charlotte Brontë, who dazzled the world with some of literature’s most vital and richly-drawn characters, spent her brief but extraordinary life in search of love. She eventually found it with Arthur Bell, a reserved yet passionate Irishman. After marrying, the pair honeymooned in Ireland – a glimmer of happiness in a life shadowed by tragedy. 

That moment of joy was destined to be short-lived however, as Brontë died just nine months into their marriage. Her genius, and the aura of mystery surrounding her, meant she’d been mythologised even within her own lifetime – a process which only intensified after her death. Observed through the eyes of Mary Nicholls – who encountered Charlotte on that fateful journey to Ireland, and who went on to wed her widower Arthur – Charlotte is a story of three lives irrevocably intertwined. Bound by passion and obsession, friendship and loss, loyalty and deception – this a story of Brontë’s short but pivotal time in Ireland as never before told. 

Martina Devlin’s enthralling new novel Charlotte weaves back and forth through Charlotte’s life, reflecting on the myths built around her by those who knew her, those who thought they knew her, and those who longed to know her. Above all, this is a story of fiction: who creates it, who lives it, who owns it. 

Cloneygowan and district: history of the village from earliest times by P.J. Goode, 207 pp, Softback, priced €25.00

New edition of a local history of an Offaly village and its people, first published in 1995, now expanded to over two hundred pages. History, Heritage and People of a Midlands Village  is volume one of a proposed two volume work by a native villager, P.J. Goode, author of A People’s Army (2021) and The O’Dempsey Chronicles vol. I (2008).  The district is described, its lakes, rivers, bogs, medieval church ruins, old chapels, burial places. The period covered is from beginnings around the O’Dempsey castles through the many rebellions up to the final defeat following the Boyne and the subsequent scattering of the clan. Then there follows a collection of modern images, school groups, football teams, local families. The final part has reports with images on recent commemorations held in connection with the centenary of the War of Independence and the Civil War.  Second volume being researched and prepared for 2026.

‘The River Brosna – An Environmental History’ by John Feehan, 400 pp, hardback, full colour. Softcover also available and cheaper to post. This book of just over 400pages, full colour, priced €30.00 and some signed copies will be available. The book was launched in Clara to great acclaim on 22 March. One of the outstanding books of 2024 and of great significance for the environmental history of the midlands.

John Feehan has dedicated much of his life to studying and communicating the evolution of the landscape and how we have lived in and changed it – his previous Offaly publications have included books on the Slieve Blooms, Croghan Hill, the Landscape of Clonmacnoise, An Atlas of Birr and more recently Killaun Bog and the Camcor River.  This new publication focuses on the River Brosna and its catchment.

The River Brosna is one of Ireland’s hidden rivers, glimpsed over bridges and for short stretches as it travels through Mullingar, Ballinagore, Kilbeggan, Clara, Ballycumber and Ferbane on its journey from Lough Owel to Shannon Harbour.  Until now very little has been written about it yet few rivers have a more fascinating and varied story to tell.  In this beautifully illustrated book John Feehan brings his long experience as an environmental scientist and historian to bear on all aspects of the natural, cultural and industrial heritage of the river and its catchment.  Successive chapters review geological origins, the biodiversity of the river and its tributaries as well as the great area of bogland it drains.  The history of the mills along the course of the river, and of the two great arterial schemes that so altered the river are reviewed and particular attention is devoted to the extraordinary stories of Mesolithic Lough Boora and the Bronze Age Dowris hoard.

Stephen Callaghan, Bully’s Acre: a history of Birr’s forgotten cemetery (Offaly County Council, Heritage Office, Tullamore, 2024), €10, 70 pp, ISBN 978-1-7394054-2-7.

Opened at the start of the nineteenth century, Bully’s Acre, Birr is the final resting place of soldiers, battle hardened veterans of the Napoleonic Wars and various townspeople from all social classes of Birr. However, due to neglect it soon became a place little frequented.

The cemetery is an important but forgotten part of Birr’s heritage and this book hopes to bring the history of the burial ground and the people buried there back into public awareness.

Tullamore Annual 2024-5, €15, 160 pages, A4. Publication date late November, Orders can be accepted.

Birr Annual Review 2024, A4, orders accepted. Published late November, pp 196.

Brian Kennedy. This history of St, Brendan’s R.C. Church, Birr, commemorates the building’s 200th anniversary was launched by Bishop Fintan Monaghan on 29 November in St. Brendan’s Church.

Seamus Kelly, Bernard ‘Barney’ Delaney (1854–1923), Offaly and Chicago Piper (Naas, 2024), pp 110, soft cover, ISBN 978139996342). A book about the life and times of the talented uilleann piper. The book explores the formative years in Offaly and his career in Chicago as a musician.

John Feehan – An illustrated, reflective Bibliography with excerpts and commentary, edited by George Cunningham, hardback, limited to 300 signed copies, €30, pp 151, full colour, quarto format, ISBN 978-1-7384070-0-2, Parkmore Press, Roscrea.  

This is a very special ‘reflective’ or discursive and illustrated bibliography of the writings of John Feehan over 60 years. It is wonderful companion to all the great books from John Feehan, to the very highest standards and a credit also to George Cunningham who has himself made a unique contribution to local studies and so much more. We would urge to support this work. Available from Offaly History Centre and online shop at www.offalyhistory.com

Some additions by Offaly History in 2023

Offaly History is delighted to produce another volume of Offaly Heritage which is the twelfth collections of essays and writings on the history of the Faithful County’. The essays in section one reflect the ongoing research in Offaly into aspects of life in Ireland 100 years ago as we come to the end of the Decade of Commemoration (1912-1923). The essays reflect the changing nature of society in Offaly at that time, particularly during the years 1920 to 1923 and readers will enjoy contributions as varied as they end of the Wakely family of Rhode; the final years of the Leinster Regiment at Birr; the Protestant minority in Offaly during the revolutionary period; the courts of assize in King’s County in the years 1914-21; the burning of Tullamore courthouse, jail and barracks in 1922; the story of Belgian refugees in Portarlington, and Offaly claimants in 1916. A series of short lives are presented in this volume, as they were in Offaly 11 and includes entries on individuals as diverse as J.L. Stirling, Averil Deverell. Middleton Biddulph; Robert Hames Goodbody and volunteer Sean Barry. This volume of Offaly Heritage is also strengthened by a wide array of essays on aspects of Offaly history stretching from Colmcille to early soccer activity in Offaly in the late nineteenth century. The editors are particularly pleased to include essays from a number of contributors for the first time. The compilation of writings on Offaly history topics continues in this volume. The volume concludes with information on the Offaly Historical and Archaeological Society, the county’s heritage office and reviews of recent books of Offaly interest.

Available from Offaly History shop and www.offalyhistory.com. We are working on Offaly Heritage 13 articles. Thanks to Dr Mary Jane Fox for help with editing material that has come in.

Ireland’s Legendary Liqueur and the people who made it (Offaly History, Tullamore, 2023), Michael Byrne and John Flanagan (editors), 275 pp, full colour, paperback, €19.99. ISBN  978-1-909822-36-8.

 Irish Mist Liqueur brought the Tullamore name to every corner of the world and was a unique development in Ireland and a world leader in its class in the 1960s and 1970s. Great ideas and design were used to bring this about. Marketeers and design people for the Irish Mist product from Le Brocquy to the staff member on the floor – all had a role in ensuring quality. The company was led from 1945 to 1970 by Desmond Williams, ably assisted by William G. (Bill) Jaffray. Bill Jaffray led from 1970 until the sale of Irish Mist Liqueur to Cantrell & Cochrane (C&C) in 1985. This is the story of how Desmond Williams saw the opportunity to transform the Irish whiskey industry and to bring it to American and European markets in new blended formats, using clever and innovative ideas and marketing, while all the while insistent on the highest quality.

Faithful Images Public (Offaly History, Tullamore, 2023) Art in County Offaly Fergal MacCabe and Paul Moore, large format, 124 pp, full colour, €20.00. ISBN 978-1-909822-37-5, €20.

Increasing affluence and local self-confidence, government support and E.U. funding have encouraged the extensive commissioning and delivery of public art in every part of Ireland in the past forty years. In this book architect Fergal MacCabe and Photographer Paul Moore explore the experience detailed examination of nineteen sculptures –their stories, settings qualities and symbolism-suggest new directions for future creations.

Offaly History Centre has over 3,000 histories in its shop at Bury Quay ranging from €5 and upwards covering 250 titles for Offaly, Laois and Westmeath and many more Ireland titles. This includes up to 500 biographies. So do call to us at Bury Quay (beside new Aldi) or to Bridge Centre, Tullamore. Cash or Card as you wish.

Members of the Society and a friend at the bookshop in Bridge Centre, Tullamore, December 2024.

info@offalyhistory.com    05793 2421

A registered charity – all to sustain Offaly Heritage, History and Archives

New Publications in 2024

See our online shop at http://www.offalyhistory.com

Bury Quay, Tullamore, Co. Offaly, Ireland

Call to us at Offaly History Centre, Bury Quay beside new Aldi and Old Warehouse, and from 14 December at Bridge Centre for our Christmas local history sale.

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