T.D. Sullivan was one of the most high-profile political figures to be targeted by the London administration under the Crimes Act for publishing what they considered dangerous material that could incite opposition and violence against the police from carrying out their duties of evicting tenants who were unable to pay their rents. The Irish National League was established with the aims of bringing about the end of rack-rents (extortionate rents) and ownership of the soil by the occupier and a nationwide fund was in place for several years to prevent as many evictions as possible. However, publicising this opposition and encouraging the people to come together in the newspapers now placed a target on the backs of editors who began to be arrested and imprisoned for encouraging the ‘Plan of Campaign’ and Sullivan was the latest editor to be arrested and conveyed to the notorious Tullamore Jail. He arrived in Tullamore on December 7 1887 and upon his arrival met the Governor of the Prison, Captain Fetherstonhaugh, who was extremely frosty in his reception to such an illustrious new inmate and Sullivan was astonished to learn that despite his being regarded as a first class misdemeanant, he would be sharing a cell with other inmates. The Tullamore Town Commissioners were immediately on the ball to try and make contact with the political prisoners now incarcerated and to assess their wellbeing in this institution that gained notoriety for its deplorable unsanitary conditions and the treatment of the prisoners subjected to hard labour.
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GLORY CLAFFEY! Paddy Claffey, Noggus, Co. Offaly, who has been officially declared the oldest man in Ireland. By Frances Browner. Blog no 783 in the Offaly History Series, 27 Feb. 2026
Paddy Claffey was born in Noggusboy, Ferbane, on April 17th, 1921, three months before the end of Ireland’s War of Independence. His parents were Sarah (Flaherty) of Gallen and Kieran Claffey, Noggus. The youngest of their ten children, Paddy had six sisters – Maryann, Maggie, Kit, Ellen, Jane, and Sarah – and three brothers – Ned, Kieran, who died aged 27, and Johnny, at birth.
The siblings attended Gallen NS, where Paddy’s teacher was Master Goodwin. In Brendan Ryan’s book, On Gallen Green, a 1927 school photograph on page 122 shows P.J. Claffey in the front row.
For his 90th birthday party in the Bridge House Hotel, I had the pleasure of interviewing my granduncle and writing his story. Paddy was a natural storyteller. Recalling his first time away from home for a long spell, he was thirteen and had taken an awful pain. Doctor Maher advised hiring a car to drive him to Tullamore. The hospital was the very same as a big hayshed, Paddy said, with auld lads smoking; they couldn’t see one another with the smoke. His sister, Ellen, cycled in to see him every day, and the woman who owned Lawless’s shop sent her two daughters with books and sweets. He was glad to go home, but couldn’t get used to the small house in Noggus for the longest time.
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The Termans at Clonmacnoise. By Pádraig Turley. Blog no 782 in the Offaly History Blog series, 20 Feb. 2026.
A few years back I met up with some members of the Offaly diaspora in the Gresham Hotel, Dublin, for coffee, and we had a reflective chat about the Faithful County. My fellow aficionados were Laura Price and the late Dr. Michael J.S. Egan. Dr. Egan, a truly wonderful Offaly man, raised the idea of marking the termans at Clonmacnoise.
While I had grown up in the area I had never heard the expression. He explained it was the point where funeral corteges paused on the way to the cemetery. I was well aware of the practice, for as a child in the area every funeral paused at what was called the `coffin bush`. I have enquired from local folk and found nobody had used the expression in this context.
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The Law of the Innocents, Birr 697 AD: Part 2. Its resonance for the Geneva Convention. By Jim Houlihan. Blog no. 781 in the Offaly History Series. 13 February 2026
Hello again.
I have good reasons to write a follow up article to my blog of September 2023 on the above topic, as have Four Courts Press to produce a paperback version of my book Adomnán’s Lex Innocentium and the Laws of War (Dublin, Four Courts Press, 2020). This welcome decision was made, not only because the hardback version is now out of print, but because world events since 2020 have given the book an urgent relevance for our modern times.
First a quick recap: In the last blog I told the story of the great assembly in Birr in 697 AD of ninety-one leaders of the Irish world, lay and ecclesiastical, which proclaimed this law for the protection of non-combatants or innocents in time of war. The inspirer and driving-force behind it was Adomnán of Iona, a man with an unique awareness of the suffering of the innocent victims of war, and a leader who had the moral authority to persuade his peers, many of whom strongly resisted, to travel to Birr from all over Ireland and northern Britain to formally accept and guarantee the law. We saw that this law was unique for its time and, indeed, for many centuries thereafter. It was not until the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 and additional protocol of 1977 that the nations of the world, having learnt the lessons of two world wars in which millions of innocents were killed, that a comprehensive law for civilian protection was agreed. Down through the centuries innocents have always suffered greatly in war; the sheer scale of their suffering in the first half of the twentieth century impelled nations to take steps to limit it.
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John O’Donovan recounts legends of Saint Brigid in the Offaly volume of Ordnance Survey letters of 1837–8. John O’Donovan and Lá Fhéile Bríde, St Brigid’s Day. A special resonance for Croghan Hill, Offaly. Offaly History Blog no. 778, 1 Feb. 2026
Tullamore is situated in the civil parish of Kildbride with 28 townlands and so too is the town of Clara with 19 townlands. Both parishes have a connection with the churches dedicated to Saint Brigid. Now Ireland mark the saint’s day on 1st of February with a public holiday, the beginning of spring and the celebration of Lá Fhéile Bríde, St Brigid’s Day.
These are the only townlands in Offaly dedicated by name to a church associated with Saint Brigid.
Kilbride (Cill Bhríde) , Kilbride Civil Parish, Barony of Ballycowan, Co. Offaly 193 A, 3 R, 20 P
Kilbride (Cill Bhríde) , Kilbride Civil Parish, Barony of Kilcoursey, Co. Offaly 146 A, 2 R, 30 P
The proximity of the two parishes often leads to confusion especially when tracing soldiers of the First World War who gave their place of birth as the civil parish of Kilbride without distinguishing wherether it was Clara or Tullamore.
To the east of both towns is Croghan Hill associated by some scholars with the birthplace of St Brigid. John O’Donovan was well aware of the association of the hill with the legend and cult of St Brigid and wrote of it in the Ordnance Survey letters. The Ordnance Survey Letters for County Offaly form part of a countrywide series, are commonly known as O’Donovan’s Ordnance Survey Letters.
The Ordnance Survey Letters for Offaly of 1837-1838 represent the first attempt on a systematic basis to collect material on Offaly’s historical and archaeological remains. The pioneering effort of the Ordnance Survey and of its topographical department, in particular, was not emulated until the publication some 150 years later of the Archaeological Inventory of County Offaly by Caimin O’Brien and P. David Sweetman. O’Donovan’s Ordnance Survey Letters are in manuscript form in the Royal Irish Academy and were published in a typescript by Fr. Michael Flanagan in 1933. The late Professor Michael Herity edited the volume of letters for Offaly and this book is available from the Society and can be ordered online at our shop at www.offalyhistory, or consulted at Offaly History Centre.
Civil parish of Kilbride, Tullamore from Townlands.ie 
Civil parish of Kilbride, Clara from Townlands.ie The Offaly material consists of fifty-one letters of John O’Donovan and of Thomas O’Conor. O’Conor, a native of Carrickmacross, was assistant to O’Donovan. Both men had spent September, October and November of 1837 in County Westmeath and in late December of 1837 their attentions turned to Offaly, then and until 1920 called King’s County. The letters concern local antiquities, placenames, early Irish history and the genealogy of the native families
It should be noted that in the Westmeath letters volume are one of John O’Donovan’s from Tullamore and another from Edenderry. That from Tullamore is dated 1st January 1838 and could properly be in the King’s County volume. A list of the fifty-one letters concerning King’s County written over the period from 18 December 1837 to 11 February 1838 with the inclusion of two letters about Durrow, that of October 1837 and the second written on 1 January 1838.
O’Donovan wrote of the legends associated with St Brigid as follows:
St. Briget was consecrated a Bishop.
(Father Bollandus complains of the silliness of the writers of the lives of the Celtic Saints; and the Benedictines complain of the folly even of St. Jerome and Augustin!.)
“Bridget was desirous that a degree of Penance (gradh Aithrighe) should be conferred upon her. Hearing that Bishop Mel was at Bri Éle (Croghan old Church) she repaired thither, accompanied by seven nuns. But on their arrival the Bishop was not there, but had gone into the Country of the Hy Niall “terra nepotum Neill” (Meath). On the morrow she passed in search of him in company with Mac Caille (the Bishop of Brig-Ele) who guided her over the bog of Monaidh Fathing, which she converted into a flowery plain. When they had come close to the Town (baile) where Bishop Mel was, Briget told Mac Caille (Macaleus) to put (place) a veil on her head, that she did not wish to appear unveiled before the clergy. Upon her arrival a pillar (column, a glory?) of fire sprung rose, shot out) from her head, reaching even to the roof of the church. When Bishop Mel had seen this, he asked: “Who are the Nuns”? Mac Caille answered: “This is Briget, the celebrated Nun of Leinster.”
“My affection to her, said Bishop Mel, it was I who predicted her greatness, even while she was in her mother’s womb, and it is I who will confer orders on her.”
“This (gloss) alludes to one occasion that Bishop Mel came to the house of her father, Dubhthach; he saw the wife of Dubhthach grieved and sorrowful, and he asked whence the cause of her sorrow. I have cause of sorrow, said she, for Dubhthach admires (loves) the handmaid who attends. This is just (meet, dethbhir) said Bishop Mel, for thy seed shall serve (obey) the seed of this handmaid, alluding to Bridget.” (Bridget was illegitimate, but not the worse Bishop for that, and —-).
“Then Mac Caille placed a veil (caille, cowl) on the head of Briget. Wherefore, from that day to this, the Coarb (successor) of St. Briget (Abbess of Kildare) is entitled to receive the grade (dignity, orders) of a Bishop.”
“Wherefore have the Nuns come? said Bishop Mel. To have orders of Penance conferred on Bridget, said Mac Caille. Then he conferred orders on Briget, and it was the orders of (gradha eps.) a Bishop, that Bishop Mel conferred upon her!”
(Columbkille intended to get himself made a Bishop, but the Consecrator made him only a Priest by mistake. The authorities of the Irish Bulls Begins with Brian Boru).
“While St. Briget was being ordained, she held the foot of the altar (the altar was like a little table) in her hand; and (since that time) seven churches were burned down, in which this altar was, but it received no injury from the fire: Sed servata est per gratiam (favor) Brigidae. Dicunt alii, that this Church, to which Bishop Mel had gone, is in Feratullach. Ita ut alii putant.” (Fartullagh is near Bri Ele). – Liber Maculatus, Leabhar Breac, Fol. 31.
Colgan was ashamed of this. Cogitosus has not a word about it, or if he has, Colgan has suppressed it. I don’t laugh at these stories, for I think they are very nice if they were well told.[1]
For more on the Saint Brigid story see the Noel Kissane Life in the online Dictionary of Irish Biography. Some extracts below
The Brigit story Brigit was the daughter of Dubthach son of Deimre, a nobleman or military leader. He was of the Uí Bressail (Rawl. B. 502, 126a 28), a sept of the Fothairt, a subject people located in the present Co. Offaly, but with branches elsewhere. Brigit’s mother was named Broicsech; she is presented in alternative accounts as Dubthach’s wife (Cogitosus) or slave. When Broicsech becomes pregnant by Dubthach, in the scenario where she is a slave he sells her to a poet but retains ownership of the unborn child. The poet later sells Broicsech to a druid (magus) in whose house Broicsech gives birth to Brigit, who is born with the status of a slave. The location is not stated; claims for Faughart, Co. Louth are based on late medieval tradition. The druid kindly allows Brigit to live with her father Dubthach whose house was seemingly located in the area east of Cruachan Breg Éile (Croghan Hill, Co. Offaly). She is particularly involved with dairying and looking after the cattle, activities commonly represented in her iconography. She is especially kind to the poor and performs various miracles on their behalf. Her father and brothers want her to marry a suitor, but she refuses as she is committed to a celibate life in the service of God. Her father eventually allows her to take the veil. The ceremony is performed, according to different accounts, by one or other of the bishops Mel (qv) (d. 487) or Mac-Caille (qv) (d. c.489), the location probably being in Mag Tulach (the present barony of Fartullagh, Co. Westmeath).
Croghan Hill, County Offaly, associated with the Life of St Brigid Brigit is said to have established a convent at Kildare, but the Lives are silent regarding the date and the circumstances. ….
The hagiography of St Brigit is typically Christian and it echoes the Old and New Testaments, the Apocrypha and the early Fathers. It presents her as wise, humane, charitable to a fault, and concerned with the welfare of the common people. She is in constant communion with the Lord and is a prolific worker of miracles, which are almost invariably attributed to divine intervention and often have precedents in the New Testament. Many of the miracles and other aspects of the Lives, however, seem to reflect pagan religion or superstition; for example, the story of Brigit’s origin features a poet and a druid, both from classes with important functions in pre-Christian society; her suitor is the fictional poet Dubthach (qv) of the moccu Lugair, who is represented in seventh-century literature as a pagan who converts to Christianity; the only milk she can tolerate as a child is that of a white red-eared cow; and she resolves an unwanted pregnancy as if by magic. A notable feature of the Lives is a preoccupation with fire and light: a column of light rises from Brigit’s head; she hangs her cloak on a sunbeam to dry; the house in which she is asleep catches fire but remains intact. .
Folklore Echoes of pre-Christian religion and superstition are also intrinsic features of the folklore associated with St Brigit. Her feast-day (Lá Fhéile Bríde) on 1 February coincides with the pagan festival of Imbolc, one of the four quarter days of the pagan year, which marked the beginning of spring, lambing, and lactation in cattle. The feast of a saint was normally celebrated on the anniversary of the death, but there is no evidence that Brigit died on 1 February. Cogitosus states that she did, but the context suggests that his only evidence was her feast-day. In any case, the celebration of St Brigit’s feast-day retained various features of the pagan festival, including probably the straw or rush crosses, believed to bring luck to the home and the byre, and the strips of cloth representing Brat Bhríde (St Brigit’s mantle) which were claimed to protect virginity, cure barrenness, and relieve women in labour. The ceremonial often included visits to Brigit’s wells, some of which were thought to cure sterility. While much of the imagery relating to Imbolc was probably censored or Christianised at an early date, some of the folk customs associated with St Brigit’s Day retained explicit references to sexuality and fertility. Séamas Ó Catháin has identified parallels in the international folklore of northern Europe, especially that of Scandinavia, which suggests that the cult of the goddess was widespread and tenacious.
See also the Dictionary of Irish Saints by Pádraig Ó Riain below from the 2011 edition:
[1] See the Michael Herrity edition, pp 188–9.
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Offaly History Lecture Series, Monday 26 January 2026 “Voices of Offaly” Website. By Aidan Barry. Blog no. 776 in the Offaly History Series.
Offaly History Lecture at Offaly History Centre, Bury Quay, Tullamore, R35 Y5V0 On Monday 26th January 2026 at 7. 30 p.m. following the AGM at 7 p.m. Offaly History presents a lecture about the recently launched “Voices of Offaly” resource available from http://www.offalyistory.com. The collection now comprises over 300 recordings of Offaly People captured over the past 30-40 years. Presented by Aidan Barry and Shaun Wrafter.
The illustrated lecture with voices will include:
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1. An overview of the resources available on the new “Voices of Offaly” website.
2. A chance to listen to short audio clips which will give a flavour of the recordings available on the website.
1. Overview of the Website
The website is organized into several key sections:
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Reports from the 1835 Poor Law Inquiry in Daingean/ Philipstown, County Offaly. By J.J. Reilly. Blog No 773, 3rd Jan 2026
Background to the Poor Law Inquiry
The Commission of Enquiry into the Poorer Classes in Ireland was the result of the United Kingdom government’s investigation of rapid increases in population living in extreme poverty. From their official reports in the post-Napoleonic period Ireland’s growth-rate had remained high. In the 1831 census Ireland returned a population of 7.8 million up from 6.8 million in 1821. In the year 1831 the population baronies of the Upper and Lower Philipstown was 17,311. The town of Daingean had a population of 1,454.[i] For King’s County in general please see our previous blog.[ii]
In the baronies of Philipstown Upper and Lower two commissioners were appointed: Jonathan Binns and James O’Hea. It should be noted, previous to the dissolution of the Parliament of Ireland in 1800, Philipstown returned two members to that legislature.[iii] In 1835 Tullamore became the county town and with that the assizes were moved there from Philipstown.[iv] As the Poor Law Commissioner Jonathan Binns reflected:
‘Its trade has disappeared – many of its houses are in ruins – its shops are falling into decay – and its population, as these signs sufficiently indicate, are poor and wretched.’[v]
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‘The Lake Isle of Innisfree’ How my hatred of the poem changed utterly. By Fergal MacCabe. Blog No 771, 27th Dec 2025
Growing up in our house in Clonminch outside of Tullamore, I came to detest
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that mawkish dirge about the Lake Isle of Innisfree. My grandfather, who had
once visited the island, was obsessed by the poem and insisted that I recite it
at every party. He even named our house after it.
Later, as a young town planner, I blamed the wretched verse for the rash of
holiday homes that were beginning to appear in every beauty spot in Ireland
and cursed Yeats who had provided the moral justification for this desecration.
If a well known poet could simply arise and go and build in whatever idyllic
place he chose, why shouldn’t everybody else?
But – would Yeats get planning permission? I would put that to the test.
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TRANSITION: Irish peatlands in a changing climate. A new photographic study of a landscape in flux. Blog No 769, 20th Dec 2025
Ireland’s peatlands have long been a defining feature of the country’s landscape and identity—vast, open expanses that have shaped communities, powered homes, and inspired generations. But in recent years, these peatlands have entered a new chapter. TRANSITION, a striking new photographic book, captures this moment of profound change with sensitivity and depth.
In 2019, a High Court ruling mandated that commercial peat harvesting on bogs over 30 hectares would now require planning permission. This shift accelerated the decline of industrial peat extraction, a process already underway as awareness grew of the ecological importance of peatlands. These landscapes, once seen primarily as fuel sources, are now recognised as vital carbon sinks and havens for biodiversity.
TRANSITION captures this story through objects in time – each one a tangible link to the past, a marker of the present, or a symbol of the future. Structured in a unique A–Z format, the book presents a curated collection of items that reflect the evolving relationship between people and peatlands. These objects are thoughtfully juxtaposed to highlight the dramatic changes in land use, environmental values, and cultural identity. Each item occupies a liminal space, bridging the industrial legacy of peat harvesting with the emerging ecological renewal.
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New Local Histories for County Offaly published in 2025. Blog no. 768 17 Dec. 2025.
New books about Offaly History and some of its neighbours issued in 2025 are greatly adding to our knowledge potential for this inland county. All available from Offaly History at Bury Quay and Bridge Centre, Tullamore, making for a readable Christmas and 2026.
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