Offaly County Ireland Tartan Collection
Offaly County Ireland Tartan Collection
Celebrate County Offaly with an Irish district tartan — the bogs and eskers of the midlands, the monastic city of Clonmacnoise on the Shannon, and the great telescope at Birr.
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About the County Offaly Tartan
The Offaly tartan is one of the thirty-two Irish county setts designed by Polly Wittering for the House of Edgar in the 1990s. It is a district tartan — it belongs to the county rather than to any family, so anyone with an Offaly connection may wear it.
The county tartans are modern designs and not formally sanctioned by the counties; they have been widely adopted by Irish families as a way of naming the exact place their people came from.
Offaly Tartan Pattern and Colours
The sett draws on deep blues and greens with darker lines — the Shannon water along the county's western edge, the green of pasture and esker ridge, and the dark brown of the great midland bogs.
County Offaly Heritage
Offaly lies in the flat middle of Ireland, a county of raised bog, winding esker ridges left by the ice, and the Shannon along its western boundary. On a bank above that river stands Clonmacnoise, founded in the sixth century and for a thousand years one of the great monastic cities of Europe, with its round towers, churches and carved crosses.
This was the country of the O'Connors of Offaly, who long resisted the spread of English rule; the county was planted in the sixteenth century alongside Laois and renamed King's County, a name it carried until independence. At Birr, the Earl of Rosse built in 1845 the Leviathan of Parsonstown, for seventy years the largest telescope in the world, and the Slieve Bloom Mountains rise along the southern border.
Who Is This Collection For?
This collection is made for those born or descended in County Offaly, Clonmacnoise and Shannon-side families, Birr and Slieve Bloom connections and anyone who wants an Irish tartan that names their own county.
- ✓ County Offaly families
- ✓ Clonmacnoise and Shannon roots
- ✓ Bog and esker midlands
- ✓ Birr and Slieve Bloom connections
- ✓ Irish ancestry gifts
- ✓ Deep blue and green style
How to Wear Offaly Tartan
Offaly tartan works well across caps, shirts, hoodies, scarves, ties, jackets, blankets and keepsake gifts. Its deep palette is easy to pair for everyday wear, family gatherings and county occasions.
County Offaly Tartan FAQ
Quick answers about the Offaly county tartan, who may wear it and where it comes from.
Is the Offaly tartan a clan tartan?
No — it is a district tartan for the county, open to anyone with an Offaly connection.
Who designed it?
Polly Wittering, for the House of Edgar of Perth, as one of a set of thirty-two Irish county tartans in the 1990s.
What is Clonmacnoise?
A monastic city founded in the sixth century on the Shannon, with round towers, churches and high crosses, and for centuries a centre of learning.
Was Offaly once called King's County?
Yes — Offaly and Laois were planted in the sixteenth century and renamed King's and Queen's County until independence.
What was the Leviathan of Parsonstown?
A great telescope built at Birr in 1845, for some seventy years the largest in the world.
Who can wear the Offaly tartan?
Anyone with roots in or affection for County Offaly — it belongs to the place, not to a family.
Wear the County Offaly Tartan
Discover Offaly county tartan clothing, accessories and gifts — the blue of the Shannon and the green of the midland eskers.
View Offaly Tartan Clothing