Famous QUOTES from Ireland’s county OFFALY

“Esto Fidelis” (Be Faithful) — The official motto of Offaly.
“Uibh Fhaile how I love you with your heather scented air.” – the Offaly Rover.
“If ever Offaly earns a name, it will be the ‘Faithful’ County, for nowhere else are hurlers and footballers more intent on sticking to their colours”. – Andy Croke pseudonym for Donal Carroll.
“My name is Barack Obama, of the Moneygall Obamas, and I’ve come home to find the apostrophe we lost somewhere along the way.” – Barack Obama (b. 1961), on visit to ancestral home Moneygall in County Offaly.
“There’s men in that dressing room who haven’t had a pint since last Tuesday” – Eugene McGee (1941–2019), humorous quote about how determined the Offaly team was to win the 1982 All-Ireland final.
Giant machines grumble over the bogland to produce milled peat designed to meet the special needs of English gasworks and foundries, shiny mahogany-hued briquettes to brighten Irish hearths, moss peat for gardening purposes, and fuel to generate some of the electricity on which Ireland depends so much as a source of power. Villages such as Kilcormac in County Offaly house Bord na Mona (Turf Board) employees. When the boglands of Ireland are completely exhausted, it is hoped to use the ‘cutaway land’ for reafforestation – Bryan MacMahon 1909-1998), Here’s Ireland (1971).
“Are the orchards of Scurragh / With apples still bending? / Are the wheat-ridge and furrow / An Cappaghneale blending! / Be they fruitful or fallow / A far dearer old friend / Is the bog of Clondallagh.” – John de Jean Frazer (1804–1852), li from the poem Clondallagh.
“This county is OFFALY hard to understand” – Tommy Tiernan (b. 1969).
“Fair Birr of the fountains / Thy forest and river / And miniature mounts / Seem around me for ever: / But they case from past / No home memories to hallow / My heart to the last / Like the bog of Clondallagh.” – John de Jean Frazer (1804–1852).
Tullamore, the capital of County Offaly, is a typical, thriving, inland town built close to the site of the once famous monastery of Durrow, one of the most important of St Colmcille’s foundations. Its fine tenth century cross is still standing. To close the midland noose I mention that a typical section of Esker Riada runs close to Kilbeggan while Clara, a flour-milling centre, began its days as a Quaker settlement – Bryan MacMahon 1909-1998), Here’s Ireland (1971).
“The wheel fell off my mobile home” – Eugene McGee (1941–2019), humorous quote from the Offaly GAA manager explaining why he was late for training.
“We’re taking this match awful seriously. but we’ll be having a few pints the night before.” – Johnny Pilkington (b. 1970), humorous quote from the Offaly hurler before a Leinster final against Kilkenny.
“You can’t win derbies with donkeys” – Babs Keating (b. 1944), sarcastic quote describing the Offaly hurling team in 1998.
“In a quiet water’d land, a land of roses, / Stands Saint Kieran’s city fair; / And the warriors of Erin in their famous generations / Slumber there.” — Thomas William Rolleston (1857–1920), from the poem “The Dead at Clonmacnoise”
This is an area which-the Slieve Bloom mountains on the OffalyLaois border apart-lacks a mountain range of consequence: it compensates with drumlins, erratic but gently rounded eskers, lakes galore as befits a natural basin, rivers that fill and drain these lakes, and rich pasturage where Hereford cattle, ‘beef to the heels’, gaze benevolently at the wayfarer. Its most notable topographical feature is the river Shannon meandering indolently southwards amid its low-lying callows. – Bryan MacMahon 1909-1998), Here’s Ireland (1971).
“In Offaly, the Slieve Bloom Mountains rise modestly, because even the hills know not to encroach on the midlands.” — Social media..
Edenderry in County Offaly is associated with the family of the Marquess of Downshire and stands in the centre of an area where there are ruined castles galore-keeps that once marked the eastern border of the English Pale. On Carrick Hill, a few miles to the north, crumbling masonry reminds the traveller of the fact that there in 1305, King O’Conor of Uf Failghe and 31 of his chieftains were treacherously assassinated by Sir Pierce Bermingham and Jordon Cumin – Bryan MacMahon 1909-1998), Here’s Ireland (1971).
“County Offaly: so central it’s in the middle of nowhere—and proud of it.” — Social media..
“Offaly people: faithful to their colors, even when the score is against them.” — Humorous nod to the “Faithful County” nickname and GAA resilience.
“Offaly: where the Bog of Allen isn’t just peat—it’s where Ireland keeps its patience.” — Social media..
“County Offaly: small drama, big history—perfect for those who prefer whispers over roars.” — Social media..
“Offaly hurling: faithful to the end, even when the ref is from Kilkenny.” — Social media..
“Offaly: overlooked by tourists chasing the west, but never by the ancestors—they rest easy at Clonmacnoise.” — Social media.
“My story’s travelled far as Curraghavarna and Portavolla, where it’s told to every passing bargeman.” — Jessica Traynor,
“I’ll turn my face from this awful place/ As quickly as I can/ And I′ll sail for home, never more to roam/ From the green fields round Ferbane.” The Green Fields of Ferbane.

Famous quotes from Ireland’s counties

Antrim – Armagh – Carlow – Cavan – Clare – Cork – Derry – Donegal – Down – Dublin – Fermanagh – Galway – Kerry – Kildare – Kilkenny – Laois – Leitrim – Limerick – Longford – Louth – Mayo – Meath – Monaghan – Offaly – Roscommon – Sligo – Tipperary – Tyrone – Waterford – Westmeath – Wexford – Wicklow

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County Offaly:

Ireland’s county Offaly is a county of historic depth and natural beauty, with the Clonmacnoise monastic site featuring ancient high crosses and a riverside setting along the Shannon. Tullamore’s historic distillery provides insights into Irish whiskey production, while the Bog of Allen Nature Centre explores the county’s unique peatlands. Other attractions include the Slieve Bloom Mountains’ hiking trails. Offaly is Ireland’s 18th largest county by size (1,998 square km) and ninth smallest by population (83,150). Population peaked at 146,857 in 1841 and reached its lowest point, 51,533 in 1961. In terms of hospitality, Offaly is Ireland’s 30th most visited (and third least visited) tourist county with around 37,000 international visitors per year.

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