Laois Heritage Society holds AGM this week
Laois Heritage Society members at the 2025 Old Fort Festival in Portlaoise
AN action-packed year will be reviewed this Thursday, when Laois Heritage Society holds its AGM in the Midlands Park Hotel, Portlaoise.
Anyone interested in the county’s rich heritage, from the earliest times to the present day, is welcome to attend the meeting at 8pm on 22 January.
The society aims to raise awareness of the unique heritage of Laois through regular talks, walks, trips, site visits and its local history journal, as well as to protect the county’s heritage by supporting research and conservation projects.
In 2025, Laois Heritage Society (LHS) organised lectures and trips for members to explore and enjoy all aspects of the county’s rich past. Talks covered a wide variety of topics, from a costumed talk on the Regency era with Dr Melissa Shiels to a lecture on the importance of the native Irish bee by Colm O’Neill.
The society enjoyed trips to Aylward Rural Museum in Durrow, Donaghmore Workhouse Museum and the Swallow’s Quarter, headquarters and museum of IVETA (Irish Vintage Engine and Tractors Association).
Members were also treated to a tour of Emo Court, including the newly opened servant’s area and a trip to Dublin for a tour of Kilmainham Gaol. The society participated in the Old Fort Quarter Festival in Portlaoise in June, organising free outdoor heritage events and activities for all ages.
The society celebrated Heritage Week 2025 with its popular walking tour of Portlaoise town, led by Michael Parsons and Teddy Fennelly, while new society members Olive Lacey and Mary Byrne organised a guided tour of Clopook Church and graveyard and the rarely accessible cave, the Dún of Clopook.
The LHS spring series of talks will begin with A Taste of Laois Folklore by Tony Delaney, on Thursday 12 February at 8pm in the Midlands Park Hotel. Tony has written on Laois subjects, including historian Canon O’Hanlon and poet John Keegan and his YouTube channel @LaoisHistoryAndFolklore has a worldwide following.
Other speakers in the spring series include Dr James G. Ryan, lecturer and publisher in Irish family history and regular contributor to the Laois Heritage Society Journal, speaking on the history of the Grand Jury in Laois. Society member Paul Delany will give a talk on the history of his family’s Electric Cinema in Portlaoise.
If you would like to join the society or just find out more, go along to the AGM. Annual membership for individuals is €20 or €30 for family membership. All welcome.
