These Irish name elements are associated with this record in the Logainm glossary.
An element’s translation is a clue, rather than a complete explanation of the name. Its form and meaning depend on local history and the full Irish name.
Recorded forms
Inis na mBreatnach· Irish · main form · validated name
Walshisland· English · main form
Place & story
The Immaculate Conception church
The Catholic Church of the Immaculate Conception at Coolagary dates to about 1824. Its cross-shaped plan, round-headed windows and bellcote belong to the older building, while new entrance porches mark alterations around 1975. That renovation also removed the balcony and confessionals. The surrounding graveyard contains markers from the mid-nineteenth century onwards. The national architectural inventory identifies the church as one of the oldest buildings in the village.[2]
People & connections
Matt Connor and six championships
Matt Connor helped Walsh Island win six successive Offaly senior football championships from 1978 to 1983, finishing as the leading scorer in each of those six finals. Leinster GAA’s 2012 Hall of Fame tribute also credited him with an inspirational role in two provincial club titles. Connor made his senior county debut in 1978 and won All Star awards in 1980, 1982 and 1983. The local club’s exceptional run accompanied his emergence as a leading figure in Offaly football.[3]
Scoil Mhuire’s twentieth-century beginning
Scoil Mhuire National School opened in Walsh Island in 1949. Its own account places the school within the bogland parish shared with Bracknagh and Clonbullogue. A later expansion began in May 2012, and pupils moved into the enlarged premises in February 2013. The school’s dates mark two separate periods of investment in education within the village.[4]
Walsh Island or Coolagary — Census 2016 settlement footprint
Population within 2016 settlement boundaries
491people · 2022
Both counts use the 2016 settlement boundary, allowing like-for-like comparison. CSO supplies the 2022 count on this older boundary for comparison only. The official 2022 Built Up Area has different boundaries.
View population figures
Walsh Island or Coolagary — Census 2016 settlement footprint — census population
These figures use different area definitions. Read the boundary note before comparing them.
Walsh Island (Coolagary), Offaly
Published census settlement populations
443people · 2016
Settlement boundaries changed during this period. Differences may reflect boundary changes as well as population change. Where a 2011 legal-town-and-environs count is shown, it has not been recalculated onto the 2016 settlement boundary.
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Walsh Island (Coolagary), Offaly — census population
placenames