The Goodbody family is widely associated with the prosperous Quaker industrial dynasty that emerged in Clara and Tullamore during the nineteenth century. However, this article focuses on a lesser-known and far less successful branch of the family: the descendants of Thomas Goodbody (1783–1848), brother of the prominent miller Robert Goodbody (1781–1860). While Robert’s line flourished, Thomas’s life and that of his children was marked by repeated financial failure, instability, and eventual decline, culminating in the disappearance of the Goodbody name from Birr by the early twentieth century.
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Concrete and Community Kieran Keenaghan – An Appreciation by Offaly History. Blog no. 792, 18 April 2026
Kieran Keenaghan began his professional journey in 1967 as a civil engineer working on motorway construction in County Down. After gaining experience in the North, he returned to his native Offaly in 1969 to work for Bantile, a precast concrete factory near his home. He later moved to Charleville, Co. Cork to work as a project engineer for Golden Vale, overseeing significant building projects during a period of major investment in the dairy industry. In 1976, Kieran took a significant entrepreneurial risk by partnering with five others to buy the insolvent Bantile premises and establish Banagher Concrete. Under his leadership as Managing Director for over 40 years, the business grew from a small local operation into a national leader employing up to 500 people. Throughout his career, he integrated his professional engineering expertise with a deep commitment to the GAA, often leading major local development projects such as the Faithful Fields in Kilcormac.
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Henry Robinson in conversation with Sandra Robinson about his life at Belmont from the 1930s and working with the Grand Canal Company. Offaly History blog Series, no. 791, 17 Apr. 2026
Introduction
My grandfather, Henry Robinson, was born on the 18th of November 1920 and lived his entire life in the countryside between the villages of Belmont and Cloghan in County Offaly in Ireland. He grew up on a small strip of land between the River Brosna and the Grand Canal.
It was on the Grand Canal where his own father, G.R. worked on the local jetty, unloading goods and acting as an agent for Guinness. The Grand Canal to Shannon Harbour was opened in 1804, and for some 150 years was a vital industrial thoroughfare linking Dublin with Limerick.
The canal ran from the centre of Dublin and through the Irish Midlands until it met the River Shannon. Barges would travel along the canal and then down the Shannon and across the waters of Lough Derg, until they reached the city of Limerick.
Over the course of several months in 2003, my aunt Sandra Robinson sat down with her father, my grandfather, and recorded some 24 hours’ worth of material on cassette tapes detailing his life and his knowledge of farming, milling, the canal trade and the history of the Belmont area of West Offaly. I have digitised and remastered these recordings in order that they be preserved for posterity. Here I present some 35 minutes of cut together with material detailing my grandfather and great grandfather’s experiences working on the Grand Canal.
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The Enduring Legacy and Future of County Offaly’s Industrial (Cultural) Heritage. No. 1 in a new series on Industrial Heritage. Blog no 790 in the Offaly History Series. By Anna Orman, Clara Heritage Society.
The noun ‘palimpsest’ derives from the Greek words pālin (again) and psēn (to scrape), and it relates to phenomena that have experienced temporal change and show clear evidence of such transformation.1In industrial heritage, the term ‘palimpsest’ is used to describe the ongoing spatial and social cycles involved in the reutilisation of industrial sites. It indicates multiple layers of activities and cultural practices that evolve within the same geographical space over time. Elements that endure across different periods can be either tangible, such as built heritage structures and redundant machinery, or intangible, like traditional craftsmanship, traditional knowledge systems, and cultural values.2It is important to recognise that the International Committee for the Conservation of Industrial Heritage (TICCIH), the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS), and the Industrial Heritage Association of Ireland classify industrial heritage as a vital part of cultural heritage.3
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Farming in the Philipstown/Daingean in the 1830s: the evidence from the the 1835 Poor Law Inquiry part four (final): ‘The farmers who occupy the district are of two classes; some few large farmers very respectable, but the small farmers poor and distressed’. By J.J. Reilly. Offaly History Blog no. 789, 2.4.2026.
[This is part four and the final part of a blog article on the 1835 Poor Law Inquiry into the baronies of Philipstown Upper and Lower and is based on the transcripts from the original reports into social conditions in Ireland before the Famine. It provides a fascinating picture of farming in the area before the Famine, Ed.
Enjoy the weekend and sitback. We have the Book Fair on Saturday 4 April from 10 to 4 at Offaly History Centre, Bury Quay, beside the new Aldi.]
Tillage
The general produce of this barony is about equal proportions of tillage and grazing and the average size of the tillage farms is from 10 to 20 Irish acres; the Irish acre [1.62 statute acres] is used throughout the district. The largest farmer in this part of the country is Mr. Rait, who holds 700 Irish acres. In this barony there are no mountain dairy farms. The nature of the soil partakes of all kinds, from rich loam to the poorest clay, and was considered to be deteriorating in quality from the want of means among the farmers, caused by the low price of agricultural produce. It was, however, stated that the entire produce was greater now than formerly, owing to the far greater exertions now made. The farmers who occupy the district are of two classes; some few large farmers very respectable, but the small farmers poor and distressed. Some of the wheat is of the first quality, but in general it is not good in the district.
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An opportunity to see the old Tullamore jail and hear of its turbulent history in the 1880s, 28 March, Saturday from 10.00 a.m. A welcome to all and meet local history enthusiasts for coffee at 10 and the book launch at 11 a.m. An Offaly History blog, no. 788, 27 March 2026.
28 March Saturday at 11.00 a.m. at the former Tullamore Prison/Kilcruttin Business Park, Cormac Street, Tullamore, for the Launch of a new edition of Prison Poems or Lays of Tullamore by T.D. Sullivan, edited by Terry Moylan and Padráig Turley. Sullivan like William O’Brien and John Mandeville were political prisoners who refused to wear the prison clothes.
See Cormac Street from a new perspective
Jacket of the new edition of Prison Poems Today we are reminded of the jail every time we stop at the lights at the junction with Cormac Street, Kilcruttin and Charleville Road and look to the magnificent limestone façade, memorial tablet, jail warders’ cottages and the very fine gates with their Roman fasces to remind us of the symbols of authority back to early times. Then who has not heard of the underground passage (now mostly closed off) that allowed the prisoners to be brought into one of the two semi-circular courts in the old pre-1922 courthouse.
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Tullamore Jail moves the muse in T.D. Sullivan, Lord Mayor of Dublin. The new annotated edition of Prison Poems; or Lays of Tullamore (1888, new edition 2025). By Terry Moylan and Pádraig Turley. To be launched at Tullamore Prison gates, Cormac Street on Saturday 28 March at 11 a.m. Blog 787 21.3.2026
The new edition of Prison Poems or Lays of Tullamore by T.D. Sullivan, now edited by Terry Moylan and Padráig Turley, will be launched on Saturday 28 March at 11 a.m. at Cormac Street entrance to the old prison. Coffee will be available from 10 a.m. at Tullamore market Spollanstown to the rear of the old prison, now Kilcruttin Centre.. Parking is available at the farmers’ market, Spollanstown and at the Cormac Street frontage to the old jail (best approached from Cormac St to take a left turn into the jail/Kilcruttin Centre). Pedestrian access only will be available from the market to the front of the jail from 10 to 12 noon The book can be ordered online from Offaly History or purchased on the day or later at Offaly History Centre and Midland Books.
28 March Saturday at 11.00 a.m. at the former Tullamore Prison/Kilcruttin Business Park, Cormac Street, Tullamore,
The plan is to meet in the farmers’ market, Spollanstown for coffee from 10 a.m. and process at 10 45 to the front hall of the jail for the launch. Tony Flanagan has kindly sponsored the coffee in the market and OH will distribute a voucher ticket to those attending the book launch.
The book will be launched by Michael Hanna who gave the lecture in December 2025.
The launch should take about thirty minutes.
The speakers are:
Chair of Offaly History Shaun Wrafter welcomes the speakers
Padraig Turley, a co-editor, on the author T.D. Sullivan
Terry Moylan, co-editor, on the Poems
Delcan Harvey Cathaoirleach of Tullamore Municipal
Michael Hanna to launch – on the jail, medical men and the new book. Michael Hanna is the author of Irish General Practice: the long story. He spoke on medical doctors at Tullamore prison in the 1880s in the course of his lecture to Offaly History in December 2025.
Michael Byrne, General Secretary Offaly History, to close and thanks to all.
[Before moving to the article Offaly History wish to congratulate the authors/editors on the issue of the new annotated edition of Prison Poems; or Lays of Tullamore from Terry Moylan and Pádraig Turley and published by Offaly History with the support of the Decade of Commemorations funding. The book is now on sale and is available from Offaly History Bury Quay and online at www.offalyhistory.com. Ed.]
Timothy Daniel Sullivan MP and Lord Mayor of Dublin published Prison Poems; or Lays of Tullamore in 1888, printed by The Nation at 90 Middle Abbey Street, Dublin. What are these about? What made Sullivan write them?
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Noel MacMahon, Former Principal of Shinrone, Co. Offaly. An Educator and an Historian.An appreciation article by Offaly History. Presented by Aidan Barry. Blog no. 786, 17.3.2026.
Introduction:
Noel MacMahon passed away on 4th March 2026. Noel was born in Shinrone, Co. Offaly, in 1934, into a family where education was the primary vocation. He attended primary school in Shinrone where his parents were principals of the local boys’ and girls’ schools. He attended St Flannan’s secondary school in Ennis and later attended University College Galway (UCG), earning a B.Comm. He entered national teaching somewhat “on the spur of the moment” in 1952 when a new rule allowed graduates to qualify with one year at St. Patrick’s College of Education, Dublin. Following his graduation and after three years as principal in Coolderry, he returned to Shinrone in 1959 to succeed his retiring father. Noel retired from teaching in 1997 but continued to contribute to parish life by publishing a number of books on the history of the area.Oral Historian:
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Starting in 1994, Noel recorded interviews with 31 local residents of Shinrone, including blacksmiths and estate workers, to preserve their knowledge before it was lost. These interviews are now available on “Voices of Offaly” which can be accessed from the homepage of the Offaly History website (www.offalyhistory.com)
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The incarceration of T.D. Sullivan – Lord Mayor of Dublin – in Tullamore jail, December 1887. Published (13.3.2026) to mark the launch of the new edition of Sullivan’s Prison Poems: Lays of Tullamore at Tullamore jail/Kilcruttin Centre, Cormac Street, on Saturday 28 March 2026 at 11 a.m. Blog no. 785 in the Offaly History Series. By Martin Hoctor.
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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The 1835 Poor Law Inquiry in Philipstown/Daingean: the state of Ballycommon and Kilclonfert, part three. No 784 in the Offaly History Blog series, 6 March 2026. By J.J. Reilly
This is part three of a four-part blog on the 1835 Poor Law Inquiry into the baronies of Philipstown Upper and Lower. The respondents to the questionaries for Philipstown/Daingean were Rev P. Rigney and Roger North. Roger North was a landowner in King’s County. He inherited the Kilduff estate upon the death of his father, Roger North, in 1830. He was involved in estate management, including raising rents, which made him unpopular with local farmers and other landlords.[1] North was shot dead in 1850.
Transcripts of the Poor Law Reports – Continued The questions raised by the Poor Law Commissioners for the local respondents are in the column on the left
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