History of Tullamore

To this day, the town shield depicts a phoenix rising from the ashes. The event is yearly commemorated by the Phoenix festival which celebrates Tullamore's resurrection from the ashes following the accident in which part of the town centre was destroyed by a wayward balloon on May 10, 1785.

The Grand Canal linked Tullamore to Dublin in 1798. During the Napoleonic Wars, a clash between troops of the King's German Legion and a regiment of British Light Infantry who were both stationed in the town, became known as the battle of Tullamore. Tullamore became county town of County Offaly in 1835, replacing Daingean