Category: Places

• 34-35 Grand Canal Townlands East to West: Daingean Townparks, Ballymullen, Knockballyboy to Ballycommon, County Offaly. Numbers 34-35 in the Grand Canal Offaly Series. By Philomena Bracken, Offaly History. Blog No 589, 20th March 2024

  

  As we make our way along we start to make the journey to Ballycommon, we come to Townparks townland, in the Electoral Division of Daingean, in Civil Parish of Killaderry, in the Barony of Lower Philipstown, in the County of Offaly. The Irish name for Townparks is Páirceanna an Bhaile. Townparks townland in Daingean has the site of Fort Governor which was built in 1547 on the site of an O’Connor Castle stronghold.

  

  

  along this line we come to one of the gems along this way, the Bord Na Mona lifting Bridge, It’s an interesting spot and a great location to get the camera out. From the late 18^th century, the canal was used as a way to transport turf from different cutting points along the line. As trading long the canal was increasing rapidly and was even more encouraged when charges were abandoned, the one that was always a difficult trade to control was the “Turf”[1].

  

  A few incidents along the line was reported, before the construction of the Circular line, including situations where turf traders, held up and demanded change to the dispatching and the price of turf. After a standoff with an angry crowd, that were armed with swords and guns. The canal company, compromised with the people and ordered that all boats display a clear sign with the price of their turf.

  During this time quays were used along the canal to unload turf and an inspector was appointed to see the overall control of the Turf trade. By the early 19^th century, a steady flow of boats travelled up and down the line, with up to 33,000 tons every year arriving for dispatch. G- Boats were the main boat used when transporting product and with a fixed toll now applied to all traders, this encouraged the use of greater loads. 

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  March 20, 2024

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• Captain Michael Hoy from Daingean. American Civil War Hero & Pioneer lawman. By Danny Leavy. Blog No 588, 18th March 2024

   Michael Hoy was born in Daingean county Offaly in the year 1834 to William Hoy and Rosanna Concasey. His father died when he was a young boy. In 1853 he emigrated with his mother, brother William, and two sisters Rosanna and Elizabeth, settling in Brooklyn. His older brothers Joseph and John, along with another sister Mary had gone to America a few years before. Michael Hoy learned the stone cutters trade in Brooklyn. In 1854 the family moved to Cooperstown, New York, which is two hundred miles north of the city. Young Hoy worked in his trade for one more year before returning to Brooklyn. In 1857 he went to Minnesota, settling in the town of Saint Anthony. At this time Saint Anthony had a few scattered houses on the east bank of the Mississippi river. He followed his trade and the same year of his arrival he cut stone for the building of the State University.

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  March 18, 2024

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• 33  The Grand Canal reached Philipstown (Daingean) in 1797 and contributed to economic development. No. 33 in the Grand Canal Offaly series. Michael Byrne. Blog No 587, 16th March 2024

  

  The Grand Canal was constructed as far as Philipstown/ Daingean in 1797 providing the town with an opportunity to import goods at lower transport costs and to export turf and agricultural products to the city of Dublin.

  Some immediate benefits came with the canal such as the large house (formerly Scully’s) on the western side of the Molesworth bridge and later the canal warehouse on the eastern side. This was described on the Killaly 1806-7 map as the collector’s house. The trade and stores business moved on to Tullamore exclusively for the six years pending the completion of the access to Shannon Harbour in 1804. The need for a canal hotel was eliminated with the building of the Tullamore hotel in 1801-2 and that at Shannon Harbour in 1806.

  The line of the canal ran from Toberdaly to Killaderry parish, the townland of Castlebarnagh Big and into the town of Daingean. From there is passed on to Ballymullen and Ballycommon. As with Tullamore the canal came in on the north side of the town cutting through cabins in its way to the south of the military barracks and gallows hill. In the estate landscape that it was in the 1700s to the 1900s the big houses of Mount Briscoe, Clonearl and Kilduff were to the north and Springfield, Mount Lucas and the lost demesne of River Lyons to the south. The latter was almost devoid of trees unlike the well planted Clonearl and the planted avenue to the house at Mount Briscoe. On the southwest was the old crossing point of Ballinagar heading on to Tullamore.

  

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  March 16, 2024

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• Tullamore and the Irish National Foresters 1899-2024. By Aidan Doyle, Part 2, concluded. [We are marking the 100th anniversary of the re-opening the new hall, cinema and club rooms on the eve of St Patrick’s Day 1924 and the 125th anniversary of the founding of the Tullamore branch in April 1899.] Blog No 586, 15th March 2024

  In March 1914 the Foresters Hall played host to meeting called organise the Irish Volunteers in the district. Following the outbreak of the Great War and the resulting divisions within nationalism, the Tullamore Corps of the National Volunteers gathered at the Foresters Hall to reaffirm their support for John Redmond. The Foresters branch secretary James Hayes joined the 5^th Lancers in early 1916.

   In December 1915, the Ideal Cinema was the venue for a screening of ‘Joan of Arc’ in aid of the Red Cross.  Two months later, the Urban Council arranged a reception at the hall to present an address to captain Edward Sherlock after the Rahan man was awarded a military cross for his actions on the Western Front. As late as February 1918, the hall hosted a lecture by Henry Hanna KC on ‘The Pals (7^th Dublin Fusiliers) at Suvla Bay’ in aid of the Leinster Regiments Prisoner of War fund. Nevertheless, by then the Foresters and their hall had come to be associated extreme nationalism in the mind of some within the police.

  

  At a show the hall in on St Patricks Day 1917, a twelve-year-old girl Lena McGinley dressed in a ‘Green, White and Yellow’ costume performed a poem dealing with the 1916 Rising entitled ‘Vengeance’. As a result, sergeant Henry Cronin had the concert organisers James O’ Connor and Edward O’Carroll charged under the Defence of the Realm Act (DORA) for ‘attempting to cause disaffection among the civilian population ‘. On their conviction O’Connor and O’Carroll refused to be bound to peace and were instead imprisoned in Mountjoy.

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  March 15, 2024

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•  ‘Unity, Nationality and Benevolence’  Tullamore and the Irish National Foresters 1899-2024. By Aidan Doyle [We are marking the 100th anniversary of the re-opening the new hall, cinema and club rooms on the eve of St Patrick’s Day 1924 and the 125th anniversary of the founding of the Tullamore branch in April 1899.] Part 2 tomorrow. Blog No 585, 14th March 2024

  The weather was bad when Joseph Hutchinson arrived in Tullamore. For 22 years Hutchinson had dedicated himself to the Irish National Foresters and as a result a small mutual aid society founded by 18 men in Dublin, had spread across the globe and recruited over 20,000 members in Ireland. On Sunday 9 April 1899, Hutchinson had come to the midlands to recruit some more members and establish the first INF branch in King’s County. His visit that day would have profound repercussions for Tullamore, but it had its roots in the north of England.

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  March 14, 2024

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• 31-32 Grand Canal Townlands East to West: Along the way via Down to Gorteen, Cavemount and Castlebarnagh , Co Offaly. Numbers 31-32 in the Grand Canal Offaly Series. By Philomena Bracken, Offaly History. Blog No 584, 13th March 2024

  

  Killaderry civil parish, is part of the ancient territory of Clann Colgain which was made up of three tuaths. The parish lies in an area which splits Kilclonfert civil parish into two parts and has the town of Daingean at its Centre.

  Down is in the Electoral Division of Mountbriscoe, in Civil Parish of Killaderry, in the Barony of Lower Philipstown, in the County of Offaly The Irish name for Down is Domhain meaning Deep.

  Down townland has a possible burial mound here and there is also a platform ringfort in the townland which is 26 metres in diameter and enclosed by a slight bank. [1]

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  March 13, 2024

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• 30, Grand Canal Townlands Offaly, East to West: Toberdaly to Coole, No 30 in the Grand Canal Offaly Series. By Philomena Bracken, Offaly History. Blog No 583, 9th March 2024

  

  Today with the canal being a popular walking destination, you can see along the canals places associated with the townlands . Just outside Rhode, on the way to Edenderry, are the ruins of old windmills of the eighteenth century. These once had a wind shaft mounted in the cap (one is preserved at the Guinness brewery and was used by the Roe distillery). The wind turned the millstones in the tower below and were used to help ground grains for flour.

  Seven windmills are known to have been constructed during this period in Offaly. By 1830, most of the windmills had gone out of service. The last windmill to be used was dated up to 1880, called the Fahy Windmill[1]. Tullamore had two in the eighteenth century on the hill behind O’Moore Street.

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  March 9, 2024

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• 28-29, Grand Canal Townlands East to West: Rogerstown, Ballybrittan, Rathcobican. Nos 28-29 in the Grand Canal Offaly Series. By Philomena Bracken, Offaly History. Blog No 582, 6th March 2024

  

  Along our  Grand Canal Journey  from Edenderry to Shannon Harbour we come to Rogerstown, a small townland, in the Electoral Division of Monasteroris, in the Civil Parish of Monasteroris, in the Barony of Coolestown, in the County of Offaly.

  The Irish name for Rogerstown is Baile Risteird meaning Richard’s/land.

  

  (01.Monasteroris civil parish from the Index map Kings’ County 1838. Image source Offaly History Centre)

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  March 6, 2024

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• 26-27 Vallancey’s account of the north Offaly towns in 1771 and the improvements that were expected to follow canal navigation. No 26-27 in the Grand Canal Offaly series featuring Edenderry, Daingean, Tullamore, Clara and Ferbane, County Offaly. Blog No 581, 2nd March 2024

  

  This article looks at the north Offaly towns featured in Major (later general) Vallancey’s report carried out in 1771 and designed to support the construction of the new Grand Canal line to Tullamore and the Shannon.  Vallancey was then a young engineer, employed to report to the Commissioners of Inland Navigation and his findings were published in,  A Report on the Grand Canal or Southern Line (Dublin 1771).[1] This report is useful as a window on some of the north King’s County (hereafter generally referred to as Offaly) towns and villages.[2] 

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  March 2, 2024

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• 25 The Canal breach at Edenderry, January 1916: no. 25 in the Grand Canal Offaly Series. By Ciarán Reilly. Blog No 580, 28th Feb 2024

  

  Nineteenth-century Edenderry experienced a prolonged building programme, spearheaded by successive members of the Hill family, marquess’ of Downshire. Chief amongst these was the building of a branch line of the Grand Canal to Edenderry in 1802, furthering the line which had passed within two kilometres of the town in 1796. This line brought extensive investment to the area and was the catalyst for the building of stone and slated houses which replaced cottages and cabins.

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  February 28, 2024

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