Laois Heritage Society AGM 2008
Laois Heritage Society
Cumann Sean Dailiochta Conndae Laoise
Secretary’s Report for 2007Laois Heritage Society has had a busy year with many items of concern on the agenda and addressed. Through the work of the members and also the Society’s involvement with the County Heritage Forum, many proposals have been put forward and implemented
The Society keeps a close eye on all parts of the county hut our main concentration is centred around the towns and their environs. This is where the huge scale developments have been taking place and this is where there is a constant threat of the destruction of important archaeological, historical and architectural sites and artefacts.
We are also conscious of the threats to our lovely villages and while development is necessary and it is good to see people moving back to their own areas, it is of utmost importance that the character of those villages be maintained.
The very valued help of Laois Heritage Officer, Catherine Casey, is much appreciated. Her encouragement has helped the Society’s members on the Forum to have an important input info formulating policy for the county’s Heritage Plan. Catherine had been out of action due to an accident. We wish her a speedy recovery.
Portlaoise Heritage Trail
It is of great satisfaction to note that our main project in recent times, the Portlaoisc Heritage Trail, is now set for completion. As we were anxious that the monument to one of our greatest historical figures, James Fintan Lalor, be included on the trail, we delayed the completion. Now that the monument is in place we can go ahead and finish the Trail so that it will be ready for guided tours by early summer. The Trail will commence from the JFL monument at County Hall.
The chairman of the JFL Monument committee, David Lawlor, and his committee are to be congratulated on their wonderful achievement with the help of Laois County Council in having such a fitting memorial erected to commemorate a famous Laoisman.
Thanks Anne and Laois Leader
Anne Goodwin and Laois Leader have always supported our heritage projects and they, once again, came up trumps with funding for the Heritage Trail. So too the Heritage Council for their useful support. Now we intend to proceed with a similar Heritage Trail for Portarlington. Mountmelljck already has a very fine Heritage Trail and, combined with the County Heritage Trail, they are a wonderful amenity and something which makes the county more attractive to visitors and makes us all more aware of the many fine historical and heritage sites in our midst, something we tend to take for granted or completely overlook.
Dunamase.
The work and care of Dunamase is ongoing. Much has been done, mainly through the efforts of the Society and the site is very impressive. The Society appreciates the work of our members, especially that of Michael Cobbe, Martin Doody and the late Eric Lewis for their time and effort in this project. Hopefully more funding will become available to continue the work on the Rock. We are very appreciative of the work of Mr Sean Fleming, T.D., in this regard.
Journal
Currently work is being done on Journal No. 4. To date there is a very interesting spread of material. Journal sub-committee chairman, Jack Hyland wishes to thank all contributors and encourages anyone with material to contact him or the other members of the committee, Teddy Fennelly, Ronnie Mathews, P.J. Tynan or myself.
County Heritage Centre
Back on top of our agenda is the implementing of the wonderful plan published a few years ago for the provision of a County Heritage Centre together with an archives and local history library facility within the walls of the Old Fort of Maryborough. What a pity nothing has been done to implement the Plan which when completed would be a showpiece for the county
Old St Peter’s Graveyard
This very ancient and historical site has been neglected for a long time. A sub-committee has been formed to keep a watching brief on what is taking place there. There are plans proposing to knock down some of the mature trees and build a glass featured development adjacent to it, which would he most inappropriate and completely out of character to the area.
Canal House
In November 2007 a planning application was refused by Laois County Council to demolish the Canal House at Portarlington.
Field monuments
While visible field monuments by their nature are open to protection it is vitally important that landowners be aware of what may he under the ground or believed to be there. The very up-to-date mapping systems are now capable of sourcing possible sites of importance. These sites are of enormous value to the appreciation of the history of an area and of the people who lived there.
Flight of the Earls
In 2007 there were celebrations in Rathmullen, Co. Donegal and in Rome to honour the memory of this famous event. Our Society was represented at the celebrations.
Web-page
Our esteemed member, Tom Cox, is our man in charge of the website. Tom is anxious that those wishing to update the information and have other suitable material for it should contact him at Abbeyleix Heritage House.
Lectures
The calendar of lectures and other events organised by the Society over the past year were all
well attended. These included:
Archaeology of the Motorway by Grace Feighan
Bridges of Laois by Fred Hammond
Heath Races by Jack Hyland
James Fintan Lalor by Dr Regina UI Chuilleatan
The Slieve Blooms by Paddy Heaney
John George Adair — From Laois to Texas and Back by Dr Robert Spiegleman and Ronnie
Mathews
The speaker at our annual Christmas Lunch was Dr Salvador Ryan who spoke on religious
beliefs in medieval times.
Fas Indexing scheme
The scheme continues under co-ordinator, Anne Marie Heskin. She is doing a wonderful job and is very helpful if members have any queries. Over thirty years of the Leinster Express have now been fully indexed. The scheme is under the sponsorship of Laois Heritage Society and is funded by FÁS
Annual Outing
One of the highlights of 2007 was our trip to Newgrange. This was very ably organised by Asst sec. Andy McOuillan. It was certainly one of our most interesting outings. It was a lovely bonus that all those who came with us were allowed access to the main chamber in Newgrange. This was brilliant. We also took in Knowth and Old Mellifont Abbey which was really special. Well done Andy. Much appreciated.
Membership
We have a good membership well representative of most parts of the county. But we always need more members and especially more younger members. They would be very welcome and would find the work of the Society very interesting and rewarding.
Wonderful work of voluntary groups
The Society Fully appreciates the work being done all over the county by small voluntary groups and we invite them at any time to contact us if they feel we can be of help to them in their work in preserving and enhancing their own communities.
So much more to be done
There is so much more to be done but a voluntary group like ours is limited in personnel, time and finance. But this does not deter us to pursue our main objectives in the protection and promotion of the heritage of the county
Sympathy
I wish to convey sympathy to those of our members who may have lost loved ones over the past year. The Society sadly mourns the passing of one of our most committed and hard working members, Eric Lewis. Nothing was too great for him to do, and even though he was quite ill over recent years he soldiered on and put forward the Society’s views and interests at all levels, especially on the Heritage Forum. He will be sadly missed as a close friend.
Thanks
I wish to sincerely thank my fellow officers and committee for their invaluable help. Treasurer, Jim Fleming, Asst Sec. Andy McQuillan, Vice-Chairman, James Deegan and especially our chairman, Teddy Fennelly. Also to the above mentioned Journal team with whom it has been a great pleasure working and thanks to everyone who supported the Society in any way during the past year.
If I have omitted anything members consider important I humbly apologise.
Officers and Committee for 2007
President: Michael O’Brien Vice-Pres.: Frank Meehan and Michael Parsons;
Chairman: Teddy Fennelly; Vice-Chair.; James Deegan, MCC; Hon. Sec.: Mary
Lalor; Asst. See.: Andrias MacCuillean; Treasurer: James Fleming.
Committee: Eric Lewis, Kathleen O ‘Brien, Michael Cobbe, Jim Keller, Jim Lalor,
Martin Doody, Canon Sean O’Doherty, Patricia Lynch, Tom Cox, Tony Delaney,
Michael Dowling, Roy Meredith, Paul Delaney, John Mulhare, Jack Hyland, Ronnie
Mathews.
Mary Lalor (Hon. Sec.)

Laois Heritage Society AGM – Monday, Jan 29th 2006 at the Heritage Hotel, Portlaoise(Source: Leinster Express, 31 January 2006)

Heritage Society maintain a watching brief on Portlaoise developments

Laois Heritage Society will be keeping a close eye on plans for a re-development of a major part of Portlaoise town centre in the aftermath of the relocation of local second level schools.
Already a new VEC College is in the course of construction and it is expected that work on a new joint campus, which will replace the existing CBS and Presentation College, is expected to get under way in the near future. This will leave large chunks of land in the heart of Portlaoise available for development.
Chairman of the Society, Teddy Fennelly, told members at the AGM in the Heritage Hotel, Portlaoise, on Monday night that whatever plans are approved will have to be highly sensitive to the important heritage interests involved. Mr. Fennelly said that there have been criticisms expressed that County Laois and its county town lacked profile.
Mr. Fennelly suggested that by locating a county heritage centre on the site of the Old Fort of Maryborough and by making this the focus of any new major development, it could do wonders for the profile of the town and county. He added that the relocation of the schools would provide a unique opportunity for planners and decision-makers to do something really worthwhile for the town and its future.
County Heritage Officer, Catherine Casey, revealed that a new County Heritage Plan was being prepared by Laois Heritage Forum and encouraged individuals and groups to make submissions. Laois was the first county to prepare such a plan five years ago and this has been largely implemented, she said.
Secretary Mary Lalor reported on a busy year for the Society in 2005 during which the Canon O’Hanlon celebrations took centre stage. She said that the Portlaoise Heritage Trail would be completed in 2006 and hoped that Heritage Council funding would be forthcoming in finish the project. She also reported that the Society now had its own website at www.laoisheritagesociety.com and said that committee member,Tom Cox, along with Paddy Bates had agreed to manage the site.
Members were told that conservation work on the Rock of Dunamase was continuing and the current phase would be completed this year. Vice-Chairman, James Deegan, advised that a fresh application should be made for a new tranch of funding which would make the county’s most important monument accessible to the public.
Sean Fleming T.D. supported this proposal and spoke of the keen interest taken by the current Minister in the project. He suggested that various bodies with an interest in the Rock should come together behind such an application and assured members that he could strongly support the move.
Michael O’Brien, President of the Society, called once again for the provision of an interpretative centre for the Rock. He also said that there should be some memorial erected to Fr. Nicholas O’Connor, the 19th century parish priest who founded the main schools in Portlaoise and built the old church, now sadly demolished.
Chairman of the Heritage Journal sub-committee, Jackie Hyland, appealed to members to provide suitable material for a new Journal which he said was in the course of preparation.
Mr. Deegan, along with other members, spoke of the need for locate a permanent base for the society. He said that a suitable premises was required to store records, books and other artefacts. Securing such a premises should be a priority for the Society in the coming year, he suggested.