Offaly history told through stories and songs in unique new book

TEN Faithful Years (1913-1923) in Song and Story was launched to a packed audience at the Central Hotel in Tullamore on Friday.

The very well received book which combines military, political and social history with well known ballads in a novel way was compiled by Tullamore man Raymond Daly.

The book was a nine-year project for the Connolly Park native and its production was inspired by his attendance in Tullamore in 2016 at an event marking the 100^th anniversary of the 'first shots' of 1916 and the national Easter Rising centenary commemoration in Dublin.

Raymond Daly is a son of Nancy Daly and the late Tommy Daly. His father was a private in the Defence Forces and served with the United Nations in the Congo in the early 1960s.

Speaking at the launch he outlined the many family connections with the War of Independence, the Great War and the Boer War.

Raymond had previously collaborated with Derek Warfield of the Wolfe Tones on the 2008 book, 'Celtic and Ireland: Song and Story', which is a compilation and explanation of the many ballads associated with supporters of Celtic Football Club, Glasgow.

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Sunday afternoon's launch of Ten Faithful Years (1913-1923) in Song and Story featured live renditions of some of the much loved ballads by singer Michael Middleton.

The book is lavishly illustrated and runs to more than 500 pages. Its author explained on Sunday how he decided to place the revolutionary decade 1913-1923 in context by referring back to other key events including the Anglo Norman invasion, the 1798 rising and the famine.

He thanked all the local families who had helped him with the book, especially those who gave their time and detailed ancestral involvement in the independence struggle.

He also drew extensively on resources such as the military pensions archive and the IRA brigade reports.

Ten Faithful Years (1913-1923) in Song and Story retails at €30 and is available in local stores.