A range of publications on the built, natural and cultural heritage of County Laois are available. Click on any of the titles below to download as pdf. We are still working on uploading archive files and reports to this page – please bear with us! If there is a report you want that’s not listed here, please email the Heritage Office.
Books and Leaflets on Laois Heritage
Hard copies of the booklet are also available on request – email the Heritage Office

The Gardening for biodiversity colouring book is the children’s companion to the Gardening for Biodiversity booklet, with more beautiful illustrations from Barry Reynolds.
Gardening for biodiversity Irish version/Garraíodóireacht ar son na Bithéagsúlachta
Tá an leabhar “Garraíodóireacht ar son na Bithéagsúlachta” foilsithe i nGaeilge anois, le tacaíocht ón bPlean Gníomhaíochta Náisiúnta Bithéagsúlachta. Is féidir an leabhar a íoslódáil saor in aisce anseo agus beidh cóipeanna crua ar fáil go luath.
Heritage Guide to the Heath , published by Wordwell Books as part of their “Heritage Guide” series, in association with Archaeology Ireland. Written by local Archaeologist Dr Eoin Sullivan, this guide describes the Bronze Age landscape of the Heath, featuring wonderful reconstructions of Ring Barrows by Dave Pollock. Supported by the Heritage Council and Laois County Council. Download for free, or hard copies are available to purchase from Wordwell Books, cost €5.
Arnold Horner’s masterwork “Mapping Laois” is available from bookshops and online from the publisher Wordwell Books.
The book was supported by Laois County Council and the Heritage Council.
Geology of Laois and Offaly, by John Feehan, Offaly County Council, 2013. This book was supported by Laois and Offaly County Council and the Heritage Council.
Available from local bookshops or from Offaly History.
A new booklet with hints and tips on how to make our towns and villages more suitable for swifts, produced by Laois Heritage Office and BirdWatch Ireland, in partnership with the Heritage Officer Network and the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht.
Available to download here or to order in hard copy from Laois Heritage Office.
Book on Thatched houses in Laois
Download for free. Also available in hard copy, from Amazon or via Laois Heritage Office.
Book on the Mountmellick Canal
Download for free. Also available in hard copy, from Amazon or via Laois Heritage Office.
Laois Folk Tales, by Nuala Hayes, with original artwork by artist Rita Duffy.
Published by the History Press Ireland, with support from Laois County Council and the Heritage Council in 2015.
Available in bookshops or from the History Press.
Also available in Irish, French, German, Spanish, Italian and Chinese .
Also available in Irish, French, German, Spanish, Italian, and Chinese
Laois Heritage Plans
Laois Heritage Plan 2014 – 2019
Laois Heritage Plan 2007 – 2011
Laois Heritage Plan 2002 – 2006
Heritage Tourism Publications
Also available in Irish, French, German, Spanish, Italian and Chinese.
Donaghmore Workhouse and Agricultural Museum.
Also available in Irish, French, German, Spanish, Italian and Chinese
Also available in Irish, French, German, Spanish, Italian and Chinese.
Events
Heritage Week 2021
Heritage Week 2021 Laois Event Guide
Portlaoise 2040 Public Realm Strategy
2040 A Portlaoise Vision – strategy for a new town centre
Laois Heritage Office Research and Reports
Natural Heritage
Audit of Geology in Laois, 2016, Part I Report
Audit of Geology in Laois, 2016, Part II Site Reports
Survey of bats in Laois County Council properties, 2008
Laois Bridges Bird Survey Report – FINAL, 2007
Survey of Bats in Bridges, Laois and Offaly 2007
Survey of Ecology and Industrial Heritage of the Mountmellick Canal 2006: Main Report and Appendices
Audit of Laois Natural Heritage Data 2006
Esker Survey report 2005, Appendices and Habitat Maps
Laois Habitats Surveys 2005- 2010:
- Laois Habitats Survey 2005
- Laois Habitats Survey 2006
- Laois Habitats Survey 2007
- Laois Habitat Survey 2008 and Appendices
- Laois Habitats Survey 2009
- Laois Habitats Survey 2010
Built Heritage
Dysartgallen Conservation Management Plan 2020
Timahoe Monastic Site Conservation Plan 2018
Fort Protector Conservation Plan
Old St Peter’s Graveyard Archaeological Report 2016
Abbeyleix Sustainable Communities Plan report 2011
Survey of Architecture in Portlaoise 2008, Part I Report
Laois Thatch Survey 2007 Vol I
Laois Bridges Survey 2007 Part I Final Report
Laois Bridges Survey Part 2 Vol I (site reports North Laois)
Laois Bridges Survey Part 2 Vol II (site reports South Laois)
Laois Mills Survey 2005. Part I: Report
Laois Mills Survey 2005. Part II: Site Inventory
Cultural Heritage
Laois Burial Ground Survey 2011, Part I Report
Laois Burial Ground Survey 2011, Part II Site Gazeteer
Built and Natural Heritage of the Mountmellick Canal Survey (2006)
For Schools and Children
Wild Things at School Workbook
Wild Things at School extra worksheets – English, Monaghan Co Co 2012
Wild Things at School extra worksheets – Gaeilge, Monaghan Co Co 2012
Some Other Books published on the Heritage Of Laois
Tapestry of Light, by Tina Claffey, Artisan House 2017. Available from local bookshops or Artisan House.
Laois, An Environmental History, by John Feehan, Ballykilcavan Press, 1983 (out of print – available in Laois Branch Libraries)
The Quiet County by Mike Rafter, 2nd edition 2016. Available from local bookshops.
Laois History and Society by Padraig G Lane & WIlliam Nolan. Geography Publications, 1999
The Landscape of Slieve Bloom by John Feehan (1979, reprinted 2010). Available locally or from Offaly History.