Banagher
Encyclopedia
Banagher is a town in Ireland
, located in the midlands on the western edge of County Offaly
in the province of Leinster
, on the banks of the River Shannon
. The name Banagher comes from its Irish name which translates to English as "the place of the pointed rocks on the Shannon". Banagher was a town of 3,000 people at the height of its economic growth in the mid-19th century. The current population is just over half of that figure, at about 1,600.
Banagher held an important strategic position on the River Shannon and was one of the few crossing points between the provinces of Leinster and Connacht
. It thus became a natural focus for many great historical buildings, including a 17th century Martello Tower
and a number of important castles around the town, which were built in the 14th and 15th centuries.
The town was once the focus of thriving river business and was an important stop on the Dublin to Limerick
navigation. It supported a number of large industries, most notably a maltings and distillery, which are now defunct. Tourism has supplanted this to a certain extent with a modern marina
providing support for river cruisers and watersports facilities and the town is an important angling centre, with particular attraction for pike anglers. Banagher is the centre of the 'callows' of the Shannon, grassy meadows which flood in winter and provide living space for myriads of waterfowl.
A number of notable literary figures have stayed at Banagher, including Anthony Trollope
, who used the town as an inspiration for his first novel The Macdermots of Ballycloran
and Charlotte Brontë
who married a curate who was raised in Banagher. The town is the source of the well-known phrase: "Well, that beats Banagher!"
. According to research, they came from a place near New Ross
in County Wexford
. It is known that contact was maintained between Rynagh's Wexford home and her foundation at Banagher; and her mother came to live there. It is recorded that Reynagh's mother, Talech, or Talacia, became Abbess
of the Banagher convent
. The death of St. Finnian is assigned to 563, but there does not seem to be any authoritative statement as to the date of St. Rynagh's death, although according to St. Rynagh's Parish Church in Banagher, St. Rynagh died about 610. The place of her burial is uncertain but it is likely to have been in either Banagher or Kilmacduagh
near Gort
, the monastery founded by her son, St. Colman
.
Many of the early travellers were pilgrims
. North-west of Banagher, on the Connacht side of the river, was the monastic establishment of Clonfert
, with the more famous Clonmacnoise
a short distance further north. Not far to the south-west on the same side was another monastic foundation, at Meelick. At Meelick, the three provinces, Leinster, Munster
and Connacht meet and just south of Banagher in the direction of Birr, the four dioceses, Clonmacnoise, Meath
, Killaloe
and Clonfert
meet.
and Portumna
.
The importance of Banagher as a military position on the Shannon and on the highway from Leinster and Munster to Connacht was early appreciated by the English, whose forces seized it about the middle of the 16th century, coming up the river to do so. They constructed some fortifications which they called Fort Frankford (later Fort Falkland) and held the place in spite of the fact that the part of Offaly for some miles around Banagher was in the hands of the MacCoghlan clan. The MacCoghlans, aided by boundaries of bog and river, held their territories against all comers for about 500 years, even maintaining a footing by open defiance well into the 17th century. Garry Castle, Clonony Castle, and Moystown Castle are remains of MacCoghlan strongholds. Sometime after 1554, when Queen Mary
married Philip II of Spain
, Offaly County was named King's County in honour of Philip, but it is doubtful if the royal jurisdiction extended to any of the MacCoghlan areas except Banagher. Ultimately, the MacCoghlans were overthrown and their lands were planted by order of James I
issued in 1621.
The town was incorporated by charter of Charles I
on 16 September 1628. The corporation
was allowed to elect two members to Parliament and hold two fairs per year, amongst other wide-ranging powers.
In 1628, a permanent military garrison
was established which continued with slight interruptions until 1863. The defences were further strengthened and it was officially named Fort Falkland, after Henry Cary, 1st Viscount Falkland
who was Lord Deputy of Ireland
from 1622–29. The forces of the Confederate Catholics took Banagher in 1642, but it was retaken by the Cromwellian Army
in 1650, under the command of Henry Ireton
, Cromwell's
son-in-law
. By 1652 the Cromwellian conquest was completed and the transplantation of the Catholic land holders to Connacht began in 1654. The lands from which they were expelled were divided among the adventurers and the soldiers of Cromwell's army.
During the Williamite Wars of 1690–1691
, the garrison espoused the cause of James II
in contrast with that of Birr, which took the side of William
. A stone bridge across the Shannon was erected in 1685, and a Williamite army advancing from Birr in 1690 attempted to break it down but abandoned the attempt as too risky in consequence of the presence of Sarsfield's Army on the Connacht side. A broken arch of this bridge is still to be seen on that side a few yards below the present bridge of seven arches, which was erected by the Commissioners for the Improvement of Navigation of the Shannon in 1841–1843. The square tower on the lower side of the bridge at the Galway end was erected to protect the old bridge, as was the Salt Battery, with emplacements for four cannons facing west and north, a few hundred yards from town along the Crank Road.
The Irish garrison remained in Banagher without further molestation until the Battle of Aughrim
, after which Banagher was evacuated. The English re-occupied the town, where they remained until the middle of the 19th century, when Banagher ceased to be a garrison town.
in 1775, an embargo placed on the export of foodstuffs to the American Colonies dealt another blow to the trade of Banagher. In 1780, the English Parliament withdrew all these restrictions and Banagher's economy began to improve rapidly.
From 1800 to 1847, Banagher enjoyed a period of prosperity unequalled in its history. Corn growing had long been one of the chief agricultural activities of the district and the opening of the Grand Canal at the end of the 18th century gave easy access to Dublin and Limerick and brought cheap and efficient water transport to the district. Banagher became the outlet for the grain raised in a wide area round the town, and the Banagher corn market on Fridays was one of the largest of its kind in Ireland.
The canal arrived at Shannon Harbour in 1804 and the water transport facilities stimulated the growth of existing industries and encouraged the establishment of new ones. Neat two and three storey houses were built on each side of the road in Banagher to provide shops and dwellings for the merchants and other people who came to live there for the canal business. In 1834, there was a distillery, a brewery
, two tanyards, a malthouse and corn mills in full operation in the town. Several craftsmen carried on industries in smaller workshops and in their homes. With the increase in trade and manufactures went a corresponding increase in population. In 1800, the population was estimated at 1500; in 1841, it was 2836, and in 1846, it was estimated at 3000.
Various causes contributed to this decline. The abolition of the Corn Laws
in 1846 allowed the free importation of grain into these islands. Unable to compete with foreigners, the Irish farmer turned his land to pasture
and grew only sufficient grain for his own use. The Banagher corn trade rapidly declined, and would have completely vanished were it not that barley growing was kept alive by Waller's malthouse. The clearances in East Galway in the years immediately succeeding the Great Irish Famine adversely affected the trade of the town while the smaller industries were unable to compete against the highly organised industries of Britain.
The opening of Banagher Railway station in 1884, as the terminus of the 29 km (18 mi) Clara
to Banagher branch of the Great Southern & Western Railway Company, brought some improvement, with a number of passenger and goods trains every day. However, the fuel crisis of 1947 caused passenger services to be withdrawn from the line and it closed altogether in 1963. Although the site of the station is now covered by the marina, the trackway can still be seen, minus the track, at the gateway at the eastern corner of the marina.
Banagher is situated in north-west County Offaly on the east bank of the River Shannon. It is 106 km (65.9 mi) south west of Dublin, 14 km (8.7 mi) south east of Ballinasloe, 27 km (16.8 mi) south of Athlone and 25 km (15.5 mi) north east of Limerick. It provides a crossing point between Offaly in Leinster and Galway in Connacht. Although Banagher is located in the flood-plain of the River Shannon, the town itself was developed on high ground and remains virtually flood-free all year round. North of Lough Derg, the River Shannon has a very shallow gradient and regularly floods parts of the surrounding countryside. The resultant wet grassland area, known as the Shannon Callows, is an internationally recognised wild bird and wildlife habitat.
The country on either side of the Shannon in the Offaly-Galway area has been described as "reminiscent of the Fens, cut off and intersected by waterways, by the wide meandering Shannon itself, by its tributaries, the Suck
, the Brosna
and the Little Brosna
and by the Grand Canal
; traversed by a maze of narrow roads."
The travel writer and biographer, James Pope-Hennessy
, described the River Shannon at Banagher in September in his biography of Anthony Trollope
: "The month of September in Banagher, and all along the Shannon banks, is visually a glorious one, with golden autumn mornings, the low sun making long shadows of the houses in the street. At dusk the whole river reflects the varied sunsets as the days draw in - effects of palest pink, for instance, striped by cloudy lines of green, or an horizon aflame with scarlet and orange light."
The Slieve Bloom Mountains
lie to the south of Banagher and the town is surrounded by the great bogs of the midlands, particularly to the east and west. The River Brosna is a major tributary of the River Shannon and meets the Shannon at Shannon Harbour
, three kilometres north of Banagher.
climate. Average daily high temperatures are 18 °C (64.4 °F) in July and 8 °C (46.4 °F) in January. Precipitation, at an average of 804 mm per annum, is similar to that in much of the midlands and east of Ireland, and is significantly less than the precipitation on the west coast, which averages between 1000 mm and 1250 mm per annum.
In autumn and winter, the extensive flood plain of the Shannon Callows supports a large number of wader
s, swan
s, wildfowl and other bird life. The most obvious of all Shannon birds is the mute swan
. Also seen are the coot
, moorhen
and little grebe
(or dabchick). The kingfisher
is widespread as are the meadow pipit
and pied wagtail. The area has one of the largest concentrations of breeding waders in Ireland including lapwing
, redshank
, sandpiper and godwit
.
The corncrake can be seen at the bridge of Banagher in the summer. Once a common summer visitor to Ireland, corncrakes have suffered drastic population declines over the last few decades and are threatened with global extinction. Conservation efforts have focused on changing harvesting times to avoid the nesting season, May to August. The hay meadows of the callows support large numbers of these birds - one of the few places in the world where this globally threatened species is still common.
In winter, the resident bird population is increased by visitors from north-east Europe, in particular the widgeon and Greenland White-fronted Goose. Riverside mammals are seen frequently and otters, mink
and fox
are common. Trout
and salmon
are less common in the Shannon than they once were, however pike
is still plentiful and attracts many anglers.
by the English, particularly during the periods 1621–1642 and 1650–1690. The plantations had a profound impact on Ireland in several ways. The first was the destruction of the native ruling classes and their replacement with the Protestant Ascendancy, of British-origin (mostly English) Protestant landowners. Their position was buttressed by the Penal Laws, which denied political and land-owning rights to Roman Catholics. The dominance of this class in Irish life persisted until the late 18th century, and it voted for the Act of Union
with Britain in 1800. As a result, by the early 20th century, Banagher had a mix of Irish of native descent and Irish of English descent and supported two churches, one Catholic and one Protestant, both of which still exist.
During the late 1960s to the early 1980s, a number of German, Dutch
and Swiss settlers were attracted to Banagher, mainly because of its proximity to the River Shannon and associated lifestyle. A number of these are still resident in Banagher. As with the majority of towns and cities in Ireland, Banagher has seen an influx of foreign nationals, mostly of Eastern European origin, in recent years and these now make up just over 10% of the population.
According to the 2006 Census, Banagher has a population of 1,636 with 863 male and 800 female residents. This marks a 5.3% increase in population on the 2002 Census.
, a semi-state company founded in 1946 to manage the harvesting of peat
from Ireland's bogs, the most extensive of which are located in the midlands. However, the advancement of mechanised harvesting, the exhaustion of the bogs and the closure of a number of peat-fired power stations, means that this is no longer a significant employer in the region. Green Isle Foods had a facility just outside Banagher and provided good employment during the 1970s and 1980s. It was taken out of production some years ago and is now used as a storage facility only. The largest industry in Banagher these days is Banagher Precast Concrete Limited, a company specialising in precast concrete
structures. The company employs approximately 50 people and was one of the largest concrete firms in the country, employing over 400 people at it's peak in 2008. It has supplied components for many major projects, including the Aviva Stadium, Croke Park, Channel Tunnel
, the Dublin Port Tunnel
, Thomond Park
and the Limerick Tunnel
. Other notable employers include Banagher Sawmills and the cruise liner businesses located at the marina.
area of Offaly County Council. Local authorities have responsibility for such matters as planning, local roads, sanitation, and libraries. The Council is an elected body of 21 members with councillors elected from four electoral areas in the county. Banagher lies in the Birr electoral area, which can return 5 members to the council.
s meet in Banagher; the R356, which links the N62
and N65
national primary roads and is known as Harbour Street in Banagher and the R439 which links Birr
with Banagher and is known as Main Street in Banagher. Harbour Street leads to the road to Shannon Harbour and Main Street begins at the hill at the southern entrance to the town and leads down to the bridge crossing the Shannon.
A railway station opened in Banagher in 1884 as the terminus for the Clara to Banagher line of the Great Southern & Western Railway Company. It operated both a passenger and goods service until 1947, when the passenger service was withdrawn. The station closed completely in 1963.
Banagher was once a main centre for river transportation on the Shannon system. River transportation fell into decline with the advent of rail and road transportation improvements. Banagher is still a major centre for river cruisers, with a number of hire companies operating from an extensive and modern marina.
of incorporation of 1628, the corporation
was given powers to: "hold two fairs, one on the Feast of St. Philip and Jacob, the other on the Feast of St. Simon and Jude, each to continue for two days." These feast days equated to 1 May and 28 October. However, a fair was already in existence in Banagher since 1612 and was held in September. These three fairs were certainly still in existence in the mid 1830s, as they were described in a government-commissioned report in 1835.
The fairs established by the first corporation continued to gain in size and importance during the 18th century and the early part of the 19th century. In 1826, the enormous number of 43,000 sheep was offered for sale at the September fair, with three-quarters of that number being sold. Pigot's Directory
of 1824 described the workings of the fair: "...and there are three fairs; the principal one commences on the 15 September and continues for four days, the first for sheep, the second for horned cattle, the third for horses, and the last day is the country fair for linen, woollens and other merchandise."
It seems that the fair held in September was the main fair and is the one that has survived to the present. Pope Hennessy described the granting of the charter by Charles I which "empowered them to hold the famous Banagher Great Fair, at which everything from cattle and sheep to boots and basket chairs was on sale. This Fair, the greatest in all the Irish Midlands, began on September 15 and lasted four days. The line of horses tethered on each side of Banagher Main Street stretched from the Shannon river bridge to the crossroads two and a half miles outside the town known as Tailor's Cross."
The fair had achieved an international reputation by the early 20th century and a local newspaper report of 1909 states "The Banagher Great Fair was a huge success and among those present were Senor Gelline of Milan to make purchase on behalf of the Italian Government, while Mr. Rodzanko bought for the Russian Government." The report also stated that "Eighty-nine wagons of horses were entrained at Banagher Railway Station...this representing in round numbers about 500 horses."
The present bridge of seven arches was erected by the Commissioners for the Improvement of Navigation of the Shannon in 1841–1843. The engineer was Thomas Rhodes, one of the commissioners of the Shannon Navigation, whose name can be seen on many of the bridges over the Shannon and on surviving lock mechanisms, notably at Victoria and Athlone locks. The first bridge that is known to have been built at this point was erected as a "spacious stone bridge of 18 arches" by Ruaidrí Ua Conchobair
(Anglicised Roderic O'Connor), the King of Connacht, around 1049. However, medieval sources tell of a "bridge of 27 arches of divers(e) architectural form, each different from its fellow", which stood here for over 500 years. A stone bridge of 17 arches was certainly constructed in 1685 and this was detailed in profile drawings by Thomas Rhodes in 1833.
The bridge of 1685 featured prominently in the Williamite War in Ireland of the 17th century and was used by Patrick Sarsfield to retreat to Connacht after his ambush of a Williamite convoy at Ballyneety in Co. Limerick
during the Siege of Limerick (1690)
. Because of its often affording Sarsfield and his army a method of advance and retreat, the old bridge was often referred to as Sarsfield's Bridge. This bridge was blown up in 1843 by gunpowder by a section of the Corps of Royal Engineers. The abutment
of this bridge can still be seen adjacent to Cromwell's Castle on the Connacht side of the river.
The bridge of 1843 was reconstructed and widened jointly by Offaly County Council
and Galway County Council
in 1971. Their reconstructive work included the replacing of massive stone parapets on either side of the bridge with aluminium railings and the removal of a swivel arch, which had previously been necessary to allow masted sailboats to pass. A heritage review of the bridges of County Offaly in 2005, described Banagher Bridge as of national heritage significance and of high architectural merit and demonstrative of mid-19th century construction work by a government body. It states that "This is the only six-arch masonry span in the county. It is an interesting contrast with the 1750s bridge at Shannonbridge. Although both are approximately the same length, Banagher Bridge achieves the crossing with fewer spans (six as opposed to 16). It also has the longest masonry arch spans of all the county's bridges, averaging 17.88 m".
All of the castellations around and near the bridge were built to protect it, including Cromwell's Castle, The Salt Battery (Fort Eliza), Fort Falkland and the Martello Tower. However, the guns mounted on these forts could be used to destroy the bridge if necessary as well as bombard attacking forces on the river.
A narrow quay passes under the old swivel section of the bridge from Waller's Quay to the marina. A well-worn handrail offers the pedestrian some protection against a slip into the river. This rail is known as the Duke's Rail. In 1897, the Duke of York
, later to become George V
, paid a state visit to Ireland. The royal party travelled up-river from Portumna
on the steamship, the Countess of Mayo. Disembarking at Waller's Quay, the Duke was received by Lord Rosse
who was the Lord Lieutenant of King's County
. The party had to traverse the narrow quay under the bridge to get to Banagher Railway Station, and undoubtedly made good use of the Duke's Rail. The stretch of the Shannon from Portumna to Banagher was known for some time after as the Duke of York's Route.
This former constabulary barracks was built around 1800. Irregular in plan and now in ruins, it comprises a partially roughcast rendered rubble limestone enclosing wall with a cut stone segmental-headed entrance to the east and is situated to the south of the River Shannon, adjacent to the bridge. Remains of structures within the enclosure include a barrel-vaulted powder magazine built around 1806, with a gun platform above. These
walls are thought to be the perimeter walls of Fort Falkland from 1642. According to Pigot's Directory of 1824, the barracks housed two companies of foot, had apartments for three officers, a bomb and waterproof magazine and an artillery battery mounting three 12-pound guns. The Directory also states that the barracks was formerly a nunnery (possibly that of Saint Rynagh, which would have been founded around 580) and communicated with Saint Rynagh's Old Abbey by a subterranean passage of some 400 yards. Although the British garrison had left the town in 1863, the barracks was looted and burned shortly after the signing of the Anglo-Irish Treaty
of 1921–22.
Banagher has two bow-fronted Georgian buildings dating from the mid-to-late 18th century and both are listed as protected structures. One is a detached seven-bay, two-storey building, called Crank House, due to its location on the corner of Main Street and Crank Road. It was restored in the early 1990s by the Offaly West Enterprise Co-operative Society and opened in 1992. It now houses an exhibition hall, tourist office, retail and enterprise units and a hostel. It was formerly used as the headquarters for Crann, an NGO dedicated to planting native trees and protecting Ireland's woodlands. It is now used by the West Offaly Partnership as a Community Enterprise Centre.
The second of these buildings is a terraced, three-bay, three-storey house with an adjoining four-bay, two-storey coach house, which still has its original limestone carriage arch. It has been used as a hotel since the early 19th century and was home to Anthony Trollope
during his stay in Banagher in the 1840s. It has a prominent location next to the marina and close to the bridge. Long called The Shannon Hotel, the name was changed to The Royal Shannon in the 1990s. It has ceased to trade as a hotel and is now falling into neglect.
Charlotte's Way, formerly known as Hill House, is located in a prominent setting close to Saint Paul's Church of Ireland
church. This house was once the home of Charlotte Brontë
's husband, Mr. Nicholls, who returned to Banagher after Charlotte's death. Nicholls remarried and lived at Hill House until his death in 1906. The house was sold to a Major Bell in 1919. He died in 1944 and his wife inherited the property. Florence Bell died in 1959. This connection to Brontë, one of the most renowned writers of the 19th century, is revealed in its present name, giving the house cultural interest. It is a detached three-bay two-storey house, built in 1753, with a gabled central bay to the façade with modern porch and single-bay two-storey wing to the south and two-bay two-storey wing to the north. It is now used as a bed and breakfast and visitors can enjoy its restored appearance and sense the history of a place connected in a curious way with the Brontë family.
. Similar to the Martello Tower that stands opposite it, on the same bank of the river, Cromwell's Castle was largely reconstructed as a defensive position to repel any invading fleet coming upstream towards Banagher.
The English had established a number of forts on the Leinster bank of the river, including Fort Frankford and, later, Fort Falkland (see Military History). The garrison at Fort Falkland was overrun by the forces of the Confederate Catholics in 1642 but was recaptured by Cromwell's army in 1650. The Cromwellians established a new fortification on the Connacht bank of the river leading up to the plantation of Connacht in 1654. The castle was modified in 1817 to enable it to mount artillery with a platform for a 24-pound traversing gun constructed on its roof. Its interior became a powder magazine and housed a garrison of 20 soldiers.
Having fallen somewhat into disrepair, the structure came under the care of the Banagher Branch of the Offaly Historical Society in the 1980s and considerable restoration work has been undertaken since then. The Canal Bank on which it stands, is the property of the people of Banagher and is held in trust as a public amenity. Considerable works around the castle have also taken place and the castle, park and riverside walk are open to the public.
Cuba Court, also known as Cuba House, was a house dating from the 1730s and may have been constructed by one George Frazer, a former Governor
of Cuba
and perhaps to a design of Sir Edward Lovett Pearce
, who designed the Irish Houses of Parliament
in Dublin. It is certainly known to have been constructed with money from the sugar plantations in Cuba. In his biography of Anthony Trollope, James Pope-Hennessy describes Cuba Court as "a fine example of an Irish country-house of the mid-eighteenth century in the manner of the Dublin architect, Pierce (sic). The building contained...two circular rooms...and an avenue of lime trees led to the front door." The Belfast writer, Maurice Craig, in his 1976 book Classic Irish Houses of the Middle Size, describes Cuba Court as "perhaps the most splendidly masculine house in the whole country."
Towards the end of the 18th century, Cuba Court was the home of Denis Bowes Daly, who was a prominent member of the local ascendancy. Prior to his death in 1821 he had leased Cuba Court to the Army Medical Board on a 61-year lease. The building was little used as a hospital and the Medical Board was quite happy to give it up to the Commissioners of Education for the purpose of the Royal School, which had eventually been established as a result of the Royal Charter
of 1621.
Charlotte Brontë
spent her honeymoon at Cuba Court in 1854 following her marriage to Arthur Bell Nicholls (See Charlotte Brontë). She noted of Cuba Court: "It is very large and looks externally like a gentleman's country seat - within most of the rooms are lofty and spacious, and some - the drawing room and dining room are handsomely and commodiously furnished. The passages look desolate and bare - our bedroom, a great room of the ground floor, would have looked gloomy when we were shown into it but for the turf fire that was burning in the wide old chimney."
During the 1820s, the Royal School at Cuba Court was attended by Sir William Wilde
, who later married the poet Jane Francesca Agnes Elgee
. The couple had two sons: Willie and Oscar Wilde
, and a daughter, Isola Francesca, who died in childhood.
Due to the Irish policy on rates at the time, the house was unroofed in 1946 and this hastened its demise. Pope Hennessy described Cuba Court in 1971: "Like so many of Ireland's great houses, Cuba Court is now being slowly but deliberately demolished. The lime trees have long since been hacked down." In spite of this, it was described as "a superb ruin that could tell the history of Ascendancy Ireland", as late as 1979. It was eventually acquired by a local businessman and demolished in the 1980s. Craig describes the loss of Cuba Court as "particularly to be lamented". A development of four houses was built on the site at Cuba Avenue in 2003. An archaeological survey revealed nothing of significance.
Martello towers (or simply Martellos) are small defensive forts
built in several countries of the British Empire
during the 19th century, from the time of the Napoleonic Wars onwards. They stand up to 40 feet (12.2 m) high (with two floors) and typically had a garrison of one officer and 15–25 men. Their round structure and thick walls of solid masonry made them resistant to cannon fire, while their height made them an ideal platform for a single heavy artillery
piece, mounted on the flat roof and able to traverse a 360° arc. Fear of an invasion by Napoleon Bonaparte reached panic proportions amongst the authorities in Ireland and England in 1804 and the first towers were built in Ireland that year.
In case an invasion fleet tried to sail up the River Shannon, two towers were built on the middle reaches of the river to defend its crossing points. One of these was located at Meelick
and the other at Banagher. The tower at Banagher is located on the west (Galway) bank of the river and measures 36 feet (11 m) in diameter and height. The tower was described in 1970 as having "...no corbels, a ridge around the top, much vegetation growing around it, and its general condition is fair."
is situated at the eastern side of the town. It is known as the Barnes & McCormack Memorial and dedicated to two local men who were executed in Birmingham in 1940 for their involvement in the Coventry Explosion of 1939
in which five people died. The executions caused a public outcry in Britain and internationally as the men had admitted to constructing the bomb, which was intended to be used to destroy a power station, but claimed not to be involved in planting it. The cross was erected in 1963 by The Barnes & McCormack Memorial Committee in association with The National Graves Committee and bears an inscription in both Irish and English: "In commemoration of Staff Captain James McCormack and Company Captain Peter Barnes, Irish Republican Army, who for love of country, were executed by the British Government at Winson Green Prison, Birmingham on the 7th February 1940."
Arising from its history as a plantation garrison town, Banagher has active Catholic and Church of Ireland communities. The lane between Market Square and Pucka Lane (formerly Queen Street) is called Church Lane and it is here that the first church in Banagher was sited. The 6th century abbey of St. Rynagh is now in ruins. This church later became the 'Church of the Blessed Mary' in the 16th century, and was also known as the Church of Banagher. According to tradition, the Cross of Banagher once stood next to a crystal spring in the Market Square. It was found in the churchyard around 1850 and is now housed in the National Museum of Ireland
in Dublin. It has a sandstone shaft of the early scriptures type and dates to around 800 AD.
The Church of Ireland community had worshipped at the old church, which was in a ruinous state by 1829 when the new St. Paul's Church was built at the top of the hill, overlooking the town. The new Catholic church of St. Rynagh's had been constructed some three years earlier and on land given by the Armstrongs, the most influential and wealthiest Protestant family in the area, who consistently and energetically advocated Catholic Emancipation
and repeal of the Penal Laws. This situation demonstrated the friendly relations that existed between the two communities in Banagher during those difficult times for Catholics in Ireland.
St. Rynagh's Church houses a work by the well-known German sculptor, Imogen Stuart
, called The Madonna and Child, a mandorla carved in 1974.
, as featured on RTÉ television
. The mini-series was an RTÉ production and shot in 2005 in Banagher, Birr and Tullamore
. The series was favourably received by the critics, although some locals maintain that it portrays midlanders in a bad light. The series won four IFTA
awards in 2005.
In the past Banagher was noted for a number of crafts, including pottery
and a popular pottery company, called Crannóg Pottery, was established at the West End by Valerie Landon in the early 1950s. It closed down in the 1980s.
Johnny McEvoy
is from Banagher and is a popular singer of Country and Irish
genre. The internationally renowned folk-singer
Roger Whittaker
took up residence in Banagher for about 10 years until 2006. During the time he purchased and renovated Lairakeen House. The town has also had a number of well-known writers staying for varying periods of time.
Mark Boylan is a singer/songwriter from Banagher. He was born in 1997 and first came to prominence when he wrote the theme song for the 2011 Cheltenham horse racing festival
in England. The song is entitled The Festival and it received over 40,000 views on YouTube. Boylan has since written a song for one of the biggest horse races in the world, The Breeders' Cup. He performed the song at the event which took place at Churchill Downs
in Louisville
, Kentucky
on 4 November 2011. The proceeds of the song went to the Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund (PDJF) and the song has been made available through the iTunes medium.
_-_trollope,_anthony_(1815-1882).jpg)
Banagher's greatest literary association is probably with Anthony Trollope, who became one of the most successful, prolific and respected English novelists of the Victorian
era. Trollope had been employed by the General Post Office in 1835 and was sent to Ireland in September 1841 at the age of 26. Trollope had had an unhappy life up to that point and remarked in his autobiography: "This was the first good fortune of my life." After landing in Dublin on 15 September, he travelled by canal-boat to Shannon Harbour and then on to Banagher, arriving on 16 September, which coincided with the second day of the annual Great Fair. Although very much smaller than the town of Birr, which is only eight miles away, Banagher had been chosen as the base of a Postal Surveyorship, probably because its position on the Shannon offered easy access by can boat to Dublin and Limerick.
Trollope established himself at The Shannon Hotel, a long bow-fronted Georgian
building, which was over 100 years old at that time. The hotel, which still exists, is located at the bottom of the town, a mere one hundred yards from the river. The post office where Trollope worked was at the top of the town, which is only a matter of minutes on foot. Next to the post office was a two-roomed bungalow which was used by the Postal Surveyor and his new deputy as their working headquarters. This building is often erroneously considered to have been the residence of Trollope himself.
Although Trollope's initial knowledge of Ireland was limited, he soon discovered that the Irish were good-humoured and clever - "...the working classes very much more intelligent than those in England. They were not, as they were reputed to be, spendthrift
s, but were economical, hospitable and kind." Their chief defects, he judged, were that they could switch to being very perverse and very irrational, and that they were "but little bound by the love of truth."
Trollope remained stationed at Banagher until late 1844 when he was transferred to Clonmel
. It was while in Banagher that Trollope began to write his first novel, The Macdermots of Ballycloran
. He had begun to contemplate this novel whilst walking outside Drumsna
in County Leitrim
where the ruins of Ballycloran House stood in to the 1840s and were still there in the 1970s. Trollope had been up in Leitrim inspecting the accounts of an errant postmaster. He thought the ruins of Ballycloran "one of the most melancholy spots I had ever visited" and he later described it in the first chapter of his novel. Although, his first novel was initially unsuccessful, Trollope was undeterred and in all, went on to write forty-seven novels, as well as dozens of short stories and a few books on travel. He returned to England in 1856 and by the mid-1860s had reached a fairly senior position within the Post Office hierarchy. Postal history credits him with introducing the pillar box
(the ubiquitous bright red mail-box) to Britain. Anthony Trollope died in London in 1882 and is buried at Kensal Green Cemetery
.
Charlotte Brontë
had a brief association with Banagher in the mid 1850s when she married one Arthur Bell Nicholls, her father's curate
. Nicholls was born of Scottish parents in County Antrim
in 1818. He was orphaned early and subsequently brought up by his uncle, Alan Bell, in Banagher. Alan Bell was headmaster at the Royal School at Cuba Court at that time. The couple honeymooned in Ireland and stayed at Cuba Court for a period in June 1854. According to Pope Hennessy, Mrs. Nicholls disliked both Banagher and its inhabitants, although she greatly admired the surrounding countryside.
If Bell Nicholls was a poor unknown curate
in England - in Banagher he was a member of a respectable family. In a letter quoted by Elizabeth Gaskell
in her book The Life of Charlotte Brontë, Charlotte wrote: "My dear husband, too, appears in a new light in his own country. More than once I have had deep pleasure in hearing his praises on all sides. Some of the old servants and followers of the family tell me I am a most fortunate person; for that I have got one of the best gentlemen in the country .... I trust I feel thankful to God for having enabled me to make what seems a right choice; and I pray to be enabled to repay as I ought the affectionate devotion of a truthful, honourable man."
In January 1855, Brontë discovered she was pregnant. It was accompanied by severe illness and she died on 31 March 1855, officially from tuberculosis
. Mr. Nicholls remained with Brontë's father for a further six years before returning to Banagher in 1861, taking with him his wife's portrait, her wedding dress (of which a copy has been made), some of Charlotte's letters and other mementoes. Forty years later, when the critic Clement Shorter prepared to write Charlotte Brontë and Her Circle, he found at Banagher among other relics, two diaries of Emily
and Anne
, in a tin box, and some of Charlotte's minute childhood writings wrapped in newspaper at the bottom of a drawer.
of Anthony Trollope. Pope Hennessy had published his first book, London Fabric in 1939, for which he was awarded the Hawthornden Prize
and was a well-established biographer and travel writer by the time he arrived in Banagher. Among his more notable works were a biography of Queen Mary
for which he was rewarded by being created a Commander of the Royal Victorian Order in 1960, Verandah (1964) a biography of his grandfather, the Irish colonial governor John Pope Hennessy
and Sins of the Fathers (1967), an account of the Atlantic slave traffickers.
Like Trollope before him, Pope Hennessy took rooms at The Shannon Hotel, near the river and set about trying to capture the essence of the town which had inspired Trollope's first novel, The Macdermots of Ballycloran. He proved to be a very popular figure in the town, evidenced by the fact that he was asked to adjudicate at a local beauty pageant and the horse fair. Pope Hennessy gives particular mention to the Corcoran family, the proprietors of The Shannon Hotel in the 1960s and 1970s, for their help in the production of his work. They sold the hotel in 1977.
Pope Hennessy stayed in Banagher from March 1970 to April 1971 and largely completed his study of Trollope during this time. The finished biography, Anthony Trollope, won the Whitbread Award for Biography in 1972 and is largely regarded as Pope Hennessy's finest work since Queen Mary. Pope Hennessy grew very fond of Banagher and returned to stay at The Shannon Hotel a number of times before his premature death in 1974. This is illustrated by his description of Banagher in Anthony Trollope: "...in Trollope's words, Banagher then seemed 'little more than a village'. It retains a quality of friendly village life to this day and can have changed little since Trollope's time, save that its population has declined to eleven hundred."
was born in 1760 near Abbeyleix
in the Queen's County
(Co. Laois). He was first elected to Parliament as a member for Tuam
in 1790. He lost this seat in 1798 and was elected as a member for Banagher in 1799. He voted against the Act of Union in 1801 and as a result he was deprived of his £1,000 a year sinecure
in the Customs House and this also stopped his further advancement. In 1809 he published, in five parts, the first volume of the Historic Memoirs of Ireland. It is thought that he was induced to delay the second volume - the English government shrinking from the exposure of their conduct in carrying the Act of Union, and it was understood that to purchase his silence he was permitted to reside in France from about 1815.
In 1827, he published two volumes of Personal Sketches of His Own Times. In 1830, by an address from both Houses of Parliament, he was removed from the Bench, in consequence of well-proven misappropriation of public moneys. The third volume of Personal Sketches appeared in 1833 as did the delayed volume of his Historic Memoirs. This book was subsequently reproduced in a cheaper form as The Rise and Fall of the Irish Nation. His works are interesting, racy, and valuable - although his statements of fact cannot always be depended on - containing much of personal incident, related in a fascinating style. He died at Versailles
on 8 April 1834.
An alternative explanation is suggested, whereby there was an Irish minstrel
called Bannagher, who was famous for telling wonderful stories; and a line from W.B. Yeats gives this theory some credence: "'Well', says he, 'to gratify them I will. So just a morsel. But Jack, this beats Bannagher.'" There is also an entry in Captain Francis Grose's Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue of 1785 which says: "He beats Banaghan; an Irish saying of one who tells wonderful stories. Perhaps Banaghan was a minstrel famous for dealing in the marvellous".
There are numerous uses of the phrase in literature, including Trollope's The Kelly's and the O'Kellys (1848), p. 221; James Joyce
's Finnegan's Wake
(1939), p. 87.31; James Plunkett
's Farewell Companions (1977), p. 293 and Edna O'Brien
's Down By The River (1996), p. 1.
The phrase has a riposte
: "And Banagher beats the Devil!". The origins of this are more difficult to trace but it does feature in a work by the Irish writer Brian Oswald Donn-Byrne
, Messer Marco Polo (1925), p. 25, and it is in common usage in Ireland. Trollope
asserted on his arrival in Ireland, "I was to live at a place called Banagher on the Shannon which I had heard of because of its having once been conquered, though it had heretofore conquered everything, including the Devil". Interestingly, a John O'Donovan, in an Ordnance Survey letter for King's County in 1838, attempts to trace the origins of the name Banagher. He states: "Of all the words which enter into Irish nomenclature Beannchair seems the most difficult of explanation" and goes on to say "This name 'beats the Devil.'" M.F. Kenny in his 2003 book Marathon Marriage uses a story of the devil losing a game of cards to a blacksmith named Banagher at the Black Stile at Garry Castle on the road between Banagher and Birr, as an explanation for the phrase.
is provided by Banagher College (Coláiste na Sionna), a multi denominational school under the responsibility of Co. Offaly Vocational Education Committee
(VEC). Banagher College is an amalgamation of La Sainte Union Secondary School and St. Rynagh's Community College. La Sainte Union is a voluntary Catholic School run by the Sisters of La Sainte-Union des Sacrés-Coeurs, a congregation founded in France in 1826 to promote Christian education. The school first opened its doors in 1863 in a house on Main Street. St Rynagh's CC, originally known as Banagher Vocational School, opened in 1953 with 40 students enrolling under the guidance of the first principal, Ms. Elsie Naughton. Amalgamation discussions began in 1999 and by November 2005 it was agreed that a new school be constructed on the La Sainte Union site. The school accommodates approximately 500 students.
and is home to St. Rynagh's GAA Club
. The club was founded in 1961 and represents the parishes of Banagher and Cloghan, with hurling played at Banagher and football
at Cloghan. St. Rynagh's has won 16 Offaly Senior Hurling Championships (Sean Robins Cup) and dominated senior hurling in the county from the mid 1960s to the early 1990s. Outside of the county, St. Rynagh's were the inaugural winners of the Leinster Senior Club Hurling Championship
, in 1971 and have won the title on a further three occasions, 1973, 1983 and 1994. The club also contested the first All-Ireland Senior Club Hurling Championship
final in 1971, losing to Roscrea
from County Tipperary
. Three St. Rynagh's players have captained the Offaly
hurling team to All-Ireland
success, Padraig Horan
in 1981, Martin Hanamy
in 1994 and Hubert Rigney
in 1998. A number of St. Rynagh's players have also won All Stars
- Martin Hanamy
(3), Aidan Fogarty
(2), Damien Martin
, Padraig Horan
, Hubert Rigney
and Michael Duignan
. Damien Martin was the goalkeeper
on the first All Stars team in 1971, effectively making him the first ever GAA All Star.
Banagher schools have won the All-Ireland Vocational Schools Championship
on seven occasions. Banagher College were the most recent winners of the senior championship in 2010, with Banagher having won on three previous occasions, in 1985, 1986 and 1989. Banagher also won a junior championship in 1984 and St. Rynagh's Banagher won a junior championship in 2004.
In 1910, Banagher won the Offaly Senior Football Championship title, playing as Banagher.
Soccer is popular in Banagher and the Banagher United club fields teams in the Midlands Senior and Junior Leagues.
A Billiards
and Snooker
Hall is located between The Shannon Hotel and the Marina and has an active membership. There is a Pitch & Putt couse located adjacent to Cromwell's Castle on the Canal Bank and part of the river on this bank has been enclosed to form a swimming pool. There is also an active Sub Aqua Club in the town.
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
, located in the midlands on the western edge of County Offaly
County Offaly
County Offaly is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Midlands Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the ancient Kingdom of Uí Failghe and was formerly known as King's County until the establishment of the Irish Free State in 1922. Offaly County Council is...
in the province of Leinster
Leinster
Leinster is one of the Provinces of Ireland situated in the east of Ireland. It comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Mide, Osraige and Leinster. Following the Norman invasion of Ireland, the historic fifths of Leinster and Mide gradually merged, mainly due to the impact of the Pale, which straddled...
, on the banks of the River Shannon
River Shannon
The River Shannon is the longest river in Ireland at . It divides the west of Ireland from the east and south . County Clare, being west of the Shannon but part of the province of Munster, is the major exception...
. The name Banagher comes from its Irish name which translates to English as "the place of the pointed rocks on the Shannon". Banagher was a town of 3,000 people at the height of its economic growth in the mid-19th century. The current population is just over half of that figure, at about 1,600.
Banagher held an important strategic position on the River Shannon and was one of the few crossing points between the provinces of Leinster and Connacht
Connacht
Connacht , formerly anglicised as Connaught, is one of the Provinces of Ireland situated in the west of Ireland. In Ancient Ireland, it was one of the fifths ruled by a "king of over-kings" . Following the Norman invasion of Ireland, the ancient kingdoms were shired into a number of counties for...
. It thus became a natural focus for many great historical buildings, including a 17th century Martello Tower
Martello tower
Martello towers are small defensive forts built in several countries of the British Empire during the 19th century, from the time of the Napoleonic Wars onwards....
and a number of important castles around the town, which were built in the 14th and 15th centuries.
The town was once the focus of thriving river business and was an important stop on the Dublin to Limerick
Limerick
Limerick is the third largest city in the Republic of Ireland, and the principal city of County Limerick and Ireland's Mid-West Region. It is the fifth most populous city in all of Ireland. When taking the extra-municipal suburbs into account, Limerick is the third largest conurbation in the...
navigation. It supported a number of large industries, most notably a maltings and distillery, which are now defunct. Tourism has supplanted this to a certain extent with a modern marina
Marina
A marina is a dock or basin with moorings and supplies for yachts and small boats.A marina differs from a port in that a marina does not handle large passenger ships or cargo from freighters....
providing support for river cruisers and watersports facilities and the town is an important angling centre, with particular attraction for pike anglers. Banagher is the centre of the 'callows' of the Shannon, grassy meadows which flood in winter and provide living space for myriads of waterfowl.
A number of notable literary figures have stayed at Banagher, including Anthony Trollope
Anthony Trollope
Anthony Trollope was one of the most successful, prolific and respected English novelists of the Victorian era. Some of his best-loved works, collectively known as the Chronicles of Barsetshire, revolve around the imaginary county of Barsetshire...
, who used the town as an inspiration for his first novel The Macdermots of Ballycloran
The Macdermots of Ballycloran
The Macdermots of Ballycloran is a novel by Anthony Trollope. It was Trollope's first published novel, which he began in September 1843 and completed by June 1845. However, it was not published until 1847...
and Charlotte Brontë
Charlotte Brontë
Charlotte Brontë was an English novelist and poet, the eldest of the three Brontë sisters who survived into adulthood, whose novels are English literature standards...
who married a curate who was raised in Banagher. The town is the source of the well-known phrase: "Well, that beats Banagher!"
History
It is thought that St. Rynagh (also Reynagh, Rinagh), who founded Banagher and after whom the parish is named, was a sister of St. Finnian of ClonardFinnian of Clonard
Saint Finnian of Clonard , or Finian, 'Fionán' or 'Fionnán' in Irish, was one of the early Irish monastic saints, who founded Clonard Abbey in modern-day County Meath. The Twelve Apostles of Ireland studied under him...
. According to research, they came from a place near New Ross
New Ross
New Ross is a town located in southwest County Wexford, in the southeast of Ireland. In 2006 it had a population of 7,709 people, making it the third largest town in the county after Wexford and Enniscorthy.-History:...
in County Wexford
County Wexford
County Wexford is a county in Ireland. It is part of the South-East Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the town of Wexford. In pre-Norman times it was part of the Kingdom of Uí Cheinnselaig, whose capital was at Ferns. Wexford County Council is the local...
. It is known that contact was maintained between Rynagh's Wexford home and her foundation at Banagher; and her mother came to live there. It is recorded that Reynagh's mother, Talech, or Talacia, became Abbess
Abbess
An abbess is the female superior, or mother superior, of a community of nuns, often an abbey....
of the Banagher convent
Convent
A convent is either a community of priests, religious brothers, religious sisters, or nuns, or the building used by the community, particularly in the Roman Catholic Church and in the Anglican Communion...
. The death of St. Finnian is assigned to 563, but there does not seem to be any authoritative statement as to the date of St. Rynagh's death, although according to St. Rynagh's Parish Church in Banagher, St. Rynagh died about 610. The place of her burial is uncertain but it is likely to have been in either Banagher or Kilmacduagh
Kilmacduagh
Kilmacduagh is a small village in south County Galway, near Gort, in Ireland. It is best known for Kilmacduagh monastery, seat of the Diocese of that name. The diocese is now part of the Diocese of Galway and Kilmacduagh in the Roman Catholic Church and in the Diocese of Limerick and Killaloe in...
near Gort
Gort
Gort is a town in south County Galway in the west of Ireland. An Gort is the official Irish name for the town, as defined by the Placenames Commission. In spoken Irish, however, the town is known by its traditional name Gort Inse Guaire. It lies just north of the border with County Clare on the...
, the monastery founded by her son, St. Colman
Colman MacDuagh
Saint Colman mac Duagh was born at Corker, Kiltartan, County Galway, Ireland, c. 550 , the son of the Irish chieftain Duac . He was educated at Saint Enda's monastery in Inishmore/Árainn, the largest of the Aran Islands...
.
Origins
The settlement that grew to become Banagher, originated at a ford on the east bank of the River Shannon. The river banks and surrounding countryside were flood-free all year round. Travellers intending to cross the Shannon converged on this point along tracks which were the forerunners of the modern roads, and a community grew at this crossing point.Many of the early travellers were pilgrims
Pilgrims
Pilgrims , or Pilgrim Fathers , is a name commonly applied to early settlers of the Plymouth Colony in present-day Plymouth, Massachusetts, United States...
. North-west of Banagher, on the Connacht side of the river, was the monastic establishment of Clonfert
Clonfert
Clonfert is a small village in east County Galway, Ireland. It is half way between Ballinasloe and Portumna.Clonfert Cathedral is situated in the village, which is the see of the Diocese of Clonfert.-See also:* List of towns and villages in Ireland...
, with the more famous Clonmacnoise
Clonmacnoise
The monastery of Clonmacnoise is situated in County Offaly, Ireland on the River Shannon south of Athlone....
a short distance further north. Not far to the south-west on the same side was another monastic foundation, at Meelick. At Meelick, the three provinces, Leinster, Munster
Munster
Munster is one of the Provinces of Ireland situated in the south of Ireland. In Ancient Ireland, it was one of the fifths ruled by a "king of over-kings" . Following the Norman invasion of Ireland, the ancient kingdoms were shired into a number of counties for administrative and judicial purposes...
and Connacht meet and just south of Banagher in the direction of Birr, the four dioceses, Clonmacnoise, Meath
Roman Catholic Diocese of Meath
The Diocese of Meath is a Roman Catholic diocese in eastern Ireland. It is one of eight suffragan dioceses which are subject to the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Armagh...
, Killaloe
Roman Catholic Diocese of Killaloe
The Diocese of Killaloe is a Roman Catholic diocese in mid-western Ireland. It is one of six suffragan dioceses in the ecclesiastical province of Cashel and is subject to the Archdiocese of Cashel and Emly. The diocese is in the secular province of the same name - Munster...
and Clonfert
Roman Catholic Diocese of Clonfert
The Diocese of Clonfert is a Roman Catholic diocese in the western part of Ireland. It is in the Metropolitan Province of Tuam and is subject to the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Tuam...
meet.
Military history
At Banagher, there are ridges on both sides of the river and roads were built along these many centuries ago. The first bridge was built over the Shannon at that point as early as 1049. It was a place of great strategic importance because the Shannon and its lowlands provided a natural barrier between Connacht and Leinster. An army that wanted to cross the river had few choices; apart from Banagher, the only other suitable places were Athlone, ShannonbridgeShannonbridge
Shannonbridge is a village located on the River Shannon, at the junction of the R444 and R357 regional roads in County Offaly, Ireland. It lies within the townland of Raghra , at the borders of counties Offaly, Galway and Roscommon, with the majority of the population living east of the bridge in...
and Portumna
Portumna
Portumna is a market town in the south-east of County Galway, Ireland, on the border with County Tipperary. The town is located to the west of the point where the River Shannon enters Lough Derg. This historic crossing point over the River Shannon between counties Tipperary and Galway has a long...
.
Mary I of England
Mary I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from July 1553 until her death.She was the only surviving child born of the ill-fated marriage of Henry VIII and his first wife Catherine of Aragon. Her younger half-brother, Edward VI, succeeded Henry in 1547...
married Philip II of Spain
Philip II of Spain
Philip II was King of Spain, Portugal, Naples, Sicily, and, while married to Mary I, King of England and Ireland. He was lord of the Seventeen Provinces from 1556 until 1581, holding various titles for the individual territories such as duke or count....
, Offaly County was named King's County in honour of Philip, but it is doubtful if the royal jurisdiction extended to any of the MacCoghlan areas except Banagher. Ultimately, the MacCoghlans were overthrown and their lands were planted by order of James I
James I of England
James VI and I was King of Scots as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the English and Scottish crowns on 24 March 1603...
issued in 1621.
The town was incorporated by charter of Charles I
Charles I of England
Charles I was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England, attempting to obtain royal revenue whilst Parliament sought to curb his Royal prerogative which Charles...
on 16 September 1628. The corporation
Corporation
A corporation is created under the laws of a state as a separate legal entity that has privileges and liabilities that are distinct from those of its members. There are many different forms of corporations, most of which are used to conduct business. Early corporations were established by charter...
was allowed to elect two members to Parliament and hold two fairs per year, amongst other wide-ranging powers.
In 1628, a permanent military garrison
Garrison
Garrison is the collective term for a body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it, but now often simply using it as a home base....
was established which continued with slight interruptions until 1863. The defences were further strengthened and it was officially named Fort Falkland, after Henry Cary, 1st Viscount Falkland
Henry Cary, 1st Viscount Falkland
Henry Cary, 1st Viscount Falkland ; son of a Hertfordshire knight; said to have studied at Oxford; served abroad; gentleman of the bedchamber to King James I; K.B., 1608; controller of the household, 1617-21; created Viscount Falkland in the Scottish peerage, 1620; lord-deputy of Ireland, 1622;...
who was Lord Deputy of Ireland
Lord Deputy of Ireland
The Lord Deputy was the King's representative and head of the Irish executive under English rule, during the Lordship of Ireland and later the Kingdom of Ireland...
from 1622–29. The forces of the Confederate Catholics took Banagher in 1642, but it was retaken by the Cromwellian Army
Cromwellian conquest of Ireland
The Cromwellian conquest of Ireland refers to the conquest of Ireland by the forces of the English Parliament, led by Oliver Cromwell during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. Cromwell landed in Ireland with his New Model Army on behalf of England's Rump Parliament in 1649...
in 1650, under the command of Henry Ireton
Henry Ireton
Henry Ireton was an English general in the Parliamentary army during the English Civil War. He was the son-in-law of Oliver Cromwell.-Early life:...
, Cromwell's
Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell was an English military and political leader who overthrew the English monarchy and temporarily turned England into a republican Commonwealth, and served as Lord Protector of England, Scotland, and Ireland....
son-in-law
Son-in-Law
Son-in-Law was a British Thoroughbred racehorse and an influential sire, especially for sport horses.The National Horseracing Museum says that Son-in-Law is "probably the best and most distinguished stayer this country has ever known." Described as "one of the principal influences for stamina in...
. By 1652 the Cromwellian conquest was completed and the transplantation of the Catholic land holders to Connacht began in 1654. The lands from which they were expelled were divided among the adventurers and the soldiers of Cromwell's army.
During the Williamite Wars of 1690–1691
Williamite war in Ireland
The Williamite War in Ireland—also called the Jacobite War in Ireland, the Williamite-Jacobite War in Ireland and in Irish as Cogadh an Dá Rí —was a conflict between Catholic King James II and Protestant King William of Orange over who would be King of England, Scotland and Ireland...
, the garrison espoused the cause of James II
James II of England
James II & VII was King of England and King of Ireland as James II and King of Scotland as James VII, from 6 February 1685. He was the last Catholic monarch to reign over the Kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland...
in contrast with that of Birr, which took the side of William
William III of England
William III & II was a sovereign Prince of Orange of the House of Orange-Nassau by birth. From 1672 he governed as Stadtholder William III of Orange over Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, and Overijssel of the Dutch Republic. From 1689 he reigned as William III over England and Ireland...
. A stone bridge across the Shannon was erected in 1685, and a Williamite army advancing from Birr in 1690 attempted to break it down but abandoned the attempt as too risky in consequence of the presence of Sarsfield's Army on the Connacht side. A broken arch of this bridge is still to be seen on that side a few yards below the present bridge of seven arches, which was erected by the Commissioners for the Improvement of Navigation of the Shannon in 1841–1843. The square tower on the lower side of the bridge at the Galway end was erected to protect the old bridge, as was the Salt Battery, with emplacements for four cannons facing west and north, a few hundred yards from town along the Crank Road.
The Irish garrison remained in Banagher without further molestation until the Battle of Aughrim
Battle of Aughrim
The Battle of Aughrim was the decisive battle of the Williamite War in Ireland. It was fought between the Jacobites and the forces of William III on 12 July 1691 , near the village of Aughrim in County Galway....
, after which Banagher was evacuated. The English re-occupied the town, where they remained until the middle of the 19th century, when Banagher ceased to be a garrison town.
Economic growth
In the 17th century, Banagher was the centre of a flourishing woollen trade. In 1699, the impost placed on the export of woollen goods to England practically killed the woollen trade. At the outbreak of the American Revolutionary WarAmerican Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
in 1775, an embargo placed on the export of foodstuffs to the American Colonies dealt another blow to the trade of Banagher. In 1780, the English Parliament withdrew all these restrictions and Banagher's economy began to improve rapidly.
From 1800 to 1847, Banagher enjoyed a period of prosperity unequalled in its history. Corn growing had long been one of the chief agricultural activities of the district and the opening of the Grand Canal at the end of the 18th century gave easy access to Dublin and Limerick and brought cheap and efficient water transport to the district. Banagher became the outlet for the grain raised in a wide area round the town, and the Banagher corn market on Fridays was one of the largest of its kind in Ireland.
The canal arrived at Shannon Harbour in 1804 and the water transport facilities stimulated the growth of existing industries and encouraged the establishment of new ones. Neat two and three storey houses were built on each side of the road in Banagher to provide shops and dwellings for the merchants and other people who came to live there for the canal business. In 1834, there was a distillery, a brewery
Brewery
A brewery is a dedicated building for the making of beer, though beer can be made at home, and has been for much of beer's history. A company which makes beer is called either a brewery or a brewing company....
, two tanyards, a malthouse and corn mills in full operation in the town. Several craftsmen carried on industries in smaller workshops and in their homes. With the increase in trade and manufactures went a corresponding increase in population. In 1800, the population was estimated at 1500; in 1841, it was 2836, and in 1846, it was estimated at 3000.
Decline
Contrasted with the flourishing state of trade in the first half of the 19th century is the rapid and sustained decline during the second half. In the period of 40 years from 1841 to 1881, the population fell from 2836 to 1192, a loss of over 57%. By the end of the century, all that remained of the major industries of the town was the malthouse of F.A. Waller & Co., while all smaller industries had vanished completely.Various causes contributed to this decline. The abolition of the Corn Laws
Corn Laws
The Corn Laws were trade barriers designed to protect cereal producers in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland against competition from less expensive foreign imports between 1815 and 1846. The barriers were introduced by the Importation Act 1815 and repealed by the Importation Act 1846...
in 1846 allowed the free importation of grain into these islands. Unable to compete with foreigners, the Irish farmer turned his land to pasture
Pasture
Pasture is land used for grazing. Pasture lands in the narrow sense are enclosed tracts of farmland, grazed by domesticated livestock, such as horses, cattle, sheep or swine. The vegetation of tended pasture, forage, consists mainly of grasses, with an interspersion of legumes and other forbs...
and grew only sufficient grain for his own use. The Banagher corn trade rapidly declined, and would have completely vanished were it not that barley growing was kept alive by Waller's malthouse. The clearances in East Galway in the years immediately succeeding the Great Irish Famine adversely affected the trade of the town while the smaller industries were unable to compete against the highly organised industries of Britain.
The opening of Banagher Railway station in 1884, as the terminus of the 29 km (18 mi) Clara
Clara
Clara is a town on the River Brosna in County Offaly and is the 10th largest town in the midlands of Ireland. The town has a population of 3001 , however a number of well populated housing estates lie outside the town boundary making the actual population higher...
to Banagher branch of the Great Southern & Western Railway Company, brought some improvement, with a number of passenger and goods trains every day. However, the fuel crisis of 1947 caused passenger services to be withdrawn from the line and it closed altogether in 1963. Although the site of the station is now covered by the marina, the trackway can still be seen, minus the track, at the gateway at the eastern corner of the marina.
Geography
The country on either side of the Shannon in the Offaly-Galway area has been described as "reminiscent of the Fens, cut off and intersected by waterways, by the wide meandering Shannon itself, by its tributaries, the Suck
River Suck
The River Suck is a river in Ireland, approx. in length.It is the main tributary of the River Shannon. It meets the River Swilly a few kilometres north of the village of Shannonbridge to form the Suck-Swilly, which becomes the River Shannon....
, the Brosna
River Brosna
The River Brosna is a river in Ireland, flowing through County Westmeath and County Offaly.The river rises in Lough Owel north of Mullingar and is a tributary of the River Shannon. It meets the Shannon at Shannon Harbour.-Course:...
and the Little Brosna
Little Brosna River
The Little Brosna River rises near Dunkerrin, County Offaly, Ireland. It flows for 44km before joining the River Shannon. -Course:The river rises near Dunkerrin, and enters the River Shannon near Victoria Lock, Meelick...
and by the Grand Canal
Grand Canal of Ireland
The Grand Canal is the southernmost of a pair of canals that connect Dublin, in the east of Ireland, with the River Shannon in the west,via Tullamore and a number of other villages and towns, the two canals nearly encircling Dublin's inner city. Its sister canal on the Northside of Dublin is the...
; traversed by a maze of narrow roads."
The travel writer and biographer, James Pope-Hennessy
James Pope-Hennessy
James Pope Hennessy CVO was a British biographer and travel writer.-Life:Richard James Arthur Pope-Hennessy was born in London on 20 November 1916, the younger son of Ladislaus Herbert Richard Pope-Hennessy, a soldier from County Cork in Ireland, and his wife, Una Constance Pope-Hennessy who was...
, described the River Shannon at Banagher in September in his biography of Anthony Trollope
Anthony Trollope
Anthony Trollope was one of the most successful, prolific and respected English novelists of the Victorian era. Some of his best-loved works, collectively known as the Chronicles of Barsetshire, revolve around the imaginary county of Barsetshire...
: "The month of September in Banagher, and all along the Shannon banks, is visually a glorious one, with golden autumn mornings, the low sun making long shadows of the houses in the street. At dusk the whole river reflects the varied sunsets as the days draw in - effects of palest pink, for instance, striped by cloudy lines of green, or an horizon aflame with scarlet and orange light."
The Slieve Bloom Mountains
Slieve Bloom Mountains
Situated close to the geographical centre of Ireland The Slieve Bloom Mountains rise from the central plain of Ireland to a height of 527 metres. While not very high, they are extensive by local standards...
lie to the south of Banagher and the town is surrounded by the great bogs of the midlands, particularly to the east and west. The River Brosna is a major tributary of the River Shannon and meets the Shannon at Shannon Harbour
Shannon Harbour
Shannon Harbour older name Cluain Uaine Bheag)is a small village on the banks of the Grand Canal of Ireland. There are facilities for boats to park up on the edge of the canal. There are two pubs in the village, McIntyre's and the Canal Bar....
, three kilometres north of Banagher.
Climate
Banagher has a temperateTemperate
In geography, temperate or tepid latitudes of the globe lie between the tropics and the polar circles. The changes in these regions between summer and winter are generally relatively moderate, rather than extreme hot or cold...
climate. Average daily high temperatures are 18 °C (64.4 °F) in July and 8 °C (46.4 °F) in January. Precipitation, at an average of 804 mm per annum, is similar to that in much of the midlands and east of Ireland, and is significantly less than the precipitation on the west coast, which averages between 1000 mm and 1250 mm per annum.
Wildlife
Wader
Waders, called shorebirds in North America , are members of the order Charadriiformes, excluding the more marine web-footed seabird groups. The latter are the skuas , gulls , terns , skimmers , and auks...
s, swan
Swan
Swans, genus Cygnus, are birds of the family Anatidae, which also includes geese and ducks. Swans are grouped with the closely related geese in the subfamily Anserinae where they form the tribe Cygnini. Sometimes, they are considered a distinct subfamily, Cygninae...
s, wildfowl and other bird life. The most obvious of all Shannon birds is the mute swan
Mute Swan
The Mute Swan is a species of swan, and thus a member of the duck, goose and swan family Anatidae. It is native to much of Europe and Asia, and the far north of Africa. It is also an introduced species in North America, Australasia and southern Africa. The name 'mute' derives from it being less...
. Also seen are the coot
Coot
Coots are medium-sized water birds that are members of the rail family Rallidae. They constitute the genus Fulica. Coots have predominantly black plumage, and, unlike many of the rails, they are usually easy to see, often swimming in open water...
, moorhen
Moorhen
Moorhens, sometimes called marsh hens, are medium-sized water birds that are members of the rail family Rallidae. They constitute the genus Gallinula....
and little grebe
Little Grebe
The Little Grebe , also known as Dabchick, member of the grebe family of water birds. At 23 to 29 cm in length it is the smallest European member of its family. It is commonly found in open bodies of water across most of its range.-Description:The Little Grebe is a small water bird with a pointed...
(or dabchick). The kingfisher
Kingfisher
Kingfishers are a group of small to medium sized brightly coloured birds in the order Coraciiformes. They have a cosmopolitan distribution, with most species being found in the Old World and Australia...
is widespread as are the meadow pipit
Meadow Pipit
The Meadow Pipit Anthus pratensis, is a small passerine bird which breeds in much of the northern half of Europe and also northwestern Asia, from southeastern Greenland and Iceland east to just east of the Ural Mountains in Russia, and south to central France and Romania; there is also an isolated...
and pied wagtail. The area has one of the largest concentrations of breeding waders in Ireland including lapwing
Lapwing
Vanellinae are any of various crested plovers, family Charadriidae, noted for its slow, irregular wingbeat in flight and a shrill, wailing cry. Its length is 10-16 inches. They are a subfamily of medium-sized wading birds which also includes the plovers and dotterels. The Vanellinae are...
, redshank
Common Redshank
The Common Redshank or simply Redshank is an Eurasian wader in the large family Scolopacidae.- Description and systematics :...
, sandpiper and godwit
Godwit
The godwits are a group of large, long-billed, long-legged and strongly migratory wading birds of the genus Limosa. They form large flocks on coasts and estuaries in winter....
.
The corncrake can be seen at the bridge of Banagher in the summer. Once a common summer visitor to Ireland, corncrakes have suffered drastic population declines over the last few decades and are threatened with global extinction. Conservation efforts have focused on changing harvesting times to avoid the nesting season, May to August. The hay meadows of the callows support large numbers of these birds - one of the few places in the world where this globally threatened species is still common.
In winter, the resident bird population is increased by visitors from north-east Europe, in particular the widgeon and Greenland White-fronted Goose. Riverside mammals are seen frequently and otters, mink
Mink
There are two living species referred to as "mink": the European Mink and the American Mink. The extinct Sea Mink is related to the American Mink, but was much larger. All three species are dark-colored, semi-aquatic, carnivorous mammals of the family Mustelidae, which also includes the weasels and...
and fox
Fox
Fox is a common name for many species of omnivorous mammals belonging to the Canidae family. Foxes are small to medium-sized canids , characterized by possessing a long narrow snout, and a bushy tail .Members of about 37 species are referred to as foxes, of which only 12 species actually belong to...
are common. Trout
Trout
Trout is the name for a number of species of freshwater and saltwater fish belonging to the Salmoninae subfamily of the family Salmonidae. Salmon belong to the same family as trout. Most salmon species spend almost all their lives in salt water...
and salmon
Salmon
Salmon is the common name for several species of fish in the family Salmonidae. Several other fish in the same family are called trout; the difference is often said to be that salmon migrate and trout are resident, but this distinction does not strictly hold true...
are less common in the Shannon than they once were, however pike
Esox
Esox is a genus of freshwater fish, the only living genus in the family Esocidae — the esocids which were endemic to North America, Europe and Eurasia during the Paleogene through present.The type species is E. lucius, the northern pike...
is still plentiful and attracts many anglers.
Demographics
Banagher was extensively plantedPlantations of Ireland
Plantations in 16th and 17th century Ireland were the confiscation of land by the English crown and the colonisation of this land with settlers from England and the Scottish Lowlands....
by the English, particularly during the periods 1621–1642 and 1650–1690. The plantations had a profound impact on Ireland in several ways. The first was the destruction of the native ruling classes and their replacement with the Protestant Ascendancy, of British-origin (mostly English) Protestant landowners. Their position was buttressed by the Penal Laws, which denied political and land-owning rights to Roman Catholics. The dominance of this class in Irish life persisted until the late 18th century, and it voted for the Act of Union
Act of Union 1800
The Acts of Union 1800 describe two complementary Acts, namely:* the Union with Ireland Act 1800 , an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain, and...
with Britain in 1800. As a result, by the early 20th century, Banagher had a mix of Irish of native descent and Irish of English descent and supported two churches, one Catholic and one Protestant, both of which still exist.
During the late 1960s to the early 1980s, a number of German, Dutch
Dutch people
The Dutch people are an ethnic group native to the Netherlands. They share a common culture and speak the Dutch language. Dutch people and their descendants are found in migrant communities worldwide, notably in Suriname, Chile, Brazil, Canada, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, and the United...
and Swiss settlers were attracted to Banagher, mainly because of its proximity to the River Shannon and associated lifestyle. A number of these are still resident in Banagher. As with the majority of towns and cities in Ireland, Banagher has seen an influx of foreign nationals, mostly of Eastern European origin, in recent years and these now make up just over 10% of the population.
According to the 2006 Census, Banagher has a population of 1,636 with 863 male and 800 female residents. This marks a 5.3% increase in population on the 2002 Census.
Economy
The demise of the once thriving canal and maltings businesses brought about a serious decline in Banagher's fortunes, including a significant population decrease. However, a number of businesses kept many people in the locality employed during lean times. The most notable of these was Bord na MónaBord na Móna
Bord na Móna , abbreviated BNM, is a semi-state company in Ireland, created in 1946 by the Turf Development Act 1946. The company is responsible for the mechanised harvesting of peat, primarily in the Midlands of Ireland...
, a semi-state company founded in 1946 to manage the harvesting of peat
Peat
Peat is an accumulation of partially decayed vegetation matter or histosol. Peat forms in wetland bogs, moors, muskegs, pocosins, mires, and peat swamp forests. Peat is harvested as an important source of fuel in certain parts of the world...
from Ireland's bogs, the most extensive of which are located in the midlands. However, the advancement of mechanised harvesting, the exhaustion of the bogs and the closure of a number of peat-fired power stations, means that this is no longer a significant employer in the region. Green Isle Foods had a facility just outside Banagher and provided good employment during the 1970s and 1980s. It was taken out of production some years ago and is now used as a storage facility only. The largest industry in Banagher these days is Banagher Precast Concrete Limited, a company specialising in precast concrete
Precast concrete
By producing precast concrete in a controlled environment , the precast concrete is afforded the opportunity to properly cure and be closely monitored by plant employees. Utilizing a Precast Concrete system offers many potential advantages over site casting of concrete...
structures. The company employs approximately 50 people and was one of the largest concrete firms in the country, employing over 400 people at it's peak in 2008. It has supplied components for many major projects, including the Aviva Stadium, Croke Park, Channel Tunnel
Channel Tunnel
The Channel Tunnel is a undersea rail tunnel linking Folkestone, Kent in the United Kingdom with Coquelles, Pas-de-Calais near Calais in northern France beneath the English Channel at the Strait of Dover. At its lowest point, it is deep...
, the Dublin Port Tunnel
Dublin Port Tunnel
The Dublin Port Tunnel is a road traffic tunnel in Dublin, Ireland, that forms part of the M50 motorway....
, Thomond Park
Thomond Park
Thomond Park is a stadium located in Limerick in the Irish province of Munster. The stadium is owned by the Irish Rugby Football Union and count Munster Rugby, Shannon RFC and UL Bohemian RFC as tenants. The capacity of the stadium is 26,500 following its large scale redevelopment in...
and the Limerick Tunnel
Limerick Tunnel
The Limerick Tunnel is a 675m long, twin-bore road tunnel underneath the River Shannon on the outskirts of Limerick City. The tunnel forms part of the N18 Limerick Southern Ring Road. The tunnel is tolled....
. Other notable employers include Banagher Sawmills and the cruise liner businesses located at the marina.
Governance
Banagher lies in the local authorityLocal government in the Republic of Ireland
Local government functions in the Republic of Ireland are mostly exercised by thirty-four local authorities, termed county or city councils, which cover the entire territory of the state. The area under the jurisdiction of each of these authorities corresponds to the area of each of the 34 LAU I...
area of Offaly County Council. Local authorities have responsibility for such matters as planning, local roads, sanitation, and libraries. The Council is an elected body of 21 members with councillors elected from four electoral areas in the county. Banagher lies in the Birr electoral area, which can return 5 members to the council.
Transportation
Banagher is an important crossing point on the River Shannon and consequently experiences a large volume of through traffic. Two regional roadRegional road
A regional road in Ireland is a class of road not forming a major route , but nevertheless forming a link in the national route network. There are over 11,600 kilometres of regional roads. Regional roads are numbered with three digit route numbers, prefixed by "R" A regional road in Ireland is a...
s meet in Banagher; the R356, which links the N62
N62 road (Ireland)
The N62 road is a national secondary road in Ireland. It links the M6 motorway east of Athlone, County Westmeath with junction 6 of the M8 motorway south-east of Thurles in County Tipperary...
and N65
N65 road (Ireland)
The N65 road is a national secondary road in Ireland. It links the N52 at Borrisokane, County Tipperary to the M6 north of Loughrea in County Galway.En route it crosses the River Shannon at Portumna.The road is long.-See also:*Roads in Ireland...
national primary roads and is known as Harbour Street in Banagher and the R439 which links Birr
Birr
Birr is a town in County Offaly, Ireland. Once called Parsonstown, after the Parsons family who were local landowners and hereditary Earls of Rosse. It is also a parish in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Killaloe....
with Banagher and is known as Main Street in Banagher. Harbour Street leads to the road to Shannon Harbour and Main Street begins at the hill at the southern entrance to the town and leads down to the bridge crossing the Shannon.
A railway station opened in Banagher in 1884 as the terminus for the Clara to Banagher line of the Great Southern & Western Railway Company. It operated both a passenger and goods service until 1947, when the passenger service was withdrawn. The station closed completely in 1963.
Banagher was once a main centre for river transportation on the Shannon system. River transportation fell into decline with the advent of rail and road transportation improvements. Banagher is still a major centre for river cruisers, with a number of hire companies operating from an extensive and modern marina.
Banagher Fair
As part of the charterCharter
A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified...
of incorporation of 1628, the corporation
Corporation
A corporation is created under the laws of a state as a separate legal entity that has privileges and liabilities that are distinct from those of its members. There are many different forms of corporations, most of which are used to conduct business. Early corporations were established by charter...
was given powers to: "hold two fairs, one on the Feast of St. Philip and Jacob, the other on the Feast of St. Simon and Jude, each to continue for two days." These feast days equated to 1 May and 28 October. However, a fair was already in existence in Banagher since 1612 and was held in September. These three fairs were certainly still in existence in the mid 1830s, as they were described in a government-commissioned report in 1835.
The fairs established by the first corporation continued to gain in size and importance during the 18th century and the early part of the 19th century. In 1826, the enormous number of 43,000 sheep was offered for sale at the September fair, with three-quarters of that number being sold. Pigot's Directory
Pigot's Directory
Pigot's Directory was a major directory starting in 1814.Pigot's Directories covered the period before official Civil Registration began and are a valuable source of information regarding all major professions, nobility, gentry, clergy, trades and occupations including taverns and public houses and...
of 1824 described the workings of the fair: "...and there are three fairs; the principal one commences on the 15 September and continues for four days, the first for sheep, the second for horned cattle, the third for horses, and the last day is the country fair for linen, woollens and other merchandise."
It seems that the fair held in September was the main fair and is the one that has survived to the present. Pope Hennessy described the granting of the charter by Charles I which "empowered them to hold the famous Banagher Great Fair, at which everything from cattle and sheep to boots and basket chairs was on sale. This Fair, the greatest in all the Irish Midlands, began on September 15 and lasted four days. The line of horses tethered on each side of Banagher Main Street stretched from the Shannon river bridge to the crossroads two and a half miles outside the town known as Tailor's Cross."
The fair had achieved an international reputation by the early 20th century and a local newspaper report of 1909 states "The Banagher Great Fair was a huge success and among those present were Senor Gelline of Milan to make purchase on behalf of the Italian Government, while Mr. Rodzanko bought for the Russian Government." The report also stated that "Eighty-nine wagons of horses were entrained at Banagher Railway Station...this representing in round numbers about 500 horses."
Banagher Bridge
Ruaidrí Ua Conchobair
Ruaidrí Ua Conchobair , often anglicised Rory O'Connor, reigned as King of Connacht from 1156 to 1186, and from 1166 to 1198 was the last High King before the Norman invasion of Ireland .Ruaidrí was one of over twenty sons of King...
(Anglicised Roderic O'Connor), the King of Connacht, around 1049. However, medieval sources tell of a "bridge of 27 arches of divers(e) architectural form, each different from its fellow", which stood here for over 500 years. A stone bridge of 17 arches was certainly constructed in 1685 and this was detailed in profile drawings by Thomas Rhodes in 1833.
The bridge of 1685 featured prominently in the Williamite War in Ireland of the 17th century and was used by Patrick Sarsfield to retreat to Connacht after his ambush of a Williamite convoy at Ballyneety in Co. Limerick
County Limerick
It is thought that humans had established themselves in the Lough Gur area of the county as early as 3000 BC, while megalithic remains found at Duntryleague date back further to 3500 BC...
during the Siege of Limerick (1690)
Siege of Limerick (1690)
Limerick, a city in western Ireland, was besieged twice in the Williamite War in Ireland, 1689-1691. On the first of these occasions, in August to September 1690, its Jacobite defenders retreated to the city after their defeat at the Battle of the Boyne...
. Because of its often affording Sarsfield and his army a method of advance and retreat, the old bridge was often referred to as Sarsfield's Bridge. This bridge was blown up in 1843 by gunpowder by a section of the Corps of Royal Engineers. The abutment
Abutment
An abutment is, generally, the point where two structures or objects meet. This word comes from the verb abut, which means adjoin or having common boundary. An abutment is an engineering term that describes a structure located at the ends of a bridge, where the bridge slab adjoins the approaching...
of this bridge can still be seen adjacent to Cromwell's Castle on the Connacht side of the river.
The bridge of 1843 was reconstructed and widened jointly by Offaly County Council
Offaly County Council
Offaly County Council is the local authority which is responsible for County Offaly in Ireland. The Council is responsible for housing and community, roads and transportation, urban planning and development, amenity and culture, and environment. The head of the council has the title of Cathaoirleach...
and Galway County Council
Galway County Council
Galway County Council is the local authority which is responsible for County Galway in Ireland. The Council is responsible for Housing and Community, Roads and Transportation, Urban planning and Development, Amenity and Culture, and Environment. The county seat is at Galway County Hall in Galway...
in 1971. Their reconstructive work included the replacing of massive stone parapets on either side of the bridge with aluminium railings and the removal of a swivel arch, which had previously been necessary to allow masted sailboats to pass. A heritage review of the bridges of County Offaly in 2005, described Banagher Bridge as of national heritage significance and of high architectural merit and demonstrative of mid-19th century construction work by a government body. It states that "This is the only six-arch masonry span in the county. It is an interesting contrast with the 1750s bridge at Shannonbridge. Although both are approximately the same length, Banagher Bridge achieves the crossing with fewer spans (six as opposed to 16). It also has the longest masonry arch spans of all the county's bridges, averaging 17.88 m".
All of the castellations around and near the bridge were built to protect it, including Cromwell's Castle, The Salt Battery (Fort Eliza), Fort Falkland and the Martello Tower. However, the guns mounted on these forts could be used to destroy the bridge if necessary as well as bombard attacking forces on the river.
A narrow quay passes under the old swivel section of the bridge from Waller's Quay to the marina. A well-worn handrail offers the pedestrian some protection against a slip into the river. This rail is known as the Duke's Rail. In 1897, the Duke of York
Duke of York
The Duke of York is a title of nobility in the British peerage. Since the 15th century, it has, when granted, usually been given to the second son of the British monarch. The title has been created a remarkable eleven times, eight as "Duke of York" and three as the double-barreled "Duke of York and...
, later to become George V
George V of the United Kingdom
George V was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 through the First World War until his death in 1936....
, paid a state visit to Ireland. The royal party travelled up-river from Portumna
Portumna
Portumna is a market town in the south-east of County Galway, Ireland, on the border with County Tipperary. The town is located to the west of the point where the River Shannon enters Lough Derg. This historic crossing point over the River Shannon between counties Tipperary and Galway has a long...
on the steamship, the Countess of Mayo. Disembarking at Waller's Quay, the Duke was received by Lord Rosse
Lawrence Parsons, 4th Earl of Rosse
Lawrence Parsons, 4th Earl of Rosse KP FRS was the son and successor of the astronomer William Parsons, 3rd Earl of Rosse who built the "Leviathan of Parsonstown" telescope, largest of its day, and his wife, the Countess Rosse , an amateur astronomer and pioneering photographer...
who was the Lord Lieutenant of King's County
Lord Lieutenant of King's County
This is a list of those who have served as Lord Lieutenant of King's County. The office was created on 23 August 1831.*William Parsons, 3rd Earl of Rosse 7 October 1831 – 31 October 1867*Thomas Bernard 17 December 1867 – 13 December 1883...
. The party had to traverse the narrow quay under the bridge to get to Banagher Railway Station, and undoubtedly made good use of the Duke's Rail. The stretch of the Shannon from Portumna to Banagher was known for some time after as the Duke of York's Route.
Barracks
walls are thought to be the perimeter walls of Fort Falkland from 1642. According to Pigot's Directory of 1824, the barracks housed two companies of foot, had apartments for three officers, a bomb and waterproof magazine and an artillery battery mounting three 12-pound guns. The Directory also states that the barracks was formerly a nunnery (possibly that of Saint Rynagh, which would have been founded around 580) and communicated with Saint Rynagh's Old Abbey by a subterranean passage of some 400 yards. Although the British garrison had left the town in 1863, the barracks was looted and burned shortly after the signing of the Anglo-Irish Treaty
Anglo-Irish Treaty
The Anglo-Irish Treaty , officially called the Articles of Agreement for a Treaty Between Great Britain and Ireland, was a treaty between the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and representatives of the secessionist Irish Republic that concluded the Irish War of...
of 1921–22.
Bow-fronted Georgian houses
The second of these buildings is a terraced, three-bay, three-storey house with an adjoining four-bay, two-storey coach house, which still has its original limestone carriage arch. It has been used as a hotel since the early 19th century and was home to Anthony Trollope
Anthony Trollope
Anthony Trollope was one of the most successful, prolific and respected English novelists of the Victorian era. Some of his best-loved works, collectively known as the Chronicles of Barsetshire, revolve around the imaginary county of Barsetshire...
during his stay in Banagher in the 1840s. It has a prominent location next to the marina and close to the bridge. Long called The Shannon Hotel, the name was changed to The Royal Shannon in the 1990s. It has ceased to trade as a hotel and is now falling into neglect.
Charlotte's Way
Church of Ireland
The Church of Ireland is an autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. The church operates in all parts of Ireland and is the second largest religious body on the island after the Roman Catholic Church...
church. This house was once the home of Charlotte Brontë
Charlotte Brontë
Charlotte Brontë was an English novelist and poet, the eldest of the three Brontë sisters who survived into adulthood, whose novels are English literature standards...
's husband, Mr. Nicholls, who returned to Banagher after Charlotte's death. Nicholls remarried and lived at Hill House until his death in 1906. The house was sold to a Major Bell in 1919. He died in 1944 and his wife inherited the property. Florence Bell died in 1959. This connection to Brontë, one of the most renowned writers of the 19th century, is revealed in its present name, giving the house cultural interest. It is a detached three-bay two-storey house, built in 1753, with a gabled central bay to the façade with modern porch and single-bay two-storey wing to the south and two-bay two-storey wing to the north. It is now used as a bed and breakfast and visitors can enjoy its restored appearance and sense the history of a place connected in a curious way with the Brontë family.
Cromwell's Castle
The structure that stands on what is known locally as the Canal Bank, called Cromwell's Castle, primarily derives its current form from the Napoleonic WarsNapoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
. Similar to the Martello Tower that stands opposite it, on the same bank of the river, Cromwell's Castle was largely reconstructed as a defensive position to repel any invading fleet coming upstream towards Banagher.
The English had established a number of forts on the Leinster bank of the river, including Fort Frankford and, later, Fort Falkland (see Military History). The garrison at Fort Falkland was overrun by the forces of the Confederate Catholics in 1642 but was recaptured by Cromwell's army in 1650. The Cromwellians established a new fortification on the Connacht bank of the river leading up to the plantation of Connacht in 1654. The castle was modified in 1817 to enable it to mount artillery with a platform for a 24-pound traversing gun constructed on its roof. Its interior became a powder magazine and housed a garrison of 20 soldiers.
Having fallen somewhat into disrepair, the structure came under the care of the Banagher Branch of the Offaly Historical Society in the 1980s and considerable restoration work has been undertaken since then. The Canal Bank on which it stands, is the property of the people of Banagher and is held in trust as a public amenity. Considerable works around the castle have also taken place and the castle, park and riverside walk are open to the public.
Cuba Court
Governor
A governor is a governing official, usually the executive of a non-sovereign level of government, ranking under the head of state...
of Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
and perhaps to a design of Sir Edward Lovett Pearce
Edward Lovett Pearce
Sir Edward Lovett Pearce was an Irish architect, and the chief exponent of palladianism in Ireland. He is thought to have initially studied as an architect under his father's first cousin, Sir John Vanbrugh. He is best known for the Irish Houses of Parliament in Dublin, and his work on Castletown...
, who designed the Irish Houses of Parliament
Irish Houses of Parliament
The Irish Houses of Parliament , also known as the Irish Parliament House, today called the Bank of Ireland, College Green due to its use as by the bank, was the world's first purpose-built two-chamber parliament house...
in Dublin. It is certainly known to have been constructed with money from the sugar plantations in Cuba. In his biography of Anthony Trollope, James Pope-Hennessy describes Cuba Court as "a fine example of an Irish country-house of the mid-eighteenth century in the manner of the Dublin architect, Pierce (sic). The building contained...two circular rooms...and an avenue of lime trees led to the front door." The Belfast writer, Maurice Craig, in his 1976 book Classic Irish Houses of the Middle Size, describes Cuba Court as "perhaps the most splendidly masculine house in the whole country."
Towards the end of the 18th century, Cuba Court was the home of Denis Bowes Daly, who was a prominent member of the local ascendancy. Prior to his death in 1821 he had leased Cuba Court to the Army Medical Board on a 61-year lease. The building was little used as a hospital and the Medical Board was quite happy to give it up to the Commissioners of Education for the purpose of the Royal School, which had eventually been established as a result of the Royal Charter
Royal Charter
A royal charter is a formal document issued by a monarch as letters patent, granting a right or power to an individual or a body corporate. They were, and are still, used to establish significant organizations such as cities or universities. Charters should be distinguished from warrants and...
of 1621.
Charlotte Brontë
Charlotte Brontë
Charlotte Brontë was an English novelist and poet, the eldest of the three Brontë sisters who survived into adulthood, whose novels are English literature standards...
spent her honeymoon at Cuba Court in 1854 following her marriage to Arthur Bell Nicholls (See Charlotte Brontë). She noted of Cuba Court: "It is very large and looks externally like a gentleman's country seat - within most of the rooms are lofty and spacious, and some - the drawing room and dining room are handsomely and commodiously furnished. The passages look desolate and bare - our bedroom, a great room of the ground floor, would have looked gloomy when we were shown into it but for the turf fire that was burning in the wide old chimney."
During the 1820s, the Royal School at Cuba Court was attended by Sir William Wilde
William Wilde
Sir William Robert Wills Wilde MD, FRCSI, was an Irish eye and ear surgeon, as well as an author of significant works on medicine, archaeology and folklore, particularly concerning his native Ireland...
, who later married the poet Jane Francesca Agnes Elgee
Jane Wilde
Jane Francesca Agnes, Lady Wilde was an Irish poet under the pen name "Speranza" and supporter of the nationalist movement; had a special interest on Irish Fairy Tales, which she helped to gather...
. The couple had two sons: Willie and Oscar Wilde
Oscar Wilde
Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde was an Irish writer and poet. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of London's most popular playwrights in the early 1890s...
, and a daughter, Isola Francesca, who died in childhood.
Due to the Irish policy on rates at the time, the house was unroofed in 1946 and this hastened its demise. Pope Hennessy described Cuba Court in 1971: "Like so many of Ireland's great houses, Cuba Court is now being slowly but deliberately demolished. The lime trees have long since been hacked down." In spite of this, it was described as "a superb ruin that could tell the history of Ascendancy Ireland", as late as 1979. It was eventually acquired by a local businessman and demolished in the 1980s. Craig describes the loss of Cuba Court as "particularly to be lamented". A development of four houses was built on the site at Cuba Avenue in 2003. An archaeological survey revealed nothing of significance.
Fort Eliza
Fort Eliza, also known as The Salt Battery, is a freestanding five-sided four-gun battery, constructed around 1812, and standing on the east side of the River Shannon. Three sides face the river and were formed of broad parapets. The other two sides meet at the rear salient angle at a guardhouse, which is now ruined. The battery is surrounded by a dry moat, with the entrance originally across a drawbridge close to the guardhouse. At the centre of the enclosure was the brick-vaulted powder magazine. This fort, combined with Cromwell's Castle, the Martello tower and Fort Falkland would have protected both the town and the river crossing from all angles.Martello Tower
Fortification
Fortifications are military constructions and buildings designed for defence in warfare and military bases. Humans have constructed defensive works for many thousands of years, in a variety of increasingly complex designs...
built in several countries of the British Empire
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
during the 19th century, from the time of the Napoleonic Wars onwards. They stand up to 40 feet (12.2 m) high (with two floors) and typically had a garrison of one officer and 15–25 men. Their round structure and thick walls of solid masonry made them resistant to cannon fire, while their height made them an ideal platform for a single heavy artillery
Artillery
Originally applied to any group of infantry primarily armed with projectile weapons, artillery has over time become limited in meaning to refer only to those engines of war that operate by projection of munitions far beyond the range of effect of personal weapons...
piece, mounted on the flat roof and able to traverse a 360° arc. Fear of an invasion by Napoleon Bonaparte reached panic proportions amongst the authorities in Ireland and England in 1804 and the first towers were built in Ireland that year.
In case an invasion fleet tried to sail up the River Shannon, two towers were built on the middle reaches of the river to defend its crossing points. One of these was located at Meelick
Meelick, County Galway
Meelick is a townland on the River Shannon in Ireland. It lies some 4 km southeast of Eyrecourt in County Galway.- Oldest Catholic Church in use :...
and the other at Banagher. The tower at Banagher is located on the west (Galway) bank of the river and measures 36 feet (11 m) in diameter and height. The tower was described in 1970 as having "...no corbels, a ridge around the top, much vegetation growing around it, and its general condition is fair."
Memorials
A memorial in the form of a stone Celtic CrossCeltic cross
A Celtic cross is a symbol that combines a cross with a ring surrounding the intersection. In the Celtic Christian world it was combined with the Christian cross and this design was often used for high crosses – a free-standing cross made of stone and often richly decorated...
is situated at the eastern side of the town. It is known as the Barnes & McCormack Memorial and dedicated to two local men who were executed in Birmingham in 1940 for their involvement in the Coventry Explosion of 1939
S-Plan
The S-Plan or Sabotage Campaign or England Campaign was a campaign of bombing and sabotage against the civil, economic, and military infrastructure of the United Kingdom from 1939 to 1940, conducted by members of the Irish Republican Army . It was conceived by Seamus O'Donovan in 1938 at the...
in which five people died. The executions caused a public outcry in Britain and internationally as the men had admitted to constructing the bomb, which was intended to be used to destroy a power station, but claimed not to be involved in planting it. The cross was erected in 1963 by The Barnes & McCormack Memorial Committee in association with The National Graves Committee and bears an inscription in both Irish and English: "In commemoration of Staff Captain James McCormack and Company Captain Peter Barnes, Irish Republican Army, who for love of country, were executed by the British Government at Winson Green Prison, Birmingham on the 7th February 1940."
Places of worship
National Museum of Ireland
The National Museum of Ireland is the national museum in Ireland. It has three branches in Dublin and one in County Mayo, with a strong emphasis on Irish art, culture and natural history.-Archaeology:...
in Dublin. It has a sandstone shaft of the early scriptures type and dates to around 800 AD.
The Church of Ireland community had worshipped at the old church, which was in a ruinous state by 1829 when the new St. Paul's Church was built at the top of the hill, overlooking the town. The new Catholic church of St. Rynagh's had been constructed some three years earlier and on land given by the Armstrongs, the most influential and wealthiest Protestant family in the area, who consistently and energetically advocated Catholic Emancipation
Catholic Emancipation
Catholic emancipation or Catholic relief was a process in Great Britain and Ireland in the late 18th century and early 19th century which involved reducing and removing many of the restrictions on Roman Catholics which had been introduced by the Act of Uniformity, the Test Acts and the penal laws...
and repeal of the Penal Laws. This situation demonstrated the friendly relations that existed between the two communities in Banagher during those difficult times for Catholics in Ireland.
St. Rynagh's Church houses a work by the well-known German sculptor, Imogen Stuart
Imogen Stuart
Imogen Stuart is a sculptor.Born in Berlin, she moved to Ireland in 1951. She was married for a time to Irish artist Ian Stuart, son of writer Francis Stuart.-Works:She works in wood, bronze, stone, steel, clay and terracotta...
, called The Madonna and Child, a mandorla carved in 1974.
Literature and the arts
Banagher has a thriving poetry scene and an annual poetry festival called Readings from the Pallet takes place in local bars. The town was one of the settings for the series Pure MulePure Mule
Pure Mule was an Irish six-part drama mini-series aimed at a young audience and broadcast on RTÉ Two as part of RTÉ's autumn schedule in 2005, shot and screened in 2004–2005 in County Offaly....
, as featured on RTÉ television
RTÉ Television
RTÉ Television is a department of Ireland's state broadcaster Raidió Teilifís Éireann.The first channel to broadcast was Telefís Éireann which began broadcasting on 31 December 1961...
. The mini-series was an RTÉ production and shot in 2005 in Banagher, Birr and Tullamore
Tullamore
Tullamore is a town in County Offaly, in the midlands of Ireland. It is Offaly's county town and the centre of the district.Tullamore is an important commercial and industrial centre in the region. Major international employers in the town include 'Tyco Healthcare' and 'Boston Scientific'. In...
. The series was favourably received by the critics, although some locals maintain that it portrays midlanders in a bad light. The series won four IFTA
Independent Film & Television Alliance
The Independent Film & Television Alliance is the trade association that represents companies that finance, produce and license independent film and television programming worldwide. The association is headquartered in Los Angeles but has a worldwide membership and scope of services and advocacy....
awards in 2005.
In the past Banagher was noted for a number of crafts, including pottery
Pottery
Pottery is the material from which the potteryware is made, of which major types include earthenware, stoneware and porcelain. The place where such wares are made is also called a pottery . Pottery also refers to the art or craft of the potter or the manufacture of pottery...
and a popular pottery company, called Crannóg Pottery, was established at the West End by Valerie Landon in the early 1950s. It closed down in the 1980s.
Johnny McEvoy
Johnny McEvoy
Johnny McEvoy is an Irish singer of Country and Irish genre born in Banagher, County Offaly, Ireland.He was part of a duo called "Ramblers 2", and has been in the entertainment circuit since the 1960s.-Hits:...
is from Banagher and is a popular singer of Country and Irish
Country and Irish
Country and Irish is a musical subgenre in Ireland formed by mixing North American country style music with Irish influences. It is especially popular in the rural Midlands and North-West of the country, but less so in urban areas or in the South-West where more traditional Irish music is favoured...
genre. The internationally renowned folk-singer
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
Roger Whittaker
Roger Whittaker
Roger Whittaker is an Anglo-Kenyan singer-songwriter and musician with worldwide record sales of over 55 million. His music can be described as easy listening. He is best known for his baritone singing voice and trademark whistling ability...
took up residence in Banagher for about 10 years until 2006. During the time he purchased and renovated Lairakeen House. The town has also had a number of well-known writers staying for varying periods of time.
Mark Boylan is a singer/songwriter from Banagher. He was born in 1997 and first came to prominence when he wrote the theme song for the 2011 Cheltenham horse racing festival
Cheltenham Festival
The Cheltenham Festival is one of the most prestigious meetings in the National Hunt racing calendar in the United Kingdom, and has race prize money second only to the Grand National...
in England. The song is entitled The Festival and it received over 40,000 views on YouTube. Boylan has since written a song for one of the biggest horse races in the world, The Breeders' Cup. He performed the song at the event which took place at Churchill Downs
Churchill Downs
Churchill Downs, located in Central Avenue in south Louisville, Kentucky, United States, is a Thoroughbred racetrack most famous for hosting the Kentucky Derby annually. It officially opened in 1875, and held the first Kentucky Derby and the first Kentucky Oaks in the same year. Churchill Downs...
in Louisville
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...
, Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
on 4 November 2011. The proceeds of the song went to the Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund (PDJF) and the song has been made available through the iTunes medium.
Anthony Trollope
Victorian literature
Victorian literature is the literature produced during the reign of Queen Victoria . It forms a link and transition between the writers of the romantic period and the very different literature of the 20th century....
era. Trollope had been employed by the General Post Office in 1835 and was sent to Ireland in September 1841 at the age of 26. Trollope had had an unhappy life up to that point and remarked in his autobiography: "This was the first good fortune of my life." After landing in Dublin on 15 September, he travelled by canal-boat to Shannon Harbour and then on to Banagher, arriving on 16 September, which coincided with the second day of the annual Great Fair. Although very much smaller than the town of Birr, which is only eight miles away, Banagher had been chosen as the base of a Postal Surveyorship, probably because its position on the Shannon offered easy access by can boat to Dublin and Limerick.
Trollope established himself at The Shannon Hotel, a long bow-fronted Georgian
Georgian architecture
Georgian architecture is the name given in most English-speaking countries to the set of architectural styles current between 1720 and 1840. It is eponymous for the first four British monarchs of the House of Hanover—George I of Great Britain, George II of Great Britain, George III of the United...
building, which was over 100 years old at that time. The hotel, which still exists, is located at the bottom of the town, a mere one hundred yards from the river. The post office where Trollope worked was at the top of the town, which is only a matter of minutes on foot. Next to the post office was a two-roomed bungalow which was used by the Postal Surveyor and his new deputy as their working headquarters. This building is often erroneously considered to have been the residence of Trollope himself.
Although Trollope's initial knowledge of Ireland was limited, he soon discovered that the Irish were good-humoured and clever - "...the working classes very much more intelligent than those in England. They were not, as they were reputed to be, spendthrift
Spendthrift
A spendthrift is someone who spends money prodigiously and who is extravagant and recklessly wasteful, often to a point where the spending climbs well beyond his or her means...
s, but were economical, hospitable and kind." Their chief defects, he judged, were that they could switch to being very perverse and very irrational, and that they were "but little bound by the love of truth."
Trollope remained stationed at Banagher until late 1844 when he was transferred to Clonmel
Clonmel
Clonmel is the county town of South Tipperary in Ireland. It is the largest town in the county. While the borough had a population of 15,482 in 2006, another 17,008 people were in the rural hinterland. The town is noted in Irish history for its resistance to the Cromwellian army which sacked both...
. It was while in Banagher that Trollope began to write his first novel, The Macdermots of Ballycloran
The Macdermots of Ballycloran
The Macdermots of Ballycloran is a novel by Anthony Trollope. It was Trollope's first published novel, which he began in September 1843 and completed by June 1845. However, it was not published until 1847...
. He had begun to contemplate this novel whilst walking outside Drumsna
Drumsna
Drumsna is a village in County Leitrim, Ireland. It is situated 6 km east of Carrick-on-Shannon on the River Shannon and is located off the N4 National primary route which links Dublin and Sligo. The harbour dates to 1817 and was a hive of commercial waterway activity until the more northern...
in County Leitrim
County Leitrim
County Leitrim is a county in Ireland. It is located in the West Region and is also part of the province of Connacht. It is named after the village of Leitrim. Leitrim County Council is the local authority for the county...
where the ruins of Ballycloran House stood in to the 1840s and were still there in the 1970s. Trollope had been up in Leitrim inspecting the accounts of an errant postmaster. He thought the ruins of Ballycloran "one of the most melancholy spots I had ever visited" and he later described it in the first chapter of his novel. Although, his first novel was initially unsuccessful, Trollope was undeterred and in all, went on to write forty-seven novels, as well as dozens of short stories and a few books on travel. He returned to England in 1856 and by the mid-1860s had reached a fairly senior position within the Post Office hierarchy. Postal history credits him with introducing the pillar box
Pillar box
A pillar box is a free-standing post box. They are found in the United Kingdom and in most former nations of the British Empire, members of the Commonwealth of Nations and British overseas territories, such as the Republic of Ireland, Australia, India and Gibraltar...
(the ubiquitous bright red mail-box) to Britain. Anthony Trollope died in London in 1882 and is buried at Kensal Green Cemetery
Kensal Green Cemetery
Kensal Green Cemetery is a cemetery in Kensal Green, in the west of London, England. It was immortalised in the lines of G. K. Chesterton's poem The Rolling English Road from his book The Flying Inn: "For there is good news yet to hear and fine things to be seen; Before we go to Paradise by way of...
.
Charlotte Brontë
Charlotte Brontë
Charlotte Brontë was an English novelist and poet, the eldest of the three Brontë sisters who survived into adulthood, whose novels are English literature standards...
had a brief association with Banagher in the mid 1850s when she married one Arthur Bell Nicholls, her father's curate
Curate
A curate is a person who is invested with the care or cure of souls of a parish. In this sense "curate" correctly means a parish priest but in English-speaking countries a curate is an assistant to the parish priest...
. Nicholls was born of Scottish parents in County Antrim
County Antrim
County Antrim is one of six counties that form Northern Ireland, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of 2,844 km², with a population of approximately 616,000...
in 1818. He was orphaned early and subsequently brought up by his uncle, Alan Bell, in Banagher. Alan Bell was headmaster at the Royal School at Cuba Court at that time. The couple honeymooned in Ireland and stayed at Cuba Court for a period in June 1854. According to Pope Hennessy, Mrs. Nicholls disliked both Banagher and its inhabitants, although she greatly admired the surrounding countryside.
If Bell Nicholls was a poor unknown curate
Curate
A curate is a person who is invested with the care or cure of souls of a parish. In this sense "curate" correctly means a parish priest but in English-speaking countries a curate is an assistant to the parish priest...
in England - in Banagher he was a member of a respectable family. In a letter quoted by Elizabeth Gaskell
Elizabeth Gaskell
Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell, née Stevenson , often referred to simply as Mrs Gaskell, was a British novelist and short story writer during the Victorian era...
in her book The Life of Charlotte Brontë, Charlotte wrote: "My dear husband, too, appears in a new light in his own country. More than once I have had deep pleasure in hearing his praises on all sides. Some of the old servants and followers of the family tell me I am a most fortunate person; for that I have got one of the best gentlemen in the country .... I trust I feel thankful to God for having enabled me to make what seems a right choice; and I pray to be enabled to repay as I ought the affectionate devotion of a truthful, honourable man."
In January 1855, Brontë discovered she was pregnant. It was accompanied by severe illness and she died on 31 March 1855, officially from tuberculosis
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
. Mr. Nicholls remained with Brontë's father for a further six years before returning to Banagher in 1861, taking with him his wife's portrait, her wedding dress (of which a copy has been made), some of Charlotte's letters and other mementoes. Forty years later, when the critic Clement Shorter prepared to write Charlotte Brontë and Her Circle, he found at Banagher among other relics, two diaries of Emily
Emily Brontë
Emily Jane Brontë 30 July 1818 – 19 December 1848) was an English novelist and poet, best remembered for her only novel, Wuthering Heights, now considered a classic of English literature. Emily was the third eldest of the four surviving Brontë siblings, between the youngest Anne and her brother...
and Anne
Anne Brontë
Anne Brontë was a British novelist and poet, the youngest member of the Brontë literary family.The daughter of a poor Irish clergyman in the Church of England, Anne Brontë lived most of her life with her family at the parish of Haworth on the Yorkshire moors. For a couple of years she went to a...
, in a tin box, and some of Charlotte's minute childhood writings wrapped in newspaper at the bottom of a drawer.
James Pope Hennessy
James Pope-Hennessy came to Banagher in 1970 to write his biographyBiography
A biography is a detailed description or account of someone's life. More than a list of basic facts , biography also portrays the subject's experience of those events...
of Anthony Trollope. Pope Hennessy had published his first book, London Fabric in 1939, for which he was awarded the Hawthornden Prize
Hawthornden Prize
The Hawthornden Prize is a British literary award that was established in 1919 by Alice Warrender. Authors are awarded on the quality of their "imaginative literature" which can be written in either poetry or prose...
and was a well-established biographer and travel writer by the time he arrived in Banagher. Among his more notable works were a biography of Queen Mary
Mary of Teck
Mary of Teck was the queen consort of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Empress of India, as the wife of King-Emperor George V....
for which he was rewarded by being created a Commander of the Royal Victorian Order in 1960, Verandah (1964) a biography of his grandfather, the Irish colonial governor John Pope Hennessy
John Pope Hennessy
Sir John Pope Hennessy, KCMG , was an Irish and British politician and colonial administrator who served as the eighth Governor of Hong Kong.-Early life:...
and Sins of the Fathers (1967), an account of the Atlantic slave traffickers.
Like Trollope before him, Pope Hennessy took rooms at The Shannon Hotel, near the river and set about trying to capture the essence of the town which had inspired Trollope's first novel, The Macdermots of Ballycloran. He proved to be a very popular figure in the town, evidenced by the fact that he was asked to adjudicate at a local beauty pageant and the horse fair. Pope Hennessy gives particular mention to the Corcoran family, the proprietors of The Shannon Hotel in the 1960s and 1970s, for their help in the production of his work. They sold the hotel in 1977.
Pope Hennessy stayed in Banagher from March 1970 to April 1971 and largely completed his study of Trollope during this time. The finished biography, Anthony Trollope, won the Whitbread Award for Biography in 1972 and is largely regarded as Pope Hennessy's finest work since Queen Mary. Pope Hennessy grew very fond of Banagher and returned to stay at The Shannon Hotel a number of times before his premature death in 1974. This is illustrated by his description of Banagher in Anthony Trollope: "...in Trollope's words, Banagher then seemed 'little more than a village'. It retains a quality of friendly village life to this day and can have changed little since Trollope's time, save that its population has declined to eleven hundred."
Sir Jonah Barrington
Sir Jonah BarringtonJonah Barrington (judge)
Sir Jonah Barrington , was one of no less than sixteen children, six at least, and probably seven were sons of John Barrington, a landowner in County Laois...
was born in 1760 near Abbeyleix
Abbeyleix
Abbeyleix is a town in County Laois, Ireland about from Portlaoise and located on the N77 national secondary route. Formerly the N8 National Primary Route ran through the centre of the town, making Abbeyleix an infamous bottleneck on the Dublin-Cork corridor with up to 15,000 vehicles passing...
in the Queen's County
County Laois
County Laois is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Midlands Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It was formerly known as Queen's County until the establishment of the Irish Free State in 1922. The county's name was formerly spelt as Laoighis and Leix. Laois County Council...
(Co. Laois). He was first elected to Parliament as a member for Tuam
Tuam
Tuam is a town in County Galway, Ireland. The name is pronounced choo-um . It is situated west of the midlands of Ireland, and north of Galway city.-History:...
in 1790. He lost this seat in 1798 and was elected as a member for Banagher in 1799. He voted against the Act of Union in 1801 and as a result he was deprived of his £1,000 a year sinecure
Sinecure
A sinecure means an office that requires or involves little or no responsibility, labour, or active service...
in the Customs House and this also stopped his further advancement. In 1809 he published, in five parts, the first volume of the Historic Memoirs of Ireland. It is thought that he was induced to delay the second volume - the English government shrinking from the exposure of their conduct in carrying the Act of Union, and it was understood that to purchase his silence he was permitted to reside in France from about 1815.
In 1827, he published two volumes of Personal Sketches of His Own Times. In 1830, by an address from both Houses of Parliament, he was removed from the Bench, in consequence of well-proven misappropriation of public moneys. The third volume of Personal Sketches appeared in 1833 as did the delayed volume of his Historic Memoirs. This book was subsequently reproduced in a cheaper form as The Rise and Fall of the Irish Nation. His works are interesting, racy, and valuable - although his statements of fact cannot always be depended on - containing much of personal incident, related in a fascinating style. He died at Versailles
Versailles
Versailles , a city renowned for its château, the Palace of Versailles, was the de facto capital of the kingdom of France for over a century, from 1682 to 1789. It is now a wealthy suburb of Paris and remains an important administrative and judicial centre...
on 8 April 1834.
In popular culture
The town of Banagher is most likely the source of a phrase that is widely known in many English speaking countries in the world. "That beats Banagher!" is a common reaction to something extraordinary or to describe something that surpasses everything. The most commonly proposed explanation is that Banagher was entitled to send two members to Parliament following its charter of incorporation in 1628. It was known as an infamous pocket borough where the members were representative of the landed class, or indeed nominated by the local lord, without a vote taking place at all. When a member of the house spoke of a family (or rotten) borough, it was not unusual for someone to reply "Well, that beats Banagher!"An alternative explanation is suggested, whereby there was an Irish minstrel
Minstrel
A minstrel was a medieval European bard who performed songs whose lyrics told stories of distant places or of existing or imaginary historical events. Although minstrels created their own tales, often they would memorize and embellish the works of others. Frequently they were retained by royalty...
called Bannagher, who was famous for telling wonderful stories; and a line from W.B. Yeats gives this theory some credence: "'Well', says he, 'to gratify them I will. So just a morsel. But Jack, this beats Bannagher.'" There is also an entry in Captain Francis Grose's Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue of 1785 which says: "He beats Banaghan; an Irish saying of one who tells wonderful stories. Perhaps Banaghan was a minstrel famous for dealing in the marvellous".
There are numerous uses of the phrase in literature, including Trollope's The Kelly's and the O'Kellys (1848), p. 221; James Joyce
James Joyce
James Augustine Aloysius Joyce was an Irish novelist and poet, considered to be one of the most influential writers in the modernist avant-garde of the early 20th century...
's Finnegan's Wake
Finnegan's Wake
"Finnegan's Wake" is a ballad that arose in the 1850s in the music-hall tradition of comical Irish songs. The song is a staple of the Irish folk-music group, The Dubliners, who have played it on many occasions and included it on several albums, and is especially well known to fans of The Clancy...
(1939), p. 87.31; James Plunkett
James Plunkett
James Plunkett Kelly, or James Plunkett , was an Irish writer. He was educated at Synge Street CBS.Plunkett grew up among the Dublin working class and they, along with the petty bourgeoisie and lower intelligentsia, make up the bulk of the dramatis personae of his oeuvre...
's Farewell Companions (1977), p. 293 and Edna O'Brien
Edna O'Brien
Edna O'Brien is an Irish novelist and short story writer whose works often revolve around the inner feelings of women, and their problems in relating to men and to society as a whole.-Life and career:...
's Down By The River (1996), p. 1.
The phrase has a riposte
Riposte
In fencing, the riposte is an offensive action with the intent of hitting one's opponent, made by the fencer who has just parried an attack....
: "And Banagher beats the Devil!". The origins of this are more difficult to trace but it does feature in a work by the Irish writer Brian Oswald Donn-Byrne
Brian Oswald Donn-Byrne
Donn Byrne was an Irish novelist. He was born in New York City where his Irish parents were on a business trip at the time, and soon after returned with them to Ireland...
, Messer Marco Polo (1925), p. 25, and it is in common usage in Ireland. Trollope
Trollope
The name Trollope is derived from the place-name Troughburn, in Northumberland. Troughburn was originally Trolhop, meaning Troll Valley, and the earliest recorded use is John Andrew Trolope who lived in Thornlaw, Co Durham....
asserted on his arrival in Ireland, "I was to live at a place called Banagher on the Shannon which I had heard of because of its having once been conquered, though it had heretofore conquered everything, including the Devil". Interestingly, a John O'Donovan, in an Ordnance Survey letter for King's County in 1838, attempts to trace the origins of the name Banagher. He states: "Of all the words which enter into Irish nomenclature Beannchair seems the most difficult of explanation" and goes on to say "This name 'beats the Devil.'" M.F. Kenny in his 2003 book Marathon Marriage uses a story of the devil losing a game of cards to a blacksmith named Banagher at the Black Stile at Garry Castle on the road between Banagher and Birr, as an explanation for the phrase.
Education
St. Rynagh's National School (NS) caters for children between the ages of 4 and 12 and accommodates approximately 200 students. Secondary educationSecondary education
Secondary education is the stage of education following primary education. Secondary education includes the final stage of compulsory education and in many countries it is entirely compulsory. The next stage of education is usually college or university...
is provided by Banagher College (Coláiste na Sionna), a multi denominational school under the responsibility of Co. Offaly Vocational Education Committee
Vocational Education Committee
A Vocational Education Committee is a statutory local education body in the Republic of Ireland that administers some secondary education, most adult education and a very small amount of primary education in the state...
(VEC). Banagher College is an amalgamation of La Sainte Union Secondary School and St. Rynagh's Community College. La Sainte Union is a voluntary Catholic School run by the Sisters of La Sainte-Union des Sacrés-Coeurs, a congregation founded in France in 1826 to promote Christian education. The school first opened its doors in 1863 in a house on Main Street. St Rynagh's CC, originally known as Banagher Vocational School, opened in 1953 with 40 students enrolling under the guidance of the first principal, Ms. Elsie Naughton. Amalgamation discussions began in 1999 and by November 2005 it was agreed that a new school be constructed on the La Sainte Union site. The school accommodates approximately 500 students.
Sport
Banagher is most associated with the game of hurlingHurling
Hurling is an outdoor team game of ancient Gaelic origin, administered by the Gaelic Athletic Association, and played with sticks called hurleys and a ball called a sliotar. Hurling is the national game of Ireland. The game has prehistoric origins, has been played for at least 3,000 years, and...
and is home to St. Rynagh's GAA Club
St. Rynagh's GAA
St. Rynagh's is a Gaelic Athletic Association club that encompasses the towns of Cloghan and Banagher in County Offaly, in Ireland. Formed in 1961, the club gained almost immediate success - winning the senior championship in 1965. St. Rynagh's went on to appear in three All-Ireland club finals...
. The club was founded in 1961 and represents the parishes of Banagher and Cloghan, with hurling played at Banagher and football
Gaelic football
Gaelic football , commonly referred to as "football" or "Gaelic", or "Gah" is a form of football played mainly in Ireland...
at Cloghan. St. Rynagh's has won 16 Offaly Senior Hurling Championships (Sean Robins Cup) and dominated senior hurling in the county from the mid 1960s to the early 1990s. Outside of the county, St. Rynagh's were the inaugural winners of the Leinster Senior Club Hurling Championship
Leinster Senior Club Hurling Championship
The Leinster Senior Club Hurling Championship is an annual Hurling tournament played between the winners of the senior club hurling championships of the counties in Leinster. The current holders of the Leinster title are Ballyhale Shamrocks from Kilkenny. The first Leinster senior club hurling...
, in 1971 and have won the title on a further three occasions, 1973, 1983 and 1994. The club also contested the first All-Ireland Senior Club Hurling Championship
All-Ireland Senior Club Hurling Championship
The All-Ireland Senior Club Hurling Championship is an annual hurling tournament played between hundreds of senior hurling clubs in Ireland. The Tommy Moore Cup is awarded to the winners. The current champions are Clarinbridge...
final in 1971, losing to Roscrea
Roscrea GAA
Roscrea GAA is a Gaelic Athletic Association club is located in the town of Roscrea in North County Tipperary, Republic of Ireland. The club's ground ground shares its name with St. Cronan's BNS in Bray, Co. Wicklow. The club's colours are red and white and they play at Páirc Naomh Cronáin Roscrea...
from County Tipperary
County Tipperary
County Tipperary is a county of Ireland. It is located in the province of Munster and is named after the town of Tipperary. The area of the county does not have a single local authority; local government is split between two authorities. In North Tipperary, part of the Mid-West Region, local...
. Three St. Rynagh's players have captained the Offaly
Offaly GAA
The Offaly County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association or Offaly GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Offaly...
hurling team to All-Ireland
All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship
The GAA Hurling All-Ireland Senior Championship is an annual hurling competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association since 1887 for the top hurling teams in Ireland....
success, Padraig Horan
Pádraig Horan
Pádraig Horan is a retired Irish hurling manager and former player. He played hurling with his local club St. Rynagh’s and with the Offaly senior inter-county team from 1970 until 1986. Horan later served as manager of both the Offaly and Laois senior inter-county teams.-Club:Horan played his...
in 1981, Martin Hanamy
Martin Hanamy
Martin Hanamy is a former Irish sportsperson. He played senior hurling with his local club St. Rynagh's and with the Offaly senior inter-county team from 1987 until 1999.-Early life:...
in 1994 and Hubert Rigney
Hubert Rigney
Hubert Rigney is a retired Irish sportsperson. He played hurling with his local club St. Rynagh's and with the Offaly senior inter-county team from 1990 until 2002.-Club:...
in 1998. A number of St. Rynagh's players have also won All Stars
GAA All Stars Awards
The All Stars Awards, currently sponsored by Vodafone, are given annually since 1971 by the Gaelic Athletic Association to the best player in each of the fifteen positions in Gaelic football and Hurling in Ireland. Additionally, one player in each code is selected as the player of the year...
- Martin Hanamy
Martin Hanamy
Martin Hanamy is a former Irish sportsperson. He played senior hurling with his local club St. Rynagh's and with the Offaly senior inter-county team from 1987 until 1999.-Early life:...
(3), Aidan Fogarty
Aidan Fogarty (Offaly hurler)
Aidan Fogarty is a retired Irish sportsperson. He played hurling with his local club St. Rynagh's and with the Offaly senior inter-county team from 1977 until 1991.-Club:...
(2), Damien Martin
Damien Martin
Damien Martin is an Irish retired sportsperson. He played hurling with his local club St. Rynagh's and was a member of the Offaly senior inter-county team from the 1960s until the 1980s. Martin has the distinction of being presented with the very first All-Star award...
, Padraig Horan
Pádraig Horan
Pádraig Horan is a retired Irish hurling manager and former player. He played hurling with his local club St. Rynagh’s and with the Offaly senior inter-county team from 1970 until 1986. Horan later served as manager of both the Offaly and Laois senior inter-county teams.-Club:Horan played his...
, Hubert Rigney
Hubert Rigney
Hubert Rigney is a retired Irish sportsperson. He played hurling with his local club St. Rynagh's and with the Offaly senior inter-county team from 1990 until 2002.-Club:...
and Michael Duignan
Michael Duignan
Michael Duignan is a retired Irish hurling manager and former dual player. He played hurling and Gaelic football with his local club St. Rynagh's and with the Offaly senior inter-county teams from the 1980s until the early 2000s. Duignan served as manager of the Meath senior hurling team from...
. Damien Martin was the goalkeeper
Goalkeeper
In many team sports which involve scoring goals, a goalkeeper is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by intercepting shots at goal...
on the first All Stars team in 1971, effectively making him the first ever GAA All Star.
Banagher schools have won the All-Ireland Vocational Schools Championship
All-Ireland Vocational Schools Championship
The All-Ireland Vocational Schools Championship is a Gaelic Athletic Association football and hurling competition. There are two levels of competition. Individual schools compete for county, provincial and All-Ireland competitions...
on seven occasions. Banagher College were the most recent winners of the senior championship in 2010, with Banagher having won on three previous occasions, in 1985, 1986 and 1989. Banagher also won a junior championship in 1984 and St. Rynagh's Banagher won a junior championship in 2004.
In 1910, Banagher won the Offaly Senior Football Championship title, playing as Banagher.
Soccer is popular in Banagher and the Banagher United club fields teams in the Midlands Senior and Junior Leagues.
A Billiards
Billiards
Cue sports , also known as billiard sports, are a wide variety of games of skill generally played with a cue stick which is used to strike billiard balls, moving them around a cloth-covered billiards table bounded by rubber .Historically, the umbrella term was billiards...
and Snooker
Snooker
Snooker is a cue sport that is played on a green baize-covered table with pockets in each of the four corners and in the middle of each of the long side cushions. A regular table is . It is played using a cue and snooker balls: one white , 15 worth one point each, and six balls of different :...
Hall is located between The Shannon Hotel and the Marina and has an active membership. There is a Pitch & Putt couse located adjacent to Cromwell's Castle on the Canal Bank and part of the river on this bank has been enclosed to form a swimming pool. There is also an active Sub Aqua Club in the town.
See also
- List of towns and villages in Ireland
- St. Rynagh's GAA ClubSt. Rynagh's GAASt. Rynagh's is a Gaelic Athletic Association club that encompasses the towns of Cloghan and Banagher in County Offaly, in Ireland. Formed in 1961, the club gained almost immediate success - winning the senior championship in 1965. St. Rynagh's went on to appear in three All-Ireland club finals...
- Banagher (Parliament of Ireland constituency)Banagher (Parliament of Ireland constituency)Banagher was a constituency represented in the Irish House of Commons until 1800.-History:Banagher had two members in the 1689 Patriot Parliament summoned by King James II.-1689–1801:...