Offaly History Centre, Bury Quay, Tullamore, offalyhistory.com

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, Nogg…

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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 Inno…

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Recent Written History of Hurling. By John Dolan, no. 779 in Offaly History Blog Series, 6 Feb. 2026. As mentioned earlier there are many histories of hurling in recent times, particularly county and local club histories. A major and broad history of hurling, Scéal na hIomána was produced by Brothe…

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The 1835 Poor Law Inquiry in Philipstown, part two. No 777 in the Offaly History Blog series, 30 Jan. 2026. By J.J Reilly This is part two of a three-part blog on the 1835 Poor Law Inquiry into the baronies of Philipstown Upper and Lower. The respondents to the questionnaires for Philipstown were Rev P. Rigney and Rog…

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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 rec…

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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 India…

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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 t…

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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 livi…

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The ‘King Oak’ of Charleville Demesne, Tullamore. Blog no 772 from Offaly History 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 …

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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…

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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 Bri…

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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 ... 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 wa…

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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... 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 busi…

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Today 10 Dec. at 5 p.m

Monday, 8 Dec. Michael Hanna on Irish General Practice: the long story, at 7 30 p.m. at Offaly History Centre, Bury Quay, Tullamore, R35 Y5V0. light Christmas supper of mince pies mulled wine, tea, coffee after the meeting. Tickets for the event are just €9 to non-members and €5 to members.

Monday 8 December. Michael Hanna on his book on Irish General Practice: the long story and medical doctors at Tullamore prison in the 1880s – at 7 30 p.m. at Offaly History Centre, Bury Quay, Tullamore, R35 Y5V0. There will be a light Christmas supper no need to book and all are welcome.

Change, resilience and imagination at Lough Boora: New Sculptural Works by Kevin O’Dwyer unveiled at Lough Boora Discovery Park. Blog no: 760, 29.11.2025. 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. …

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Vikings on the Shannon. By John Dolan. blog no. 757, 14 Nov. 2025 There is little doubt that contact by sailors from Norway had occurred over many years in the 8th and 9th centuries between the islands of northern Scotland, the east coast of England and with Irel…

Vikings on the Shannon is today's blog from John Dolan
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The popular Book Fair is back at Offaly History Centre Bury Quay this Saturday 8 Nov from 10 to 4 pm - for literary and historical treasures.

Church Street, Tullamore 125 years ago: the ‘families’ (including boarders, lodgers, and assistants in 1901) – at a time of solid fuel cooking, no sewerage, poor lighting and piped water a recent nov... Did you have old friends or family in Church Street 125 years ago? Probably not. It was a busier trading street 125 ago than it is today. That could be said even sixty years. As to its trade it pro…

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King’s County/Offaly Infirmary 1767–1921. By Michael Byrne and Offaly History. No. 11 in the 2025 Living in towns series, prepared with the support of the Heritage Council. Blog no. 754, 24.10.2025. You might wonder what was Library Hall used for before being transformed into 15 apartments in about 1995 with a new block of ten to the rear (PD 2824). Yes, some will recall when it was the county…

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A hidden jewel: The Chapel of the County Hospital in Tullamore. By Fergal MacCabe. A contribution to our Anniversaries series. Blog no: 754, Anniversaries Series no. 20, 18 10 2025. The recent decision of the Health Services Executive to allocate funding for the renewal of the windows, doors and walls of the chapel of the original Offaly County Hospital, Tullamore is a welcome…

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Tullamore’s Irish National Foresters building in Church Street. By Michael Byrne and Offaly History. In the Offaly History series on Church Street, Tullamore: houses, businesses and families over 300... The Foresters building fronting Church Street would not be so easy to recognise today as the ground floor is part of the Chanapa Thai restaurant east of the old Shambles. In March 2024 we published…

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The Bulfin Bulletin: The Path to Publication. By Timothy Moloney. Blog no. 752, 10 10 2025. No. 22 in the 2025 Offaly History anniversaries series. In February 2025 William Bulfin’s travelogue Rambles in Eirinn was reissued in a new edition by Merrion Press. I had been working on the Bulfin legacy over the previous twelve years, and this publi…

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Andrew Conway (1797–1860) and Eleanor Conway (1799–1844) of Ferbane and New South Wales. By Laura Price, Blog no.751. 4 Oct 2025 A chance find led me to the story of Andrew and Eleanor (Ellen) Conway born in Offaly in the late 1790s. Looking for local records in the National Archives of Ireland I found a letter written to Mr…

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Portavrolla not Portavolla Banagher. By Kieran Keenaghan/ Blog not 750 in the Offaly History Series, 1.10.2025 The place name ‘Portavrolla’ in Banagher can be traced back at least 450 years. Just very recently one ‘r’ was dropped so we now have Portavolla. ‘Port an bhrollaigh&#…

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The leasing of plots or sites for building in Church Street, Tullamore from Lord Charleville to his tenants, 1786–1830s. Part 2. By Michael Byrne and Offaly History. In the Offaly History series on Ch... Table 1: Buildings erected in Church Street, Tullamore from 1726 to 1924 Here we present a summary of the discussion in the last blog on the leasing of Church Street. GV 1 was up to 2000 the old Ha…

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The leasing of plots or sites for building in Church Street, Tullamore from Lord Charleville to his tenants, 1786–c. 1835.By Michael Byrne and Offaly History. Offaly History series, Church Street, Tul... Church Street is unusual in Tullamore in that it does not have a common width throughout and its lower half, closest to the town centre, is clearly earlier than the upper half from the Methodist ch…

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Monday 22 September An Introduction to the Architectural Heritage of County Offaly by Damian Murphy at Offaly History Centre, Bury Quay 7 30 p, all welcome.
The meeting is open to all. We charge a nominal sum of €2 to €5 for tea and biscuits after the meeting. Stay on and get to meet more people.

William Bulfin: Birr’s Fenian Travel Writer. By Luke Condron. Blog no. 747, No. 19 in the Offaly History Anniversaries Series. 20.9.2025 On the 1st of February, 1910, a Gaelic League nationalist died quietly in his home in Derrinlough House, Birr, County Offaly. Four days later, in An Claidheamh Soluis, he was briefly memorialised i…

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