Genealogy in Laois
Laois (Accommodation, Laois, Ireland) also known as the “Queen’s County, a county of Ireland, bounded N and W by Offaly the King’s county, E by Kildare and part of Carlow, S by Kilkenny, and SW by Tipperary, 32 English m. long, and as many broad. Along the W boundary runs a range of high and steep mountains, and in the E the Dysart hills form a prominent and picturesque object. Its principle rivers are the Barrow and Nore. The principal mineral productions are coal and limestone. It sends 3 members to the British parliament. Also known as “Leix”, this region was part of the possessions of the O’Mores (or O’Moores) before the Norman invasion. As in so many cases, the Norman grant of the lands to the Fitzpatricks was largely unsuccessful and the 
native Irish remained a constant threat until the sixteenth century when, along with the neighbouring Offaly, Laois (Hotels, Laois, Ireland) was annexed to the English crown under Queen Mary and renamed “Queen’s county”. In case the Irish still hadn’t got the point, the principal town was also renamed Maryborough. The county was re-titled Laois (Bed and Breakfasts, Laois, Ireland) after Independence in 1922, and Maryborough became Portlaoise. The town is best known to most Irish people today as the home of the country’s only high-security prison.
Surnames associated with the county include Fitzpatrick, Buggy, Bergin, Dunne, Deegan, Tynan, and Dowling.
The chief towns in Laois are Maryborough, Portarlington, and Stradbelly.
Laois & Offaly Family History Research Centre, Bury Quay,Tullamore, Co Offaly, Ireland
The Laois (Holiday Apartments, Laois, Ireland) & Offaly Family History Research Centre is the designated research centre for the counties of Laois (formerly called Queen’s County) and Offaly (formerly called King’s County). The Centre offers a Full Service. All initial enquiries are answered promptly while research usually takes from four to six weeks.
Church records in the Laois & Offaly area have various starting dates:
The earliest Roman Catholic parish records at this centre start at 1763 and the latest start in 1862
The earliest Church of Ireland (Anglican/Episcopalian) records date from 1699 and the latest from 1876.
Methodist records commence in1830
In addition to the usual primary source material the Laois & Offaly Family History Research Centre have indexed:
The Birr Workhouse register
Births, marriages and deaths recorded in the ‘King’s County Chronicle’ newspaper (1845 - 1865) and the ‘Leinster Express’ (1831 - 1851)
Entries in trade directories for the period 1788 to 1908
The Geashill Estate rental (1883).
About 750,000 genealogical records have now been computerised at this centre.
August 17th, 2008 at 8:08 am
Hello,
I am visiting Ireland (Templemore) in September as part of the Carden gathering 2008. My great great maternal grandmother was a Standish from Mill Park, Roscrea. I believe her husband John Carden may have come from Borris or Roscrea, born circa 1800. Our family lore claims he was in the military but I haven’t been able to find any record of that at all. I believe he had two brothers William and Robert. William was a shoemaker in Borris and emigrated to Canada around 1818-1820. I am wondering how to peruse the trade directories for the time or if there are bmd records that I could view while visiting Ireland (Church of Ireland), to hopefully shed some light on my g g grandfather’s origins. (We don’t seem to be a part of the Templemore branch of the family.) I would appreciate hearing from you!
Kind regards,
Elizabeth Sexton