Shinrone is located at the southern tip of County Offaly, along the border with County Tipperary. While the majority of the Catholic parish is located in Offaly, a small portion of the parish lies in Tipperary, with Ballingarry, North Tipperary, being in the parish of Shinrone.
Cangort Castle - destroyed by Cromwellian forces in the 17th century. A gatehouse building remains.[6]
Annaghbrook House (c. 1720) Previously derelict house with some features of architectural merit being renovated.
Tierney's, Main St. (c. 1750, renovated c. 1860) Two-storey house with pub. Steeply pitched roof with terracotta ridge tiles.
Bridge over a tributary of the Little Brosna River, Main St (c. 1820) Double arch bridge. Eastern arch has been converted to a pedestrian underpass.[7]
St Mary's Church of Ireland (1821) Commissioned by the Board of First Fruits this church has a wider nave than usual.
Shinrone Roman Catholic Church (c. 1860, renovated c. 1980) T-plan church with cross finials on gables.
Shinrone Community Centre has hosted notable international musicians including Arlo Guthrie in 1988, The Pogues and Shane MacGowan, Christy Moore,[10]The Waterboys and Nanci Griffith.[11] The Pogues and Shane MacGowan played in Shinrone numerous times, and many dubbed Shinrone as MacGowans home venue, as it was just a short distance from his native Tipperary.[citation needed] Shinrone is referenced in the Pogues song "The Broad Majestic Shannon".[citation needed]
Arlo Guthrie's visit to Shinrone is mentioned in Tim Winton's novel The Riders - shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 1995. A character in the novel overhears locals in the small Irish village of Shinrone recount the night Guthrie came to play.[citation needed] The actual event was Guthrie's 1988 community centre concert.[10]
American President Barack Obama's earliest known relative, Joseph Kearney, whose family subsequently moved to Moneygall and who would become the President's 7th great-grandfather, was from Shinrone where the Kearney family lived and died for four generations. Research from Trinity college shows this to be the President's earliest known relative.[13]
Irish-born soldier, physician, and politician Edward Hand was born in Clyduff, King's County (now County Offaly) on 31 December 1744 and baptised in Shinrone. Hand served in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, rising to the rank of Major-General, and later was a member of several Pennsylvania governmental bodies.[14]
Education
There are two primary Schools located in the Parish. Shinrone National School, which is in the village, and Clonlisk National School, located outside the village.
Pupils from Shinrone usually attend Secondary School in either St Brendan's Community School in Birr, Colaiste Pobal Ros Cre, or Borrisokane Vocational School. The village is also very close to the Cistercian College, Roscrea, with some students attending.
