West Offaly History
West Offaly Training is supporting efforts to preserve and share West Offaly history over the last 400 years.
The media is sourced from many locations over a period of 50 years and represent the dedication and passion of one amateur histrory student.
Banagher studies
Banagher
Banagher – Beannchar na Sionna – is located in the midlands in Ireland on the western edge of County Offaly in the province of Leinster, on the banks of the River Shannon. Read more >>
Bannoher the old english towne
This study explores maps and written material prepared for Sir Matthew De Renzy 400 years ago, sourced from the London National Archives. Read more >>
SIX ACRES IN BALLYSHANE
Extraordinary pursuit by De Renzy of 6 acres of Mac Coghlan land which went on from 1624 – 1633. The correspondence includes letters in the hand of several MacCoghlans, Dallaghans .. Read more >>
A Kilmeelchon Cill Milchon A Forgotten Monastery
The townland of Kilmeelchon is located less than a mile from the centre of Banagher. Until recent times floods on the Shannon made access between them impossible for weeks and even months at a time. Read more >>
Ancient Road Stonestown Drinagh
In June 2021 some former Bord Na Móna workers and local historians came together to discuss the existence of an extensive ancient bog road between Stonestown and Drinagh, near Cloghan. Read more >>
ÁTH CRÓICH WAS THE OLD NAME FOR BANAGHER
The placename Banagher (on the Shannon) first appears in a historical source for the year 1539. .. Sir Mathew De Renzy, place name authorities have attested that Áth Cróich was the earlier name for Banagher. Read more >>
Charter of Banagher
In the barony and county aforesaid, shall from henceforth for ever be a free borough and corporation, and shall be called the borough and town of Banagher; the town to be built and erected in the most convenient part of the said lands;… Read more >>
Banagher The Placename
There are more than twenty three places in Ireland called Banagher or a version thereof. Banagher is the anglicised version of the Irish ‘Beannchor’ or ‘Beannchar’. Read more >>
MONASTIC BANAGHER IN THE 1620’s
25th Nov 2025
Four different maps from De Renzy Maps show a cross located at the junction of the Birr Road and Middle road/St Rynaghs road. (St Paul’s Church). Read more >>
PORTAVROLLA NOT PORTAVOLLA BANAGHER
29 Oct 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’ means ‘the port or harbour at the breast’ (of the hill). Read more >>
Sir Mathew De Renzy
De Renzy Gaeilge Litir Thaidhg Mhic Bhruaideadha
10th December 2025
1617 AS GAEILGE FOR THE SCHOLARS LITIR Ó THADHG MAC BRUAIDEADHAA
THE GERMAN MATHGHAMHAIN DE RENSI
Dia maille rinn. Gach duine agaibh d’aois ealadhan Lethe Cuinn le bheith/badh?? mothuightheach a/ar??
This letter, written in 1617 by Tadhg Mac Bruaideadha (anglicized Tadhg Mac Brody), is part of an intellectual dispute among Ireland’s leading poets and historians during the early 17th century. Read more >>
EXTRACTS FROM DE RENZY MS AS GAEILGE
Extract from very important letter November 1625 from Dermot Coghlan, Druinn (Ballycumber) to De Renzy concluded in Irish. Ard Na Grossa, McCoghlan, Inauguration Hill. Read more >>
De Renzy Praise poem and bio
10th December 2025
1631 MAC BRUAIDEADHA PRAISE POEM OF DE RENZY AND BIOGRAPHY AS GAEILGE.
Gaelic praise poetry in honour of planters is rare. Hence the interest of the present texts ,contained on one folio and preserved in the De Renzy manuscripts Pro sp 92/188. Matthew De Renzy London based cloth merchant and native of Germany fled to Ireland as a bankrupt in 1606 … Read more >>
Lumcloon of the Flatterys
Lomcluna na Flaitire
A study of Banagher LUMCLOON OF THE FLATTERYS and the Plantation of West Offaly. Read more >>
Moystown
Moystown Demesne is a small townland located on the western edge of King’s County in the Electoral Division of Huntston, in Civil Parish of Tisaran, in the Barony of Garrycastle, in the County of Offaly. The Irish name for Moystown Demesne is Maigh Eistea, situated close to the villages of Cloghan, Ferbane, and Banagher. Read more >>
The Beauty of the Bogs
There are 80,000 hectares of post-peat harvested bogs across 30 sites, primarily in the Midlands. Bord na Móna refers to these bogs as “cut away,” a term that is both inaccurate and misleading. In reality, several meters of peat remain on most of these bogs.
Some of these lands now host wind farms, others are designated for solar farms, many have undergone extensive rewetting, and some remain untouched since peat harvesting ceased. Over time, all these bogs will be covered in vegetation—many already are. Their natural beauty is undeniable, and they deserve to be treated with respect.
Site Content
The content on this website is not arranged scientifically but rather reflects personal areas of interest as well as availability of media. Therefor content is arranged by geographical location as the primary index.
Please click on the images to see the full-sized picture.
Transcription
Some effort has been made to tranlate and transcribe some of the media, but it is a severly difficult task due to fading ink, handwriting obscurity and historical context. We offer our efforts in humility and do not claim accuracy to any degree.