Historical Society in Offaly opens new season of lectures before a large audience

THE first in this season’s series of Birr Historical Society lectures was held in Dooly’s Hotel, where a large audience was in attendance. Please note that Dooly’s Hotel will be the venue for all their meetings this season.

Birr Historical Society Acting Chairman, Dr Denis Shine opened proceedings as he welcomed everyone and introduced Dr Christy Cunniffe, the speaker for the night.

Christy gave a very informative talk entitled “Fluttering in the Dovecotes”, a talk which gave a deep insight into medieval and early modern dovecotes of Galway and the Midlands.

Christy, who hails from Clonfert, is a retired but actively engaged community archaeologist. He also currently serves as a voluntary curator at the Irish Workhouse Museum in Portumna. In 2020, Christy was honoured when he won the national Heritage Hero award at the National Heritage Week awards.

Christy began by giving a brief outline of the lecture and explaining the term “fluttering in a dovecote”, which is described as a mild disturbance among certain groups of people especially ones which are typically quiet or conservative in nature. It could be compared to pigeons fluttering their wings in response to an agitation in the dovecote.

A dovecote is a structure designed to house pigeons or doves, often featuring internal compartments or pigeonholes for them to nest and roost. Historically, they were found on large estates and castles and were seen as a privilege of the aristocracy, making them a symbol of wealth and status. Many medieval monasteries were also known to have had dovecotes such as the Augustinians and Cistercians orders in particular.

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Christy described how dovecotes were often built with a variety of materials, most commonly with stone for larger, more permanent structures and often lined with brick inside, or wood and other materials for smaller, temporary examples. Dovecotes had a small entrance at ground level for human access and an opening in the roof or gable for pigeon access.

They were often free standing structures with a circular shape inside with small compartments to allow the birds to nest in. They could also be built into the end of houses or barns. Dovecotes varied in size from holding possibly thousands of pigeons to only 20 or 30 birds. They were sometimes situated away from the main house because the pigeons could be messy.

There are many addresses associated with these birds in Ireland such as Dovegrove, Birr, The Pigeons Athlone, Pigeon House Dublin, Pigeon Park in Clonfert, to name but a few.

Notable examples of dovecotes locally include the Augustinian Abbey in Clonfert, Eyrecourt Castle, Ashmount House near Clara and Harvest Lodge near Lorrha.

Other names associated with dovecotes were Columbarium from the Latin Columba (dove), pigeon lofts (racing breed), pigeon houses, pigeon parks and dove parks.

The main purpose of the dovecote was twofold. Firstly, doves and pigeons were a source of fresh meat and eggs for the table, the meat being described as a luxury. Secondly, and every bit as important, was the manure produced by the birds - better known as pigeon guano it was a highly prized fertiliser used throughout the estate gardens.

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As the pigeons aged they were often released for the benefits of shoots on the estates, another popular use at the time saw the bird’s feathers being used by aristocratic household for ornamental purposes.

The demise of the dovecotes in the nineteenth century could be attributed to a number of factors. The introduction to Ireland of the brown rat from China in the early 1700’s, which soon replaced the black rat in numbers, greatly impacted dove numbers, with the brown rat killing birds and eating eggs. The gradual replacement of cereal crops by root crops and the decline in corn availability (the birds' feed), due to changes in agricultural practices, also impacted dove numbers. Finally, in the aftermath of the Famine it became more difficult to maintain the Big House with associated dovecotes reducing in importance as a result.

A very interesting question and answers session took place after Christy’s presentation. Following on, Acting Chairman, Denis proceeded to close the meeting as he thanked the speaker, Dr Christy Cunniffe and then thanked all for their attendance. He also acknowledged Dooly’s Hotel and their staff for the way the meeting room was presented and for their supply of refreshments afterwards.

Of note, Birr Historical Society also recently held their Annual General Meeting. There was a good attendance on the night with a full agenda to be discussed. Many thanks to retiring Chairperson, Finbar Spain, Secretary, Janine Wilson and PRO, Teresa Ryan-Feehan for their work during the year. Following the election of officers the following were appointed: - Acting Chairperson - Dr Denis Shine, Assistant Chairperson – Bridget Sullivan, Secretary – Molly Kavanagh, Treasurer – John Hoare and PRO – Jimmy Shortt. Committee – Jackie Lynch, Patricia Grimes, Janine Wilson, Margaret Hogan and Brian Pey.

Meetings will be held on the second Monday of the month in Dooly’s Hotel from October 2025 to April/May 2026. Next up in their series is Stephen Callaghan’s lecture on November 10th, featuring his research on a remarkable star-shaped fort nestled beside the Military Barracks in Crinkill, Birr Please note change of venue.

There is a charge of €5 per night per lecture or you can avail of membership for the year at €20 per adult, €30 per couple while students are free.

If you would like to learn more about local history and archaeology, just come along to one of their meetings. All are most welcome. Alternatively, follow them on Facebook to know more about their activities.

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