County Offaly – Clonmacnoise and the Dowris Hoard
County Offaly is home to Clonmacnoise, the great monastic complex founded on the banks of the River Shannon near Shannonbridge after the coming of Christianity, which remains one of Ireland's most significant heritage sites. The county is named after the ancient kingdom of Uí Failghe and was formerly called King's County.
People lived here much earlier: at Boora Bog, stone axes, arrowheads and blades date to between 6,800 and 6,000 BCE. The Dowris Hoard, found in a bog near Birr, is the largest collection of Bronze Age objects ever found in Ireland. The county itself was formed during the Tudor period. Today Offaly is known for its bogs, rivers and heritage. Have an Offaly story? Share it with the community!