Offaly County Facts
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Land Area: 1,999 km County Town: Tullamore Code: OY Population: 63,663 (2002) Province: Leinster |
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Archive for April, 2008
Hotels in Offaly
| County Arms Hotel |
Rating: 3 Star |
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| Days Hotel Tullamore |
Rating: 3 Star |
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Pubs in Offaly
Offaly (Self Catering, Offaly, Ireland), lying in the heart of Ireland is a county of hidden treats, full of scientific and cultural history. Situated partly on the Shannon, many overseas visitors come to enjoy their pleasure cruises, touring around some of the most important historical sights in the county. This is a quaint old county full of winding roads and tiny villages. Most of the area looks very much like it did over a hundred years ago. You should check out some of Offaly interesting pubs while on your stay here.
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Genealogy in Offaly
Offaly also known as the King’s county, a county of Ireland, bounded N by E. and W. Meath, E by Kilkenny and Queen’s county, S by Tipperary, and W by Galway; 43 long and 39 broad, containing 707 square miles. With the exception of the Slieve Bloom Mountains, which form its southern boundary, the terrain of the county is mostly flat, with many large peat bogs; these now supply turf for the county’s power stations. The principal rivers of Offaly (Accommodation, Offaly, Ireland) are Shannon, Little Brosna, and Greater Brosna. It sends 2 members to parliament. The Irish name for the county reflects its pre-Norman history; it was part of the territory of U�Failghe, a tribal grouping whose name may be continued in the modern surname Faley or Fally. In historical times the most powerful families in the region were the O’Carrolls (who gave their name to Ely O’Carroll, an area in the south of the county), the O’Connors and the O’Molloys. Their lands were annexed to the English crown in the thirteenth century, but effective English control was not imposed until the sixteenth century, when county was planted with English settlers and renamed King’s County, to match its neighbour Queen’s County, now Laois. The counties acquired their present names after independence in 1922.
The main towns in Offaly (Hotels, Offaly, Ireland) include Tullamore, Birr, Clara, Edenderry, Portarlington.
Surnames associated with this county include Dooley, Dunne, Egan, Dempsey, Lalor, Flattery, Daly, Condron and Lynam.
There was some emigration from this area from the late 18th century onwards but emigration dramatically increased during the period of the Great Famine. The chief destinations were Australia, Canada and the United States of America. During the period of the Great Famine the area overall lost about 25% of its population with some towns experiencing population reductions of up to 50%.
Laois & Offaly (Holiday Cottages, Offaly, Ireland) Family History Research Centre, Bury Quay, Tullamore, Co Offaly, Ireland
The Laois & Offaly Family History Research Centre is the designated research centre for the counties of Offaly (formerly called Queen’s County) and Offaly (formerly called King’s County). The Centre offers a Full Service. All initial enquiries are answered promptly while research usually takes from four to six weeks.
Church records in the Laois & Offaly area have various starting dates:
The earliest Roman Catholic parish records at this centre start at 1763 and the latest start in 1862
The earliest Church of Ireland (Anglican/Episcopalian) records date from 1699 and the latest from 1876.
Methodist records commence in1830
In addition to the usual primary source material the Laois & Offaly (Holiday Homes, Offaly, Ireland) Family History Research Centre have indexed:
The Birr Workhouse register
Births, marriages and deaths recorded in the ‘King’s County Chronicle’ newspaper (1845 - 1865) and the ‘Leinster Express’ (1831 - 1851)
Entries in trade directories for the period 1788 to 1908
The Geashill Estate rental (1883).
About 750,000 genealogical records have now been computerised at this centre.
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