Lecture to focus on life in Offaly 400 years ago

The forthcoming lecture to be hosted by Offaly History will focus on matters relating to County Offaly in the writings of Sir Mathew De Renzy (1577-1634).

The meeting will be held on Monday next 14 March at 8 p.m. and will be presented in person and via zoom by Kieran Keenaghan and James Scully. For students and lovers of Offaly’s heritage Mathew De Renzy’s archives are a veritable treasure trove of letters and maps which give a remarkable insight into the geography and history of the county 400 years ago. D

e Renzy’s correspondence is largely concerning the plantation of the lands of the Mac Coghlan clan. His letters, which range over a period of ten years from 1613, include many addressed to the leading politicians of the day. These often concern local matters such as the establishment of the borough of Banagher and De Renzy’s struggle to hold onto lands acquired at Clonony, near Cloghan. De Renzy was also in regular communication with Sir William Parsons who played a dominant role in plantations of West and South Offaly.

The twenty-six maps in the De Renzy papers all relate to the landscape of County Offaly. Only a handful of these have been published but many will now be shown in great detail for the first time. These include three barony maps showing townlands around Tullamore, Lynally, Rahan, Kilcormac and Ballyboy. Other drawings by the leading surveyors of the day, such as Thomas Raven, focus on parts of West Offaly including Moystown, Endrim, Kilnagarnagh, Druin (Ballycumber) and townlands near Banagher.

One map in particular confirms the historic location of Lumcloon of the Flatterys as being adjacent to Banagher. The combination of these rare maps and De Renzy’s own extensive descriptions of the landscape provide rare insights into the local countryside in the early seventeenth century. In addition, his extensive knowledge of the Irish language and his abundant use of placenames help enrich our understanding of our locale at that time. The lecture will be held in person in the society’s premises at Bury Quay, Tullamore and can also available via zoom and everybody is welcome. For the zoom link please email info@offalyhistory.com

Further enquiries to James at 085 7107569 or Kieran at 087 2571058.