Search
23 Oct 2025
Search
23 Oct 2025
Please allow ads as they help fund our trusted local news content.
Kindly add us to your ad blocker whitelist.
If you want further access to Ireland's best local journalism, consider contributing and/or subscribing to our free daily Newsletter .
Support our mission and join our community now.
To continue reading this article, you can subscribe for as little as €0.50 per week which will also give you access to all of our premium content and archived articles!
Alternatively, you can pay €0.50 per article, capped at €1 per day.
Thank you for supporting Ireland's best local journalism!
Bottling history and memorabilia will be focus of exhibition
TWO Offaly History members have teamed up to curate a fascinating exhibition which takes place this weekend in Tullamore.
Noel Guerin and Pat Doheny are the men behind History in Bottles – Exhibition of Tullamore Brewing and Distilling Memorabilia which is scheduled for Saturday and Sunday, August 23-24 and is part of the national Heritage Week.
Evidence of glass making in Offaly (formerly known as King’s County) can be traced back to the 17th century. Glass production flourished throughout the county and as a result it was one of the main glass making areas of Ireland.
The History in Bottles exhibition explores the development of bottles. Visitors to the exhibition can view examples of 17th century onion bottles, 18th century mallet and cylindrical bottles, and 19th century Hamilton and Codd bottles.
The free exhibition will display a comprehensive collection of embossed bottles used by the Williams and Egan firms of Tullamore.
Visitors can view many fine examples of 19th and 20th century black, clear, brown and green embossed bottles used by the two Tullamore brewing and distilling firms to supply mineral waters, beers, wines and whiskies to their many customers.
Throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, Tullamore enjoyed a vibrant brewing and distilling industry.
The two local firms of P & H Egan and D.E. Williams employed large workforces and for over a century both contributed significantly to the economic development of Tullamore.
Almost every family in Tullamore had a member working in either Egans or Williams and many houses proudly displayed memorabilia from the local firms.
READ NEXT: Massive sum raised for Offaly charity in 24-hour cycling challenge
The exhibition will also display Tullamore related brewing and distilling memorabilia.
Visitors will see five different sized Irish Mist figures, 10 P & H Egan and 10 D. E. Williams figures, along with various sized whiskey jars ranging in capacity from a half gallon to five gallons.
Signs, price lists, advertising and promotional material produced by the two Tullamore firms will also be on show.
The exhibition takes place in Offaly History Centre, Bury Quay, Tullamore, Eircode R35 Y5VO on Saturday, August 23 and Sunday, August 24 from 1-5 pm. Admission is free.
The History in Bottles – Exhibition of Tullamore Brewing and Distilling Memorabilia, is curated by Offaly History members Noel Guerin and Pat Doheny.
Subscribe or register today to discover more from DonegalLive.ie
Buy the e-paper of the Donegal Democrat, Donegal People's Press, Donegal Post and Inish Times here for instant access to Donegal's premier news titles.
Keep up with the latest news from Donegal with our daily newsletter featuring the most important stories of the day delivered to your inbox every evening at 5pm.
This publication supports the work of the Press Council of Ireland and Office of the Press Ombudsman, and our staff operate within the Code of Practice of the Press Council. You can obtain a copy of the Code, or contact the Council, at www.presscouncil.ie, Lo-call 1800 208 080 or email: info@presscouncil.ie.
