A nationalist political party founded by William O'Brien in 1898, in Westport, Co. Mayo, its main objective was to force landlords to break up large uncultivated grasslands, surrender them to the Congested Districts boards, and redistribute them to tenants of smaller agricultural holdings. By 1900 it had 462 branches in 25 counties.
King's County Council was formed under the Local Government (Ireland) Act, 1898. At the annual meeting of 19 June 1920, a proposal was put forward to change the name of King's County Council to that of Offaly County Council, with all printed matter in connection with the Council to bear the new title from that date.
J. & L. F. Goodbody was established in 1865 as a jute manufacturing business based at Clashawaun in Clara and also with offices in Dublin. Its directors were Jonathan Goodbody (1865-88), Lewis F. Goodbody (1865-87), Robert Goodbody (c1870-88), Joshua C. Goodbody (c1873-88), Fredrick R. Goodbody (1880-88) and J. B. Clibborn Goodbody (1880-88).
The business was formed into a limited company in 1888 and traded under the name J. & L. F. Goodbody Ltd. As well as jute, it also manufactured cotton and synthetics. Its main factories at Clara and Waterford were later joined by factories at Dublin, Limerick and Slane. In 1937, it became a public company when outside shareholders and directors were introduced. It was quoted on the Dublin Stock Exchange and wound up in 1984. The family crest was adopted as the registered trade mark.
Captain Bernard Daly took over Tullamore Distillery in 1887. Daniel E. Williams (1848–1921) who had joined the distillery in 1864 as an engineer, was promoted by Daly to General Manager of the Distillery in 1885. The distillery grew in strength and in 1903 was incorporated into the company B. Daly & Co., Ltd. The most famous brand produced was the whiskey, Tullamore DEW. Captain Daly held a portion of the shares in B. Daly & Co. Ltd., and the Williams family held the remainder. D. E. Williams died in 1921 and the business was taken over by his son, Captain John Williams. In 1931, Captain Daly resigned as director of the board and the Williams family acquired all shares in the company. In response to falling whiskey sales in the 1940s, an associate company, The Irish Mist Liqueur Co. Ltd was formed in 1948 to bring a new product to the market. In 1952, the brand name Tullamore DEW was sold to Irish Distillers Ltd, and B. Daly & Co. Ltd ceased distilling and diversified into chicken production.
North Offaly GAA Sub-committee
North Offaly GAA was a sub-committee of Offaly County Board consisting of delegates representing Ballinagar, Ballycommon, Ballycumber, Bracknagh, Clara, Cloghan, Clonmore, Cloneygowan, Edenderry, Durrow, Geashill, Gurteen, Killeigh, Knockballyboy, Philipstown (Daingean), Rahan, Raheen, Rhode, and Tullamore clubs.
Gaelic games were introduced to the Ballinamere area in the late 1880s and an official club was established in the early years of the 20th century. In 1909, Ballinamere players amalgamated with Tullamore to field a team which won the first hurling championship for North Offaly. Following a decline in the participation of the sport in the area in the succeeding years, it underwent a revival in the 1930s and the club exists to the present day.
King’s County Infirmary was established under King George III’s reign with the passing of the Irish County Infirmaries Act of 1765. This act enabled the creation of infirmaries in thirty Irish counties. In an amending act from 1768, King’s County Infirmary was moved from Philipstown (Daingean) to Tullamore, the new county town. During the redevelopment of Tullamore town by the Earl of Charleville, a new infirmary building was erected in 1788 on Church Street and was further extended in 1812.
The County Infirmaries Act was enacted to provide healthcare to the poor which fulfilled the eighteenth century philanthropic ideals of the landed gentry who supported these institutions through donations and subscriptions. King’s County Infirmary was supported by an income comprising of parliamentary funds, grand jury presentments, governor subscriptions, donations, and patient fees. The infirmary was managed by a Board of Governors who paid subscriptions for their position on the board. Governors had absolute control over the infirmary including staff appointments and patient admissions. To gain access to the infirmary, Governors issued tickets of admission which were most likely given to their employees, tenants, and servants. The governors who supported the hospital were made up of local gentry and landowners such as the Earl of Rosse, Lord Digby and prominent businessowners such as the Goodbody family.
During the War of Independence, King’s County Infirmary came under the jurisdiction of the new Sinn Féin majority council, now renamed Offaly County Council. On the 21st of January 1921, the secretary to Offaly County Council attended a meeting of the board to inform them of the closure of the infirmary. It was to be closed under the Offaly amalgamation scheme whereby the workhouse hospital would become the new County Hospital. The board pleaded with the council to delay the closure in order to settle the affairs of the hospital in relation to critical patients and financial matters. The hospital eventually closed in August 1921 after it was reported by the surgeon and registrar to the board, that the bedding and beds were carried out of the infirmary by unknown persons suspected to be under orders of the county council.
Following its closure, King’s County Infirmary accommodated the civil guards and then housed the county library until 1977. The façade of the original King’s County Infirmary can still be seen on Church Street, Tullamore, which has now been repurposed into apartments.
Edenderry’s Poor Law Union was formed on the 7th of May in 1839. The Union was controlled by twenty-two elected Board of Guardians, as well as seven ex-officio Guardians, who all met weekly. It covered an area of 172,410 acres, representing electoral divisions from three different counties: from Offaly (King’s) – Ballaghassan, Ballyburly, Ballymacwilliam, Bracknagh, Clonbullogue, Clonmore, Clonsast, Croghan, Edenderry, Esker, Knockdrin and Monasteroris. From County Kildare – Ballynadrummy, Cadamstown, Carbury, Carrick, Cloncurry, Drehid, Dunfierth, Killinthomas, Kilpatrick, Kilrainy, Lullymore, Rathangan, Thomastown and Windmill Cross. From County Meath – Ardnamullen, Ballyboggan, Castlejordan, and the Hill of Down.
Edenderry workhouse, designed to accommodate 600 people, was completed in 1841 and took in its first residents in 1842. While the workhouse closed in 1921, the administrative structures of Edenderry Union were abolished in 1925, with the Board of Guardians powers being formally transferred to the county council’s Board of Health. The workhouse building itself had various uses in the following decades before being levelled in 1976 to make way for a home for the aged ‘Ofalia House’.