Hugely important book by Offaly author is launched

A HUGELY important book by Birr author John Feehan was officially launched by the Cathaoirleach of Offaly County Council Cllr Eddie Fitzpatrick in the Clara GAA Centre recently.

John has written a tour de force about one of the most important rivers in the midlands, The Brosna.

Ten years in the making, “The River Brosna An Environmental History” has been published by Offaly County Council, Westmeath County Council and Creative Ireland.

The launch, which was hosted by Clara Heritage Society, featured Guest Speaker Ella McSweeney, presenter of RTE's Ear to the Ground and columnist with The Irish Times.

Ella McSweeney said the book is a great achievement. She said it's beautifully and expertly written by John and is lovely to look at. She pointed out that it's full of fascinating details about the River.

For example, on page 118 John tells us, “In days gone by, alder was so prominent along the Brosna and other rivers in Offaly that Sir Charles Coote thought it might be considered Offaly's 'County Tree'.”

Another example is the passage dealing with the creatures that have adapted to the river's current: “A rich assemblage of worms, leeches, shrimps, mites, insects and molluscs is found in eroding substrates. What they all have in common is the ability to withstand the force of the current. They achieve this either by keeping down among the stones and gravel or by means of various structural or behavioural modifications which enable them to do so.”

Ella also drew our intention to the important final chapter of the book, “The Future of the Brosna Catchment.” This chapter makes an impassioned plea for the restoration of access to the river. “A major challenge with regard to access,” writes John, “is that growth of riverside vegetation over the last several decades makes access to the river difficult to impossible along many stretches, especially along the upper Brosna. There are few reaches of the Brosna where it is possible to walk along its banks without encountering obstacles.”

Ella said restoring access to large parts of the river would be a major achievement for Westmeath and Offaly. She said she hopes this will happen as it's sad to think of so much of the river being inaccessible.

Cllr Liam McDaniel, Cathaoirleach of Westmeath County Council, also congratulated John on a fine and important book. He said the river is greatly loved by the people of Westmeath. “We are also proud that the river's source is in Lough Owel north of Mullingar (from where it runs for a length of about 50 miles to its mouth at Shannon Harbour, flowing into the River Shannon).” He said Westmeath County Council was delighted to have been involved in the publication of the book.

Cllr Eddie Fitzpatrick called the book a “significant publication, a huge body of work.” He said the people of Offaly are very grateful to John for his hard work, research, and publications over the years. “We are very grateful to you for sharing your important knowledge with us.”

The Chairperson pointed out that rivers mean a great deal to most people in Offaly and Westmeath, and the Brosna especially so.

John commented that it was a great pleasure to be launching the book in front of “a large, enthusiastic and intelligent audience!” He pointed out that the book examines the river close-up but also zooms back to look at it from the macro point of view. He added that the river isn't mentioned as much as it should be in publications, probably because it doesn't rise in the hills nor does it flow into the sea. He thanked many people for their assistance with the project, especially the Offaly Heritage Officer Amanda Pedlow.

His final word was for his wife Róisín who for many years has been very understanding and supportive while he is undertaking his research and writing.

The River Brosna is available at Offaly History, Bury Quay, Tullamore or at your local library service.