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 ... Read More

Monastic Foundations Where Leinster formerly contained (according to Ware, 1654) some forty-four religious foundations of various descriptions. A short account of the more important of these may commence with Clonmacnois, which is situated on the banks of the Shannon some nine miles from Athlone, Offaly. One of the most interesting early monastic settlements in western Europe, it was founded in A.D.. 547 by St. Ciaran, and rapidly grew in importance, becoming one of the greatest of the Irish monastic schools. Many famous ... Read More

Architecture Monastic Foundations Where Leinster formerly contained (according to Ware, 1654) some forty-four religious foundations of various descriptions. A short account of the more important of these may commence with Clonmacnois, which is situated on the banks of the Shannon some nine miles from Athlone, Offaly. One of the most interesting early monastic settlements in western Europe, it was founded in A.D.. 547 by St Ciaran, and rapidly grew in importance, becoming one of the greatest of the Irish monastic schools. Many ... Read More