45-711: [REDACTED] Look up birr in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. Birr may refer to: Places [ edit ] Birr, County Offaly , a town in Ireland Birr Castle , a castle in Birr, Ireland Birr (UK Parliament constituency) , a UK parliamentary constituency in what is now County Offaly, 1885–1918 Birr, Ontario , a community in Middlesex Centre, Ontario, Canada Birr, Switzerland ,
90-732: A branch from the Limerick–Ballybrophy line at Roscrea , opened on 8 March 1858 and closed on 1 January 1963. A monastery was founded here by St Brendan of Birr . It produced the MacRegol Gospels, named after the abbot at the turn of the 8th/9th century and now to be seen in the Bodleian Library in Oxford . The Synod of Birr , held in 697 , was the occasion on which the Cáin Adomnáin , or law of innocents,
135-406: A large range of altitude and also to be turned through a limited range of azimuth . The azimuth range is limited to about one hour by the supporting walls that flank the tube on its eastern and western sides. The walls are 23 feet (7.0 m) apart, 40 feet (12 m) high, and 71 feet (21.6 m) long. A chain and counterweight keeps the telescope in balance, another chain with a winch controls
180-523: A municipality in Aargau, Switzerland People [ edit ] Jim Birr (1916–2006), American professional basketball player Kevin Birr (born 1969), American curler Todd Birr (born 1968), American curler Other [ edit ] Ethiopian birr , the currency of Ethiopia Birr RFC , a rugby club in the Irish town Synod of Birr , in the Irish town, in 697 Birr Aerodrome , near
225-575: A private residence contrary to the wishes of the Town's residents. This is all the more puzzling when the Birr Georgian Society were refused the opportunity to restore the building into a Museum following minor interior damage during preliminary works some years ago. Birr Barracks became the depot of the Prince of Wales's Leinster Regiment (Royal Canadians) from 1881. The barracks at Birr
270-527: A public library. In the 16th century, the O'Carrolls of Éile had one of their castles here and this was granted to the English-born politician and judge Sir Lawrence Parsons in the course of the Stuart plantation, c. 1620. Sir Laurence Parsons built most of the structure of the present castle on the site of the original castle's Gatehouse. The castle was twice besieged in the 17th century and one of
315-492: A small gated grotto. The bottom step is submerged in well water. The main feature on the grounds of the castle is the great Leviathan of Parsonstown , an astronomical telescope with a 72-inch metal mirror erected by The 3rd Earl of Rosse , which was, until 1917, the largest telescope in the world. The spiral structure of nebulae was discovered through this telescope. It featured in the PBS (USA) documentary, 'Telescope – Hunting
360-514: Is a designated Irish Heritage Town due to the preservation and wealth of Georgian architecture in the town. The earliest Georgian-style buildings dating from the 1740s are located in Emmet Square and Emmet Street (then known as Cumberland Square and Cumberland Street). The column in the centre of the square dates from 1747 and was built to carry the statue of the Duke of Cumberland , known as
405-714: Is a historic reflecting telescope of 72 inches (1.83 m) aperture , which was the largest telescope in the world from 1845 until the construction of the 100-inch (2.5 m) Hooker Telescope in California in 1917. The Rosse six-foot telescope was built by William Parsons, 3rd Earl of Rosse on his estate, Birr Castle , at Parsonstown (now Birr ) in Ireland. Parsons improved the techniques of casting, grinding and polishing large telescope mirrors from speculum metal , and constructed steam-powered grinding machines for parabolic mirrors. His 3 foot (91 cm) mirror of 1839
450-576: Is a municipal district within Offaly County Council . The district itself covers the entire west and south of Offaly. The district returns 6 elected representatives to Offaly County Hall in Tullamore. The area was administered by Birr Urban District Council until 2002, and subsequently by Birr Town Council until 2014, when the council was dissolved and administration of the town was amalgamated with Offaly County Council in accordance with
495-560: Is also known as the chains due to the sturdy chain railings enclosing the central plots in the centre of the Mall. Birr Town Council met here in a building known as John's Hall built in the style of a Greek Temple. The Seffin Stone is said to mark the centre of Ireland. Mentioned by Geraldus Cambrensis , who referred to it as Umbilicus Hiberniae , the indentations on the stone are as old as megalithic sites, such as Newgrange . Myths claim that
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#1732779748809540-533: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Birr, County Offaly Birr ( / ˈ b ɜːr / ; Irish : Biorra , meaning "plain of water") is a town in County Offaly , Ireland. Between 1620 and 1899 it was called Parsonstown , after the Parsons family who were local landowners and hereditary Earls of Rosse . The town is in a civil parish of
585-554: Is located in the Oxmantown Mall. A smaller Methodist Church known as Wesley Chapel was built in 1820 on Emmett Street to accommodate a growing Methodist congregation following the preaching of John Wesley in the late 18th century in Birr. The Sisters of Mercy convent on Wilmer Road beside the Catholic church is also a gothic-styled building. Most of the convent was converted by Offaly County Council to civic offices and
630-507: Is recorded as the lowest score ever in a hurling match in the Guinness Book of Records . Founded in 1887, Birr RFC has lapsed on several occasions, particularly during the two world wars and again in the mid-1950s. It was reformed in 1963 and has been in continuous existence since. Birr Golf Club is an 18-hole golf course which was founded in 1893. The course was founded originally at Barrone Court, moving to its present location at
675-502: The Local Government Reform Act 2014 . Birr Court House, built c1830, is a detached five-bay two-storey castellated courthouse located on Townsend St, Birr. Over the years the building has served as a prison, court and county council offices. The courthouse has since closed down and now lies empty. The Courthouse was used to host Creative Arts events during Vintage Week 2023 and is hoped to be developed as part of
720-666: The Siege of Sevastopol in the Crimean War . The Cannon was originally displayed inside the Castle Demesne before being placed outside John's Hall. In Emmet Square stands Dooly's Hotel : one of the oldest coaching inns in Ireland, dating from 1747. The name of Galway Blazers was given to the Galway Hunt after a celebration held in the hotel in 1809 resulted in the premises being set on fire. Film director John Huston
765-619: The 1620s. The town was also the location of the Crotty Schism , one of the few schisms to affect the Catholic Church in Ireland in the 19th century. The church on Castle Street were the result of the Crotty Schism and were allowed to fall into a derelict condition after disuse following the end of the schism. The church is known locally as Crotty's Church. In the early 2020s it was restored externally and converted into
810-580: The 3rd Earl. Reconstruction work lasted from early 1996 to early 1997. It had been planned to include a working mirror, but due to budget constraints this had to be left for a separate project. The new mirror was installed in 1999. Unlike the speculum original, and unlike modern aluminium- or silver-coated glass mirrors, this is made of aluminium, as a compromise between authenticity and utility in astronomical observation. In 2017, LOFAR radio-telescope station IE613, one of some 50 similar stations in Europe,
855-404: The 4th Earl ( Laurence Parsons ) continued to operate the six-foot telescope. From 1874 to 1878, J. L. E. Dreyer worked with the telescope and began the compilation of his New General Catalogue of Nebulae and Clusters of Stars . Although the 4th Earl built a smaller 3 ft equatorial in 1876, the six-foot telescope remained in use until about 1890. After his death in 1908, the telescope
900-662: The Bloody Duke and the victor of the Battle of Culloden . The statue was removed in 1915 as it was in danger of collapse. The Oxmantown Mall was laid out in the early 19th century and was designed as a promenade leading from Birr Castle gates to the Church of Ireland . The mall is tree lined on one side with the Georgian houses on the other. John's Mall was also built during this time also with fine Georgian buildings. The area
945-668: The Creative Court project into a more permanent arts venue. The town is served by three primary schools (St Brendan's Boys school, Mercy Primary School and the Model Primary School) and one secondary school ( St. Brendan's Community School ). Birr's hurling team, Birr GAA , has won the All-Ireland championship four times. Several of Birr's hurlers, including Brian Whelahan , attended St. Brendan's Community School . The first ever All-Ireland hurling final
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#1732779748809990-651: The Edge of Space Part 1: The Mystery of the Milky Way' (2011). Astronomy broadcaster Sir Patrick Moore wrote The Astronomy of Birr Castle (1971) , a history of the telescope and the significance of the work carried out here. The workhouse, located in Syngefield, on Newbridge Street, opened in 1842 before the Great Famine . The building is now mainly derelict. It is not yet open to the public. On 31 August 1869,
1035-533: The Glenns, north of Birr, in 1909. The annual Birr Vintage Week and Arts Festival takes place in the town in August. The festival is run over one week, and includes a vintage parade, markets, and music and theatre events. Birr is also home to Birr Festival of Music, OFFline Film Festival, Scripts Ireland's Playwriting Festival and Hullabaloo! Offaly's Children's Arts Festival. Birr Theatre and Arts Centre, located in
1080-622: The Irish town See also [ edit ] Bier (disambiguation) Burr (disambiguation) Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Birr . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Birr&oldid=1090710478 " Categories : Disambiguation pages Place name disambiguation pages Disambiguation pages with surname-holder lists Hidden categories: Short description
1125-550: The Oxmantown Mall, is a local cultural and social amenity for the arts, dance, film, music and theatre. The theatre has a 220 seating capacity. The building dates from January 1889 and is a Victorian period style structure within the surrounds of the tree lined Oxmantown Mall. Birr Stage Guild also stage plays in the theatre. Birr, classified as an oceanic climate by Köppen , has cool winters, mild summers and adequate rainfall year-round. Leviathan of Parsonstown Leviathan of Parsonstown , or Rosse six-foot telescope ,
1170-464: The altitude. A rack and pinion beam underneath the tube controls the azimuth. This beam is connected to the eastern supporting wall, where it can move on a circular iron arc to allow the telescope to change altitude. The tube is of the Newtonian design with the eyepiece on its western side. At low altitude, the observer accesses the eyepiece from a wooden gallery that spans the distance between
1215-596: The ancient Meath is co-terminous with the present boundary between the Diocese of Killaloe and the Diocese of Meath . The O'Carroll family had a castle located at the present site of Birr Castle . Following the Plantations of Ireland , Birr was located in the Barony of Ballybritt following the formation of King's County (now County Offaly) in 1556. The town itself is an old market and former garrison town dating to
1260-601: The demesne's visitor centre. The castle's demesne , however, is open to tourists every day of the year, and the gardens comprise a landscaped park with waterfalls, rivers and a lake, as well as the large reflecting telescope, the Leviathan of Parsonstown , and the modern radio-telescope, I- LOFAR . Below the South face of the Castle proper, St. Brendan's Well can be found. It is a set of steps descending below ground level covered by
1305-655: The first road fatality recorded in history occurred in Birr, when local-born scientist Mary Ward , a cousin of The 3rd Earl of Rosse , fell from a steam-powered car on a bend. The vehicle traversed her, causing fatal injuries. A descendant of the O'Carrolls, Charles Carroll was the first and only Catholic to sign the United States Declaration of Independence and, also, the only signatory to give his address. To distinguish himself from his father, Charles Carroll of Annapolis , he signed in full as "Charles Carroll of Carrollton". In local government, Birr
1350-457: The indentations are from the hand of Fionn MacCuthaill , hence the origin of the name as Suigh Finn (pronounced "See-Finn"), the Seat of Fionn. It is located to the left of the gates to John's Hall, on John's Mall, close to Emmet Square. The Stone is accompanied by a decommissioned cannon, The Crimean Gun, which was presented to the Parsons family and the people of Birr following its capture during
1395-468: The question was whether the latter were merely unresolved star clusters or genuinely nebulous regions of space. It resolved into stars unclear areas which might be the first galaxies to be identified as such. Parsons discovered that several nebulae had a spiral structure, suggesting "dynamical laws". The most notable spiral nebula observed by Parsons was Messier 51 , which he resolved into stars. After William Parsons (the 3rd Earl of Rosse) died in 1867,
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1440-468: The same name. Birr is a designated Irish Heritage Town with a carefully preserved Georgian heritage. Birr itself has graceful wide streets and elegant buildings. Many of the houses in John's Place and Oxmantown Mall have exquisite fanlight windows of the Georgian period. The town is known for Birr Castle and Gardens: the home of the Parsons family and the site of the Leviathan of Parsonstown , which
1485-511: The towers still shows the scars of the artillery of Patrick Sarsfield, 1st Earl of Lucan , who tried unsuccessfully to take it. The castle remains the seat of the Earls of Rosse and is home to the current peer , Brendan Parsons, 7th Earl of Rosse , with family members resident in the demesne. As a family home, most of the castle is only open to the public on special occasions, though five reception rooms can be visited, by guided tour only, through
1530-400: The town. Bus Éireann provide public transport services to the town. The Athlone to Limerick service regularly passes through the town daily. Kearns privately owned bus service provides a number of direct bus services to Dublin from Birr, as well as a weekend service connecting the town with the city of Galway via Portumna, Killimor, and, Loughrea. Birr railway station, the terminus of
1575-485: The walls and can slide up and down guides to follow the telescope in altitude. A cage on the gallery moves sideways to reach the eyepiece at different azimuth. At high elevation, curved galleries on top of the western wall are used, which can be moved across the wall to follow the telescope in azimuth. The purpose of the telescope was to re-visit the nebulae in the catalogues of Charles Messier and John Herschel . These catalogues list star clusters as well as nebulae, and
1620-409: Was 5 inches (13 cm) thick and weighed almost 3 tons. This required a mirror cell to support and to prevent the mirror deforming under its own weight. The length of the tube and mirror box is about 54 feet (16.5 m); including the mirror it weighed about 12 tons. The tube is supported at the mirror end by a "universal joint", a hinge with two axes, which allows the tube to be inclined through
1665-685: Was burned down in 1922 during the Irish Civil War and the outer perimeter wall is all that remains. Outside the old Barracks Wall, there is a monument erected in memory of the soldiers of the Leinster Regiment who were killed during their service. A wreath-laying ceremony takes place annually. Much of the Barracks' historical footprint is now occupied by the Grant Engineering factory. See Annals of Inisfallen . Birr
1710-478: Was cast in smaller pieces and then fitted together before grinding and polishing; its 1840 successor was cast in a single piece. In 1842, Parsons cast his first 6 foot (1.83 m) mirror, but it took another five casts before he had two ground and polished mirrors. Speculum mirrors tarnished rapidly; with two mirrors, one could be used in the telescope while the other was being re-polished. The telescope tube and supporting structure were completed in 1845. The mirror
1755-519: Was constructed in the grounds of the castle. This is the westernmost station in the LOFAR network. LOFAR makes observations in the 10 MHz to 240 MHz frequency range with two types of antennas: Low Band Antenna (LBA) and High Band Antenna (HBA), optimized for 10-80 MHz and 120-240 MHz respectively. The Birr Castle station consists of 96 LBA's and 96 HBA's and a total of 96 digital Receiver Units (RCU's). The Birr Castle station on its own
1800-769: Was latterly a member of the Galway Blazers. Australian soprano Dame Nellie Melba famously sang to crowds gathered below in the Square, from her hotel room above in Dooly's Hotel. The nightclub attached to the hotel is named "Melba's" to mark the occasion. On the Wilmer road, near the County Arms Hotel, is a Gothic-style Catholic church built. St. Brendan's Church of Ireland was also built in Gothic style in 1815 and
1845-492: Was not until the 1990s that plans to actually rebuild the telescope came to fruition. In 1994 the retired structural engineer and amateur astronomer Michael Tubridy was called in to research and re-design the Rosse six-foot telescope. The original plans were lost, and so it took detective work to review the remains of the telescope, incidental comments in observing logs, and contemporary photographs taken by Mary Rosse , wife of
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1890-515: Was partly dismantled, and in 1914, one of the mirrors with its mirror box was transferred to the Science Museum in London. The walls remained. The tube, second mirror box, and universal joint survived. Following a TV programme, lecture, and book by Patrick Moore , there was renewed interest in the six-foot telescope in the 1970s. Gradually, the telescope became a visitor attraction. But it
1935-466: Was played in Hoare's field (currently the location of a Tesco store) in Birr on Easter Sunday , 1 April 1888, between Tipperary and Galway. The match was won by Tipperary on a score line of 1 goal, 1 point and 1 forfeit point to Galway's no score. A forfeit point was given against a player carrying the sliotar over his own goal line. The remarkably low score, albeit under different rules to the modern game,
1980-475: Was pronounced. In Gaelic Ireland , Birr was located in the O'Carroll territory of Éile . This petty kingdom ( Irish : Tuatha ) formed an area that now forms the south of County Offaly and the northeast of County Tipperary . The Tuatha was subject to the overkingdom ( Irish : Rí ruirech ) of Munster and formed a border with the Kingdom of Meath to the east. The boundary between Ely O'Carroll and
2025-638: Was the largest telescope in the world for over 70 years. The town is situated near the meeting of the Camcor and Little Brosna rivers, the latter flowing on into the River Shannon near Victoria Lock . The Ormond Flying Club has been in operation at Birr Airfield for over 30 years. Birr lies on the N52 and N62 national secondary roads . The routes are combined as they pass through Birr. The R439 , R440 and R489 regional roads also terminate in
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