Book on West Offaly to be launched in High Street

A new book on the struggles of the people of West Offaly to become landowners and citizens of a free country is to be launched this week.

Land Wars to Civil War by Padraig Heavin will be launched in High Street Community Hall this evening (Friday, May 15) at 8pm by Padraig Boland, Chairperson of LOETB

The book is based on interviews with participants made in the 1960s and 1970s, the main sources of material being the provincial and national newspapers of the time. The online resources such as the Military Archives, the Census of 1901 and 1911 and Genealogy.ie were invaluable.

Photographs and drawings never previously published are included. The main timeline is from 1904 to 1925 and demonstrates that the progress was achieved inch by painful inch for long periods.

In geographic terms, it covers the country south of Athlone to Nenagh and from Banagher eastwards to Clara. The main focus is on the area from Shannonbridge to Ferbane, from Ballinahown to Belmont and Cloghan. The reflects what happened right around the country.

The author says the motivation behind the publication is to record the names of the ordinary people, living ordinary lives and then having to perform duties large or small to achieve an extraordinary outcome.