Tullamore's O'Connor Square to be the focus of Offaly History lecture

"THE making of O’Connor Square, Tullamore: People, houses and business" is the title of a lecture which will be given by Michael Byrne on Monday, November 17, Michael Byrne, at 8pm in the Offaly History Centre at Bury Quay in Tullamore.

The lecture will be well illustrated so come along and rediscover Tullamore’s central district. The lecture will focus on the buildings, the families and the business carried on over 300 years It also looks at how the uses in the square have evolved over time and the open space recovered and enhanced in recent years.

Tullamore’s O’Connor Square is the heart of Tullamore and has a central place in the story of the town since records began in the seventeenth century. From the 1700s it was known as the market place or square, and with its grand houses and great urban open space continues to provide a major resource for the social activities of this midland town.

The lecture is ahead of a new book to issue in a few weeks on The making of O’Connor Square, Tullamore: People, Houses and Business (Offaly History, Tullamore, 2025), pp 440, p/b €23, h/b €29. ISBN978-1-909822-45-0 (hardcover) ISBN978-1-909822-46-7 (softcover). The book contains fifteen essays by Michael Byrne, Fergal MacCabe, Rachel McKenna and Timothy O’Neill. Publication is supported by the Heritage Council.

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