A garden favourite, the St Brigid anemone features double petals in scarlet, violet, blue and white. During the late 1800s, William Reamsbottom, of Alderborough Nursery in Geashill, developed 30 different colours of this flower and increased the number of double-petalled varieties.

Reamsbottom was married to Mary Enraght Mooney of The Doon, Ballinahown. Tradition says that he worked with anemone stock from her family’s walled garden. His St Brigid anemone varieties won an award of merit at the Royal Horticultural Society of London (1902) and a gold medal at the Shrewsbury Show (1903). During the early 1900s, the Alderborough Nursery was a substantial enterprise, employing up to 106 workers. As well as propagating plants, the workers had their own football team and dramatic society. In this book the authors present extensive research, community links and oral history with a wide range of visuals to document this unique Offaly story. 

Please note that the details of events listed above are provided by the relevant Local Authorities.