‘Altogether, Tullamore was voted an excellent destination’. A visit to Tullamore and district in September 2023 by Michael Fewer

In April 2023 our little history group had a successful trip to the town of Wexford, where it was decided that our next outing would be Tullamore. So, on 28 September, we came together for lunch in the bar of the Bridge House, of which I have fond memories of getting warm and dry after a trek in driving rain from Daingean during my walk across Ireland in 2001, before checking in to our bed and breakfast accommodation at the Sea Dew guesthouse.

After lunch we took a walk up the town to have a look at the Offaly History Centre owned by the Offaly Historical and Archaeological Society. It is a very impressive facility indeed, an extensive premises just chock-a-block with books old and new, collections of records of all kinds, bound newspapers, photographs, family papers, school records – the list goes on and on. Michael Byrne had been introduced to me by Fergal McCabe: Fergal’s watercolour works are everywhere there.