Ely O'Carroll signs in south Offaly are out of date

THERE are a number of old Ely O'Carroll Country signs positioned on roads in south Offaly and north Tipperary which need to be removed.
Ely O'Carroll Country was a local tourism brand which lasted for a number of years in the 1990s and the noughties, but ran out of steam and was replaced by a number of subsequent tourism brands including Mid Ireland Tourism, Ireland's Ancient East and, the latest iteration, Ireland's Hidden Heartlands.
Ely O’Carroll country is the name given to the parts of present-day Offaly and North Tipperary once occupied by the Gaelic lords, the O’Carroll clan.
The O’Carrolls held sway over an area stretching from the Shannon to the Slieve Blooms for several hundred years.
The Ely O'Carroll Country tourism brand promoted Birr and Roscrea, the Shannon, Slieve Bloom mountains, Clonmacnoise, castles, golf, cycling, fishing and watersports, adventure holidays, crafts, etc.
Cllr John Carroll raised the issue of the defunct signage during the May meeting of Offaly County Council. “There are a number of Ely O'Carroll road signs still in place at a number of spots in south Offaly and North Tipp,” he said. “They are years beyond their sell by date and they should be taken down. Now that we have only recently joined a new tourism brand, Ireland's Hidden Heartlands, I think it would be a good time to take the signs down and perhaps replace them with Ireland's Hidden Heartlands signs.”
Olive Farrelly, Offaly Tourism Officer, told the councillor that Offaly Tourism is aware of the problem and has talked to the Area Engineer about removing the signs. She added that Fáilte Ireland will replace the Ireland's Ancient East signs with the Ireland's Hidden Heartlands signs.
Many O'Carrolls emigrated to North America and some of them became famous. Most famously, Charles Carroll was one of the signatories of the American Declaration of Independence in 1776.
Cllr Danny Owens told the meeting that because of the Irish diaspora worldwide and the incredibly strong link between Ireland and the US, genealogy should be a very important part of any tourism plan/drive. “I have taken part in a number of O'Molloy Clan Association get-togethers over the years,” commented Cllr Owens. “They have always been a great success and great fun.”