County Offaly

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County Offaly (Contae Uíbh Fhailí) is a county in Leinster, Ireland, bordered by seven other counties: Galway, Roscommon, Westmeath, Meath, Kildare, Laois, and Tipperary. Originally the name referred to the Kingdom of Uí Failghe. The present county was shired in 1556 by Mary I of England during one of the Plantations of Ireland, and was then named King's County after King Philip II of Spain, and the county town was Philipstown (now called Daingean) until the nineteenth century. The county town is now Tullamore.

History

Before the plantation of modern day Offaly by English settlers, the territories it comprises were controlled principally by the Ó Conchubhair Fáilghe clan in the North/East of the county and the Ó Céarbhaill of Ely in the south. The county was created from some of the remnant Gaelic captaincys on the borderlands of the ancient kingdoms of Meath, Munster and Leinster and therefore does not correspond to the territory of the Kingdom of Uí Failghe.

Geography

The southern part of the county is occupied by the Slieve Bloom Mountains, the northwestern part is the floodplain of the River Shannon and the remainder consists of large bogs including the Bog of Allen and Boora Bog.

Towns and villages

• Tullamore (County Town)
• Ballinagar, Ballyboy, Banagher, Birr
• Cadamstown, Clara, Cloghan, Cloneygowan, Clonbullogue Clonmacnoise, Crinkill, Croghan
• Daingean
• Edenderry
• Ferbane
• Geashill
• Horseleap
• Kilcormac, Killeigh, Killoughey, Kinnitty
• Moneygall, Mountbolus
• Portarlington (half of which is in County Laois, the River Barrow forming the county boundary)
• Rahan, Rhode
• Shannonbridge, Shannon Harbour, Shinrone
• Walsh Island

Demographics

Transport and communications

Places of interest

• A notable tourist attraction is the narrow gauge Clonmacnoise and West Offaly Railway in Blackwater Bog.
• Birr in the south of the county is best known for its castle and gardens. Birr Castle is owned by the Parsons family, (the family bears the title: 'Earl of Rosse') and is best known for its 19th century telescope.

People

• The short story writer, novellist and playwright William Trevor (KBE) was born in County Offaly, and raised in County Cork, Irish Free State, and has written of his experiences growing up as a Protestant in that time and place.

See also

• List of abbeys and priories in the Republic of Ireland (County Offaly)

External links

• Offaly County Council
• Tullamore & District Chamber of Commerce
• Tullamore Life & Community
• Offaly Football and Hurling Club New York

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Last updated on Monday March 10, 2008 at 01:01:38 PDT (GMT -0700)
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