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HISTORYLECTURE SERIESOffaly Libraries2021

The Irish country house was central to Irish rural communities and in Offaly it was nodifferent. The local ‘big house’ played an integral role in the social, political andeconomic life in the community in which they were located. However, for many thecountry house was also a symbol of colonialism. Dotted throughout Offaly are theremnants of many houses, which were burned during the political turmoil of the early1920s and others, which were left to fall to ruin in the decades that followed. This illustrated lecture was commissioned in partnership with Offaly History as part of the Decade of Centenaries programme. The burning of the 'Big House' in Offaly by Dr. Ciarán ReillySeptember 9th @ 7.30pm Offaly LibrariesHISTORY LECTURE SERIES2021Suggested reading Ciarán Reilly, ‘The burning of country houses in Co. Offaly during therevolutionary period, 1920-3’ in Terence Dooley and ChristopherRidgway (ed.), The Irish county house : its past, present and future(Dublin, 2011)Terence Dooley, The decline of the big house in Ireland: a study of theIrish landed families, 1860-1960 (Dublin, 2001)

The 1798 rebellion in Offaly In the summer of 1798 Ireland was engulfed in rebellion led by theSociety of United Irishmen. While Offaly was a not a main theatre ofwar it was badly affected by the violence. From Shinrone to Edenderry, the United Irish conspiracy had takenroot in the years prior to the rebellion. This lecture will examine theimpact of the United Irishmen in Offaly and how the authoritiesquashed the rebellion there. by Dr. Ciarán ReillyOctober 14th @ 7.30pm Offaly LibrariesHISTORY LECTURE SERIES2021Suggested reading Ciarán Reilly, Edenderry County Offaly and the Downshire estate,1790-1800 (Dublin, 2007)Ruan O’Donnell, ‘Kings county in 1798’ in William Nolan andTimothy O'Neill (ed.), Offaly: History and society : interdisciplinaryessays on the history of an Irish county (Dublin, 1998)

Doing local history in Offaly: A guide to the sources Are you interested in local and family history? This illustrated and guided lecture introduces you to the sourceswhich are available for the study of local history in Offaly. In particular the lecture will highlight the sources that are availablefor consultation in Offaly. by Dr. Ciarán ReillyNovember 11th @ 7.30pm Offaly LibrariesHISTORY LECTURE SERIES2021Suggested reading Michael Byrne, Sources for Offaly History (Tullamore, 1978)Michael Byrne, ‘A select bibliography of county Offaly history’ in WilliamNolan and Timothy O'Neill, Offaly : history and society : interdisciplinaryessays on the history of an Irish county (Dublin, 1998)Ciarán Reilly ‘An introduction to sources for the study of landed estatesin King's County (Offaly)’ in Offaly Heritage, volume 8 (2015)

Aspects of the Land War of the 1880s in Offaly by Dr. Ciarán ReillyDecember 9th @ 7.30pm Offaly LibrariesHISTORY LECTURE SERIES2021Following successive failures of the harvest in the late 1870s Ireland wason the brink of famine. Backed by the Land League, Irish tenant farmersbegan to press for land reform, while also looking for a reduction in rents. In Offaly, and elsewhere, these demands led to a clash with the landlordsof the county. Using a number of case studies this lecture examines theimpact of the Land War in Offaly. Suggested reading RV Comerford, The land war and the politics of distress, 1877-82’ inW.E. Vaughan (ed.), A new history of Ireland. Vol. 6 : Ireland underthe Union, pt. 2, 1870-1921 (Oxford, 1996)Ciarán Reilly, Edenderry 1916 and the revolutionary era (Naas,2016)

Recognised as an international expert on theGreat Irish Famine, he is the author ofStrokestown & the Great Famine; The IrishLand Agent, 1830-1860: The case of King’sCounty and John Plunket Joly & the GreatFamine in King’s County. In 2020 his book, Capard: An Irish country house & estate, Ciaránwon the Nilsson Prize in Heritage at the Listowel Writers Week. Dr. Ciarán ReillyOffaly LibrariesHISTORY LECTURE SERIES2021Dr Ciarán Reilly is an historian of 19th & 20thcentury Irish history based at MaynoothUniversity. www.offaly.ie/libraries

Offaly LibrariesHISTORY LECTURE SERIES2021