County Offaly which had declined following the Norman Conquest of Ireland. Both Laois (Leix) and Offaly (Uí Failghe) were petty kingdoms in Gaelic Ireland located just outside the Pale (a region around Dublin and the mid east of Ireland that remained loyal to the English Crown following the Norman Conquest). The older kingdoms of Leix and Uí Failghe are not coterminous with the present day counties that were formed. The Kingdom of Uí Failghe from which the name Offaly is derived, was ruled by the Ó Conchobhair Failghe (anglicised as: O'Conor Faly) whose territory extended from the east of the county into
Brendan Murphy (Carlow footballer) Brendan Murphy (Carlow footballer) Brendan Murphy (born 26 March 1989) () is an Irish sportsman from Rathvilly, County Carlow. He is a member of the Carlow senior football team, and his local club Rathvilly. Murphy played minor football for Carlow and was star of the team that lost the Leinster minor football championship final in 2007. Carlow lost in Round 1 of the championship to Longford, but recovered in the playoffs, causing a massive shock in beating Meath and Wexford, before beating Westmeath and Louth to reach the final. For a while, it looked like Murphy might miss the final