Birr has been referred to as Umbilicus Hiberniae, the navel or centre of Ireland. For many years it was also known as Parsonstown taking that name from its then proprietors, the Parsons family, earls of Rosse. That it is the centre of Ireland is often disputed but few will deny the accuracy of yet another appellation that of the ‘model town’. The late and much loved Jim Dooly, who was chairman of the town council in the mid-1960s, appeared on a Frank Hall programme in 1971 to defend Birr’s claim. He was no lover of television as can be seen in his performance, now viewable on the Frank Hall Archive of RTE on Youtube (‘Dead Centre of Ireland’). (more…)
Author: Michael Byrne
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Michael Molloy, the Tullamore Distiller, 1777-1846 ‘The first Mr Tullamore Dew’. Blog No 44, 27 August 2017
Is Conor McGregor related to the Molloys? He probably is. He did his country proud last night as did Michael Molloy 150 years ago. Michael Molloy was the founder of the Tullamore distillery established in 1829. The date is to be seen over the gate beside the Tullamore Credit Union in Patrick Street. Molloy’s distillery is better known today as Daly’s distillery, Williams’s distillery or indeed, the Tullamore Dew Distillery. The first Bernard Daly was the owner of the distillery from the 1850s and was a nephew of Michael Molloy. Daniel E. Williams was the general manager of the distillery from the 1870s and, effectively, the owner of the distillery from the early 1900s. When Alfred Barnard visited the distillery in 1886 he noted that it had been founded in 1829 by an uncle to Bernard Daly and that Williams was the general manager. Much has been written about Daly and Williams, but who was Michael Molloy and where does he fit into the story of the Tullamore distillery? (more…)
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Kilcruttin Cemetery, Tullamore, no 1 in a cemetery series Michael Byrne. Blog No 43, 19 August 2017.
Kilcruttin cemetery is located off Cormac Street and close to the boundaries of what is now Scoil Mhuire. Indeed, the original access lane and entrance to this cemetery is still to be seen. It’s the oldest cemetery in Tullamore town and dates back to the 1700s. At one time it was on the outskirts of the town and in soft poor ground close to the Tullamore river. It was not the cemetery of choice for the upper ten in Tullamore, but nonetheless has some very good monuments including that to the Methodist merchant Burgess and the German baron Oldershausen of the King’s German Legion, the heroes of Waterloo.
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Remembering John Walsh of Tullamore, executed behind enemy lines at Guise in Northern France on 25 February 1915: a man of Iron. Blog No 42, 12 August 2017.
Presented by Offaly History
The men were taken from their cells and subjected to a savage beating. Half-conscious they were led into a courtyard at the giant fort of Guise in northern France. All hope was extinguished once they saw that a ditch had been dug. The men were executed by a German firing squad in batches of six and dumped in a shallow grave. A German officer provided the coup de grâce to the French civilian Vincent Chalandre. When his body was exhumed after the war, he was found to have a bullet in the back of his head. (more…)
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Birr Courthouse, 1803-2013, part 2.Blog No 41, 05 August 2017.
This is the second part of the article on Birr courthhouse. It was held over from last week to allow for an article on the 100th anniversary of de Valera’s visit to the county.
We welcome blogs. An article can reach from a few hundred to 10,000 people. Please email us at info@offalyhistory.com should you want to contribute to this series. We publish every Saturday at 12 noon. To receive notification by email of issue of the blog subscribe to our free newsletter at http://www.offalyhistory.com. Better still join the society and make life-long friends. (more…)
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The Birr Courthouse: From Cooke to Courts Service 1803-2013, Part 1. Blog No 39, 22 July 2017.
The Birr courthouse has been in the news again lately in the context of its being used as an arts school for painters and others. It would be good to find a use for it that ensures the conservation of the building. Some years ago the idea was put forward that Birr should be considered the Bath of Ireland because it has such fine terraces, good shops in its narrow streets, fine churches, a Pugin convent (now the Birr library), the workhouse, John’s Hall, Oxmantown Hall, the Crotty church, maltings, a distillery and more. (more…)
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The Tribune generations: from broadsheet to compact edition. Blog No 37, 08 July 2017.
The Midland Tribune and Tullamore Tribune went to a new compact edition in June 2017 after a broadsheet format in the case of the Midland since 1881 and that of Tullamore since 1978. A few whimsical reflections are ‘posted’ here on happenings since 1881, derived from many hours spent looking at the old files of both newspapers. (more…)
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James I. Fanning, editor of the Midland Tribune, 1947-89. Blog No 36, 01 July 2017.
‘Father of Slieve Bloom’ and ‘Patron of the Tullamore Regional Hospital’
This blog is published to mark the new compact edition of the Midland Tribune and Tullamore Tribune (from 15 June 2017) and to reflect on the history of the Tribune since 1881. One who contributed much to the newspaper and to County Offaly was editor proprietor James I. Fanning of Birr who died in 1990. (more…)
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The families and streets of Birr in 1821. Blog No 35, 23 June 2017.
While many are now familiar with the value of the 1901 and 1911 censuses for family history, less use has been made of these documents for social history and population studies. Great excitement was created when the censuses were made available free online through the good offices of the Irish government and the people of Mumbai in India who transcribed them for us at no great expense. Now the department of heritage proposes to make the 1926 census available by again outsourcing the work to a far country. However, we will have to wait until 2026. How much more excitement there is for some places where the 1821 census survives. This is the case with Birr and the entire barony of Ballybritt.
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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. Blog No 31, 27 May 2017.
Ó Briain set off early on Easter Sunday morning 1916 in a motor taxi to deliver the countermand order to the local Volunteer contacts in Offaly and Tyrrellspass. Beatty he located in Edenderry but not finding Smith in Tyrrellspass, went on to Tullamore to a small shop owned by Eamonn Carroll. O’Carroll had worked in Scally’s shoe store in Columcille Street, now the AIB bank, but was dismissed after the fracas on 20 March and how had his own store in the same street. In the kitchen of a house in Church Street Ó Briain met Séamus O’Brennan, who was on the run since the fracas in Tullamore and had been in Kimmage.
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