Historic town of Birr

1- Old Church of St. Brendan

This appears to be a pre-reformation church, perhaps built in the early 17th century. The Church of Ireland community in Birr made regular use of it until the present church in Oxmantown mall was built.

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2- Crotty's Church

This was commissioned in the early 1800's by two cousins, both Catholic priests, who defied their local parish priests and bishops and made allegations about irregularities in the management of the funds being raised to build the then new St. Brendan's Church. This led to serious disagreement within the Catholic religious community in Birr for some years.

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3- Market Square

The monument in the centre is a memorial to the Manchester Martyrs, three Irish nationalists who were executed in Manchester, England in 1867. The monument represents the Maid of Erin and was unveiled in 1894 by a famous Irish nationalist, Jeremiah O'Donovan Rossa. This picture was taken around the 1900's.

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4- Birr Shop fronts

This superb shop front is a national award winner and contains astonishing wood carving detail, from the egg and dart moulded cornice to the large and assured cappings of the pilasters. The lettering is one of the best examples in the country of the highly decorative three tone top shadowed style.

These are fine examples of old Irish Shop fronts, which are now disappearing at a rapid rate.

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5- St. Brendan's Catholic Church

Also built in the Gothic style, this time by Bernard Mullins. The church took 9 years to build and was opened in 1826. It features a vaulted ceiling and fine stained glass windows.

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6- St. John's Convent of Mercy

This Gothic building was built between 1845 and 1856 and designed by A.W. Pugin.

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7- John's Mall

This is an excellent example of Georgian street planning with the typical features one would expect, such as iron railings surrounding the central park and fanlights and sidelights around the paneled main doors of the houses that line the mall.

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8- The Seffin Stone

This is said to be the same stone that was known as the "Umbilicus Hiberniae" or "Navel of Ireland", supposedly marking the centre of Ireland. It was also reputed to have been used as a mass rock, during the period of Irish history when the Catholic religion of the native people was suppressed and religious ceremonies were held in the open air.

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9- The Crimean Gun

This is a cannon captured from the Russian army in 1855, during the Crimean war and presented to the town of Birr.

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10- The Statue of the Third Earl of Rosse

Sculpted by John Henry Foley, who also created the O'Connell monument in Dublin. It was unveiled in 1876 by Mary Rosse, widow of the Earl who died in 1867. Birr Heritage Centre (previously known as John's Hall) can be seen in the background.

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11- Birr Heritage Centre

This building, also known as John's Hall, is located in John's Mall and was built in 1833. Formally a town hall, it now provides information about the history of Birr and the surrounding area.

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12- Emmet Square

The predominant feature here is the Cumberland Pillar, a doric column about 15 metres high and built in 1747. The statue of the Duke of Cumberland that once surmounted it was removed for reasons of public safety. Dooley's Hotel is one of the oldest coach houses in Ireland and dates back to around the 1740's. The famous Australian soprano, Dame Nellie Melba, once stayed there. Picture dates to c.1900.

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13- Methodist Church

This was founded in 1820 and John Wesley often visited the town, sometimes preaching in the open air.

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14- Oxmantown Mall

As with John's Mall, this features a Georgian street layout. At one end is St. Brendan's Church of Ireland, which was constructed, like the Catholic church also dedicated to St. Brendan, in a Gothic style. It was built in 1815 to a design by John Johnson. It has a vaulted ceiling and galleries with friezes on three sides of the interior. Stained glass windows decorate the church, which is a favourite venue for choral concerts.

At the other end of Oxmantown Mall lies the main entrance to Birr Castle Demesne.

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©The Birr Scientific and Heritage Foundation
Ireland's Historic Science Centre   Birr Co Offaly Ireland