Daingean was originally named Philipstown in 1556 when it was established as the county town of the newly shired King's County that was planted by Mary I. The town and the county were so named after her husband and co-monarch Philip who was the titular King of Ireland. From his wife's death in 1558 he no longer held royal status in England or Ireland, and was soon afterwards crowned as Philip II of Spain. The Philipstown parliamentary borough sent two MPs to the Irish House of Commons until its abolition in 1801.
The town was once the seat of the O'Connor clan, who were chieftains of the surrounding area of Offaly. Its current name of Daingean, from Daingean Ua bhFáilghe, means fortress of the Uí Fáilghe clan, a name that it derived from the medieval island fortress of O'Connor Faly. In 1883, Tullamore replaced Daingean as the focal point of the county, being on a railway line. As a result, Philipstown was demoted from county town to village and as a result lost most of its political status. With the foundation of the Irish Free State in 1922, the village was renamed Daingean, at the same time as County Offaly replaced the old style of King's County.[10]
In the 1850s, Philipstown Gaol was used to detain people who were convicted and sentenced to transportation to Australia while they waited for a ship to transport them. Many of them died in the jail after spending several years waiting to be transported.[11]
The Daingean Reformatory
Public buildings in Daingean include the courthouse, whose design is locally attributed to James Gandon, and a children's reformatory, known as St Conleth's Reformatory.[citation needed] The remnants of a military barracks (known as the footbarrack) gives its name to the bridge leading out of the town towards Tullamore - the footbarrack bridge. There are the remnants of a Church of Ireland (Anglican) church and a functioning Roman Catholic church. A number of these buildings are no longer used for their original function.[citation needed] The courthouse, for example, has functioned as a town hall, dance hall and bingo hall, having been renovated in the 1980s.[citation needed]
A book called From the Quiet Annals of Daingean was written and published by John Kearney of Daingean in December 2006.[12]
While there is a local farming economy, many of the people from Daingean work in Tullamore or commute further afield.[citation needed] Daingean is surrounded by the Bog of Allen and Bord Na Mona (BnM) remains a local employer, however the number employed is much reduced from the heyday when local people made a living working at the briquette factory and on the bog.[citation needed] The ESB power station at nearby Rhode was also a significant employer before its closure. Even in the period of high unemployment in the 1980s, the ESB and BnM trained local men in their apprenticeship programmes.[citation needed]
Publican Matt Farrell was murdered in the town on 1 April 2009.[13] A €10,000 reward was offered for information when the crime had not been solved several months later.[14]
Tourism
The Grand Canal, which links Dublin and the River Shannon, passes through the village. The village has an 18-hole golf course, Castle Barna Golf Club.[15] Daingean is also home to Grand Canal Adventures who provide kayaking, water zorbing, bicycle hire and other water sports and leisure activities on the canal.[16]
Cultural events
The Daingean Homecoming Festival is a week-long event hosted at the beginning of each August.[17] The festival includes a raft race on the Grand Canal, a parade, traditional threshing, a karaoke competition and a children's day. During the Daingean Homecoming Festival, a "festival queen" is selected by a panel of judges.[17] On the Friday night of the festival, the Tullamore Harriers Athletic Club organise a 5 km road race which makes four loops of the town. The race has previously seen over 100 runners taking part.[citation needed]
Transport
Map of Daingean
The regional R402 road forms the principal street of Daingean known as Main Street. This road links Enfield, Edenderry, Daingean, Ballinagar and (through the R420) Tullamore.
Daingean is served by a Bus Éireann commuter bus service through route 120.[18]
The nearest railway station is Tullamore railway station, approximately 17.5 km (10.9 mi) or 15 to 20 minutes away.
Geraldine O'Neill is an author, originally from Scotland, living in Daingean since 1991. Her mother was originally from Daingean. O'Neill primarily writes historical fiction novels, many of which are set in County Offaly.[citation needed]
^Lee, J.J. (1981). "On the accuracy of the Pre-famine Irish censuses". In Goldstrom, J. M.; Clarkson, L. A. (eds.). Irish Population, Economy, and Society: Essays in Honour of the Late K. H. Connell. Oxford, England: Clarendon Press.
^"Offaly managerless as Kilmurray quits". Irish Examiner. 13 September 2006. The Daingean native confirmed that he was stepping down last night after the Board reviewed his reign so far, which has run since November 2004.
