The burning of the big house in Offaly by Dr Ciarán Reilly

Offaly Libraries are delighted to share The burning of the 'Big House' in Offaly: country houses and estates presented by Dr Ciarán Reilly. The Irish country houses was central to Irish rural communities and in Offaly it was no different. The local ‘big house’ played an integral role in the social, political and economic life in the community in which they were located. However, for many the country house was also a symbol of colonialism. Dotted throughout Offaly are the remnants of many houses, which were burned during the political turmoil of the early 1920s and others, which were left to fall to ruin in the decades that followed. This illustrated lecture was commissioned in partnership with Offaly History as part of the Decade of Centenaries programme.