Category: Subjects

• The Older History of Hurling. By John Dolan. Blog no 775 in the Offaly History Blogs Series. 16 Jan. 2026.

  The story of people hitting a ball with a stick is a story which is told everywhere, from Iceland to Ethiopia to the Far East and across to the Aztecs. Look at lacrosse played by the American Indians, the stick and ball games played by the Mongols, the Berber stick and ball game played on the sands of the desert. The Irish game of hurling is a modern variant of a theme which is written through history, across millennia.

  

   Players with two sticks and ball. Greek National Museum, Athens.

  There are plenty of books that cover the history of hurling in Ireland.  The public library system has most of them.  Along with a general history of hurling that are also many histories that are specific to individual counties, particularly parishes and clubs.

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  January 16, 2026

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• The new Birr Urban District Council 1899: women were included on the electorate for the first time and the end of the Birr Town Commissioners. Blog No 774, 10th Jan. 2026. By Martin Hoctor

  Town Commissions in Ireland were possible from 1847 after the introduction of the Towns Improvement (Ireland) Act that would allow the larger towns to introduce a series of measures starting with the appointment of commissioners to carry out works in a  town like drainage, paving, and other improvements to the infrastructure. Unfortunately, this legislation was neglected in Ireland during the years of the Great Famine and it was not until the early 1850s when events slowly improved in terms of lesser number of deaths that several towns began to explore embracing this legislation for their districts. Parsonstown (Birr) Town Commissioners held their first meeting on August 4 1852 with Laurence Parsons elected as the first chairman and slowly began to implement the 1847 Act and its subsequent consolidation statute in 1854. Over the next 46 years Parsonstown/Birr Town Commissioners attempted to run the town from the rates received from the ratepayers and loans from the Local Government Board as they engaged in constant disputes with the King’s County Grand Jury and the County Surveyor for decades over which authority was responsible for the scavenging and cleaning of the streets and the expenses incurred.

  We are glad to welcome the second of our Young Historians blogs this week and this year. If you have an article or an idea for an article do contact us at info@offalyhistory.com. Offaly History blogs now number 774 and reach 80,000 to 100,000 views each year. So do join the panel of authors of this treasure trove of easily accessed articles since 2016. Doing (or have done) a Leaving Cert History Project on local history -keep Offaly History in mind for your piece of research. We can help with editing and illustrations.

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  January 9, 2026

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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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  January 3, 2026

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• The ‘King Oak’ of Charleville Demesne, Tullamore. Blog no 772 from Offaly History, 29 Dec. 2025.

  The demesne of Charleville must rank as one of the last unspoilt areas of tranquillity in the vicinity of Tullamore and is much loved by the inhabitants of the town who are proud of the great oaks still surviving after hundreds of years and of the great Gothic mansion of Charleville Forest. The demesne is about one mile south of Tullamore on the Birr Road and encloses some 1,142 acres, most of which is planted with oaks, ash, elms and some conifers.

  Charles William Bury, then Lord Tullamore and soon to be earl of Charleville (1806), commenced building his castle in 1801 and completed the work of fashioning the demesne in the gothic sturm und drang manner by 1812. It was then the romantic period in literature and still is for many who walk in the demesne today. The old pre 1740 name for Charleville was Redwood and the first mansion house of Redwood was erected in 1641. When Charles Moore, Lord Tullamore, purchased the house and demesne in 1740 he called it Charleville. The old house was close to the existing farmhouse with the grotto of 1741 to the rear of the reconfigured river Clodiagh flowing through the demesne.

  

  Perhaps in deference to the oak trees in the vicinity Charles William Bury called his new house ‘not Charleville Castle but Charleville Forest. Already there was one giant tree known as the “King Oak” dominating like a watch tower the carriage drive to the town’. Look at the span of its gigantic arms.  One branch on the right of the photograph stretches 30 yards parallel to the ground.  The Bury family believed that if a branch fell, one of the Burys would die, so they supported the great arms with wooden props.  Of course there was nothing they could do to protect the trunk. In late 1963 a thunderbolt splintered the main trunk from top to bottom.  The tree survived, but the head of the family, Colonel Charles Howard-Bury, then of Belvedere, Mullingar dropped dead a few weeks later.

  

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  December 29, 2025

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• The ‘Elite’ of Tullamore skating at Charleville Lake on St Stephen’s Day 1864. By Cosney Molloy. Blog no 770, 26 12. 2025

  Skating on Charleville Lake, Tullamore was a popular pastime when I was a young lad. I remember the cold icy winters of 1962, 1982 and 2010. I can recall as a young man the Tullamore people skating on Charleville Lake in 1962. I am a long time now in D 4 but I got down a few weeks before Christmas of 2020 to the nice butchers in Tullamore – old Tormey’s was still going strong and then you had, Hanlon’s, Crossan’s of Main Street, Ray Dunne and Fergus Dunne, and a few more I would not know. I was sorry to see Grennan’s main shop closed for now in 2020. I miss Paddy Mac’s, Cleary’s and Joe ‘the Butch’ Kearney and not forgetting Dunne’s butchers off the Square. It was Treacy’s later. Liver we got a lot of and sheep’s hearts in that fine shop. Many old friends gone to the heavenly pastures. I always like to get my turkey in Tullamore and a nice ham even though I am out of the town now for over forty years. What with the bacon factory open until 1989, and now Tullamore Meats, the town has a long tradition in fine food. Come to think of it the bacon factory did a huge business in turkeys back in the 1940s and 1950s when my father was rearing same.

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  December 26, 2025

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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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  December 20, 2025

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• COOL POOL: James Scully (Kilbeggan Bridge, Tullamore) recalls happy times at the Tullamore Outdoor Swimming Pool (1938, Church Road) in the course of the launch of the new book of memories. Blog No 767, 13th Dec 2025

  ROSE-TINTED: Memories of the Tullamore Swimming Pool inevitably come through rose-tinted glasses. Some can be explained: The glorious weather – you didn’t go to the pool unless the weather was good. But there were heatwaves!! I vividly remember tar bubbling up on red hot road surfaces beyond Hop Hill Church, destroying the soles of our bare feet or God forbid THE NEW SANDALS!! from Owen Marron’s sweet smelling leathery shoe shop [in Patrick Street]

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  December 13, 2025

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• The making of O’Connor Square, Tullamore: People, Houses and Business will be launched on Wednesday 10 December 5 p.m. at the Brewery Tap, Tullamore and Ferbane 1950-2000 on 12 Dec. in Ferbane Blog No 766, 9th Dec 2025

  The making of O’Connor Square, Tullamore: People, Houses and Business will be launched on Wednesday 10 December 5 p.m. at the Brewery Tap, Tullamore. The Brewery Tap is the longest established business in the square dating back to the 1830s as a pub and brewery. The lease of the site was dated to 1713 with the property in possession of the Brennan and Thornburgh families, later Deverell, Egan, Adams, Carragher and now Paul and Cathy Anne Bell.

  We look forward to meeting you at the launch where savouries and tea/coffee will be served. Parking will be available at this time and should not cost more than 1 euro for an hour. Walkers and cyclists go free.

  The making of O’Connor Square, Tullamore: People, Houses and Business (Offaly History, Tullamore, 2025), pp 440, p/b €23, h/b €29. ISBN978-1-909822-45-0 (hardcover) ISBN978-1-909822-46-7 (softcover). The book contains fifteen essays by Michael Byrne, Fergal MacCabe, Rachel McKenna and Timothy O’Neill. Publication is supported by the Heritage Council.

  At the same event we launch Offaly Heritage 13. This the 13^th issue of the Offaly History Journal It’s another bumper issue with over 330 pages and well-illustrated, €19 soft and €25 hardback. The issue is dedicated to the late Christy Maye – a great friend to Offaly History.

  The two books are now available from Offaly History Centre, Midland Books and at www.offalyhistory.com for online.

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  December 9, 2025

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• The Silver River of Slieve Bloom. From John Feehan’s address at the launch in Kilcormac on 20.11.2025. Blog No 764, 3rd Dec 2025

  It’s almost exactly 50 years since I had the great privilege of studying the geology of Slieve Bloom as a postgraduate student in Trinity College. For over 4 years after that my job was to reach into every corner of the mountains where rock might have poked through to the surface, and then bring together the clues these pieces, of the jigsaw that told the story of the formation and subsequent history of the mountains, to form a more or less coherent picture.

  But I soon began to understand two things. First of all, that in looking at the rocks I was seeing less than half of the story; even if I included the flora and fauna they supported. The other half was the human story. Slieve Bloom is what its people have made it down all the centuries, and a parallel investigation is required to assemble all the pieces of this jigsaw together into a coherent story, and then place it over the first jigsaw. And then you begin to see how they are really two sides of the same coin. 

  And then, at the end of the four years, as some of you will know, I wrote a book about it.

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  December 3, 2025

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• Change, resilience and imagination at Lough Boora: New Sculptural Works by Kevin O’Dwyer unveiled at Lough Boora Discovery Park. Blog No 763, 29th Nov 2025

  Two new sculptural works by artist Kevin O’Dwyer have been officially launched at Lough Boora Discovery Park, marking the first major additions to the park’s sculpture collection in over a decade. The works, titled Regeneration and Light as a Feather, reflect the park’s evolving story of transformation from industrial peatlands to a landscape of ecological restoration, culture and public enjoyment.

  

  Regeneration draws inspiration from the seed as a symbol of renewal, growth, and cyclical change. Rising vertically from the ground, the work acknowledges the industrial history of the site while pointing toward its continued regeneration.

  

  Light as a Feather offers a contrasting visual language — a suspended, airy form that engages with space, balance, stillness and the quiet expansiveness of Boora’s open horizon.

  “Lough Boora is a place shaped by change, resilience and imagination,” said Kevin O’Dwyer. “These works are rooted in the landscape’s capacity to hold memory while continually becoming something new. O’Dwyer says it has been an honour to contribute to this next chapter in the park’s cultural and environmental renewal.”

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  November 29, 2025

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