101 Things I love about Offaly

merengueca

Hi, just joined and couldn't resist this thread

- The road from Blue Ball to Cloghan, always reminds me of coming over during summer holidays from England, once we turned right at Blue Ball we were nearly there.
- Tullamore sausages!!!!
- Listening to Ed and Betty - I'm never sure if my parents listen to it for the irony or they really do enjoy it... God I hope it's the irony.
- The survivors list (death notices) each morning on the radio - if your name isn't mentioned your ok.
- The 'champagne glass' in Ferbane (at least thats what I thought it was when I was 8).
- Lough Boora, a summers day and my 2 dogs - perfection!!

thisguy

Offaly's GAA tradition, for a county with a small population we have a brilliant tradition and some of the game's great players and teams. Hopefully this isnt a thing of the past now!

orlyice

We are the only team in the country that have won allstars in every position in both hurling and football

efb

orlyice wrote: »

We are the only team in the country that have won allstars in every position in both hurling and football

We were the first, Cork now have it too

efb

Tallon wrote: »

4. The Heritage I know everywhere has it, but offally has some of the best castles, and derilict buildings in ireland.

Derilict Buildings- Thank Ger Kilally for that...

medoc

As I have a bit of spare time at work tonight ( Dont tell the Boss ) I decided to put the list together to see how far we have got. Hope you dont mind Quazzie. I didnt credit the people who posted each item as it was too much work . I hope I didnt leave out anything. Here goes...

• The bog.
• Good healthy parochial rivalry.
• The way were called BIFFO'S and that other counties stil think it insults us
• The Heritage
• The Colours
• The Traffic (or lack of !)
• OFFALY TIME
• The way when your talking about a stupid thing someone did you add 'the eegit' after a sentence.
• Clonmacnoise
• Texas store
• The Harriers sat night
• Inland waterways
• Ed and Nelly.
• The Fleadh!
• The Slieve Bloom Mountains
• Cadamstown annual BBQ
• Dan and Mollies in Ballyboy
• The Pyramid in Kinnitty
• Walking from Cadamstown to Kinnitty over the mountain, past May Scullys cottage
• The pure randomness and madness that other counties don't seem to comprehend
• The Irish Parachute Club
• Lough Boora Parklands.
• The Mountain Road (R440)
• Offaly Ol' Fellas
• The pride!
• Tullamore Show
• Birr game fair
• Glenisk Yogurts
• Tullamore
• The Pubs of Offaly
• Keeping the Faith
• Its far away from Dublin!
• johnny houghs pup in banagher
• banagher horse fair
• birr vintage week
• Shannon marina
• pure mule
• ballycumber may fair
• The hospital in Tullamore
• The Pieta in Kilcormac
• Birr castle and garden
• The tallest structure in the republic (RTE Radio Mast)
• Shane Lowery
• Bishop Michael Cox Priest and piper, great character
• The Portarlington Road ????????
• The green fields round Ferbane
• The Grand Canal
• The River Brosna
• Bog cotton
• Johnny McEvoy
• Old Croghan Man
• Tullamore Dew
• Offaly hurling
• Kinnity Castle
• Dooly's Hotel in Birr
• The River Shannon
• Wild gorse in bloom on the bog
• The road from Blue Ball to Cloghan
• Tullamore sausages
• The survivors list (death notices) each morning on the radio - if your name isn't mentioned your ok
• The 'champagne glass' in Ferbane (at least thats what I thought it was when I was 8)
• Offaly's GAA tradition
• First team in the country that have won allstars in every position in both hurling and football

Edit: Its now up to 63 I dont know why the numbers wont show with the list

The Scawgeen

64. The Stations still alive in many parts of Offaly and one of the best excuses to have a bit of an old fashioned hooley. Prayers, grub, drink, music and dancing, what more could you ask for.

Dusty87

65. Durrow Demense.
Might be a personal one but sure why not.
Where St. Colmcille had his monastery and where the Book Of Durrow is from, and the High Cross and Well.

The Scawgeen

66. The Shrine of St. Manchan at Boher church. Memories of the visits to Durrow reminded me of bringing the Yanks to visit the church in Boher.

IrishHomer

The smell of turf smoke when you get off the train from dublin.

Dusty87

68. When were at a match and the 'UIBH FHAILI' chant starts. That is pretty cool, or so i remember it being. Long time since we've had the chance to do it:o

Amy33

69. Dooley's hotel in Birr.

Quazzie

70. The Thatch in Rahan. Quite simply the best pub in the midlands for supporting local and traditional music. In terms of live music there are few places that can do better.

Speculator

71. Hennessy Pub - Savage pub - features on the Postcard Pubs of Ireland.

72. Killeens Pub Shannonbridge - were you can buy your cornflakes and have a pint of guinness at the same time

73. Hiding in the hay bails and running around the fields when we were young. (Playing Base 123)

Quazzie

74. Riding home from the bog on the top of a load of turf. Nothing felt better as a child after a hard day on the bog that find a comfy spot on top of the trailer of turf and going home with the summer breeze in your face as you dodged low hanging branches and hanging on for dear life whenever ya hit a pothole.

Mal26

The Thatch in Crinkle
Mundy
Brian Cowen ... erm ...
Neil Delamare???
Barrack Obama
Matt Connor
Seamus Darby and 1982
Brian Whelehan

The Scawgeen

The Italian chipper in Banagher where you can buy half a bag of chips, the name eludes me at the moment.

Dusty87

Quazzie wrote: »

74. Riding home from the bog on the top of a load of turf. Nothing felt better as a child after a hard day on the bog that find a comfy spot on top of the trailer of turf and going home with the summer breeze in your face as you dodged low hanging branches and hanging on for dear life whenever ya hit a pothole.

Feck that Quazz,
When i was about 8 i was doing that when we met a car and pulled over whilst still tipping along. Trailor went on two wheels, i needed new boxers. Never again!!!!
Actually it is part of offally and my daughter be up on the trailer soon

But remember being young, 'I wana go on the trailer' lol

The Scawgeen

Happy memories for all, myself included, and I don't wish to throw a spanner in the works, but children and farm machinery is not a good combination.

My other pet peeve is the celebrations after underage football and hurling matches when parents allow children to lean out of car windows as they whizz by doing their laps of honour, honking their horns around housing estates. There's always at least two children to each window and two or three standing up through a sunroof. It's a accident waiting to happen. I did mention the dangers one time in conversation to an official and was told that nobody else ever complained. Maybe it's just an Offaly thing !

Storminateacup

The fact that even if you don't know what you're doing, everybody else does.

LGiamani

The roads that take me out of the county

Quazzie

LGiamani wrote: »

The roads that take me out of the county

Funnily enough I like the roads that take the likes of you out of the county too.

Dusty87

Maybe he'll do like the last fella earlier on in this thread and post a pic of the croghan to daingean road. Both places being in offaly:rolleyes:

MrsMcSteamy

love the fact that Lewis Carroll, who wrote Alice In Wonderland, grandfather is buried in the old protestant graveyard, or churchacre as its known, in Daingean.

MrsMcSteamy

Also Fr. Mullins grave in the old Killaderry graveyard in daingean has provided many people with cures

The Scawgeen

MrsMcSteamy wrote: »

Also Fr. Mullins grave in the old Killaderry graveyard in daingean has provided many people with cures

Cures you say, tell us more please.

magentas

So glad mundy and neil delamere were mentioned!

-Roesy
-Charleville Castle
(oldest oak tree in Ireland!)
-Castle Palooza music fest in Charleville castle
-"Next door neighbours" who are actually a mile down the road!
-The flaa axcint!
-The Cloneygowen Gooseberry Fair...exciting stuff:D

magentas

Quazzie wrote: »

74. Riding home from the bog on the top of a load of turf. Nothing felt better as a child after a hard day on the bog that find a comfy spot on top of the trailer of turf and going home with the summer breeze in your face as you dodged low hanging branches and hanging on for dear life whenever ya hit a pothole.

Brilliant...spot on!

we passed bridge over the train tracks on way home from bog and dad would stop and wait for train to come so we could wave like crazy and driver would blow the horn...we frigin loved it!!!

Thinking bout it now drivers were prob laughing their arses off at a full family of rednecks on top of a big load of turf on bridge waving at them:rolleyes:

Ah, it's the simple things in life

pookie9

What about Offaly winning the right to wear the national colours?

Dusty87

Barrack Obama anyone????


















Really clutcing at straws now:D