Excerpt from The Early History of the Town of Birr, or Parsonstown: With the Particulars of Remarkable Events There in More Recent Times, Also the Towns of Nenagh, Roscrea, Banagher, Tullamore, Philipstown, Frankford, Shinrone, Kinnetty and Ballyboy and the Ancient Septs, Princes, and Celebrated Places of the Surrounding It is with diffidence I introduce this work to the public. The people of Birr and the neighbourhood are aware that neither my father, the late Thomas Lalor Cooke, by whom the materials were collected, nor I, who arranged and put these materials in their present form, could devote much of our time to such an occupation. In consequence of this, and my father's long illness and death, there has been delay in the publication; and it cannot be expected that even now this book could be as perfect in style and finish as if it were the production of an experienced author, whose entire time was passed in literary pursuits. If deficient in some respects, it is hoped, however, the following pages will be found truthful, and to contain nothing of importance for which there is not an authority. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.