The Origin of Glasshouse

Cheers, everyone!

We've been resident in Ireland for four full days now. We feel like we should be able to drive from our home to the nearest village on our own. Nope. These Irish roads are full of twists and turns with no signage. We are completely reliant on GPS (SatNav in Irish). Sometimes Siri and Google disagree and we have to make split second decisions. It's a bit nerve-wracking in The Beast, the enormous vehicle we rented to make our maiden voyage to our new home. We will return it next Saturday, when our self-isolation period ends and inter-county travel is permitted. 

We have been curious about the name "Glasshouse" since we first encountered it in the online real estate listing. Were we buying a named house? No. Is Glasshouse a town or village? No. Is it a neighborhood like Ballston or Courthouse in Arlington or Foggy Bottom or Georgetown in DC? No. 

I searched in the archives of the Irish Times and found the answer. The origin of the name Glasshouse refers to buildings that were active around 1590-1640. Glass was made in vaulted buildings using wood and heat to create glass from nearby silica. 

I also searched my repository of online knowledge, Wikipedia. Here I learned that Glasshouse is designated as a "townland". According to that citation, "A townland is a small geographical division of land used in Ireland and in the Western Isles in Scotland." Here is a list of all the town lands in County Offaly, where we live. The townland of Glasshouse includes 838 acres in our baronry, Clonlisk, and 134 acres in the Tullamore baronry. 

I was a little blown away after learning that we're living in an area that's been commercially active since the 16th century. The additional information about how glass was made at that time fascinates me. However, there is now zero cachet in telling the locals that I know where my great-great-great grandmother, Margaret Lyons, was born. They are not impressed. Perhaps I need to be more explicit about our location: "you know, where they made glass in the 16th century". 

Sláinte!