​​Welcome to the Geashill History & Heritage website. This website is an on-line replica of the Geashill History & Heritage Display located in the old Victorian school in Geashill.

About three years ago I was speaking to members of Geashill Tidy Towns committee about the incredibly rich history and heritage of our village. In conversation the idea of developing a history and heritage display was discussed. This concept was brewing in my thoughts, when two years ago a grant application was successful and provided the necessary financial backing to pay for the costs involved. Geashill History & Heritage Display was launched during heritage week 2024 in the beautiful Old School building.

 

From the beginning we realised that the display in the Old School was hard to access for members of the public and that a website was necessary. In early 2025 the entire content of Geashill History & Heritage Display was put online. We are delighted that you can view it from the comfort of your home whenever you like. It is our mission to publicise the history and heritage of Geashill village as much as possible for everybody to enjoy. Thanks to you the reader for choosing this website and we hope you enjoy the articles, photos and historic images. Both the website and exhibition have four main categories;

 

• Geashill History

• Geashill Heritage

• Old Photos

• Old School

 

When navigating the site note that the four categories are colour coded, with history (green), heritage (yellow), Old photos (purple) and Old School (blue). The history and heritage exhibits are displayed as short articles, of one A4 page each.

 

Each article has a star rating with 3 stars for topics which were Irish national news, 2 stars for topics which were County Offaly news and 1 star for local news topics.

 

The history articles and old photos are in chronological order spanning a period of over one thousand years. They start with the Battle of Geashill legend supposedly dated 1699BC and ends with the Irish Civil War and formation of the Free State.

 

We would have liked to include more content about social history and how the ordinary people lived in everyday life. However, most records prioritise the wealthy and landed gentry, unfortunately creating an imbalance in our recorded history.

 

A big thank you to the eight local historians whose work contributed to the history section. They are acknowledged at the bottom of each article. Similarly thanks to the many people who contributed to the heritage section. There are so many that they can’t be individually named. Also, thanks to all who provided images. We have included copyright and sources where possible. Last but not least, thanks to William Millette for taking on the challenge of designing this website.