Two local historians from County Offaly have collaborated to create a new lavishly illustrated
book exploring the meaning behind the regularly used phrase ‘That Beats Banagher! and
Banagher Beats the Devil!’

The book was written by Kieran Keenaghan, a retired businessman
and engineer living in Banagher and James Scully, a retired primary school teacher originally
from Tullamore and now living just west of Banagher in Clonfert, Eyrecourt, County Galway.

The book, designed and printed by the Guinan Brothers, Ciarán and Diarmuid at Brosna Press,
Ferbane, explores the Banagher phrase that most likely dates back to 1787 and how history
formed the saying which became a humorous expression of amazement used all around the
country, throughout Britain and across several continents.
The story begins when the borough of Banagher, a legal entity distinct from the town and
surrounding lands, was sold for £10,500, which would be the equivalent of £2 million today.
From 1629 to 1800, the Irish Parliament included representatives from 117 boroughs each of
which could elect two members. Gradually during the eighteenth century the borough of
Banagher fell under the control of the Holmes family. Peter Holmes was one of the two
Banagher M.P.’s from 1761 to 1787.
In 1785 Francis Grose published A Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue. The phrase He
Beats Banaghan was listed among the entries in this book. This colloquialism was explained as
follows: An Irish saying of one who tells wonderful stories. Perhaps Banaghan was a minstrel
famous for dealing in the marvellous. Just two years later in 1787 a series of extraordinary
events took place. The political borough of Banagher, County Offaly was sold by Peter Holmes
to James Alexander of County Tyrone. Within a matter of months Alexander swapped his newly
bought borough for that of Newtownards, County Down with John Ponsonby, of County
Kilkenny. A simple clean swap with no grubby financials and the deal was done!! Such
unheard-of shady dealings gobsmacked the political classes and soon with a slight tweak gave
rise to the parliamentary quip That Beats Banagher! and Banagher Beats the Devil! whenever
similar political impropriety arose.
Within a few short decades the phrase was appearing in newspaper articles relating to strange
or humorous events throughout the world. When Daniel O’Connell espoused it in the 1830s and
40s it gained widespread currency often preceded with the preamble ‘…..as O’Connell himself
would say…’. Thanks to Mick Feeney’s regular feature called That Beats Banagher in the 1970s
the idiom took on a new lease of life. The arrival of the Barry’s Tea Christmas Radio
advertisement in 1994 consolidated its currency by giving it an annual boost every year since. In
the 90-second-long soundscape masterpiece the expression is spoken twice. The advert is only
played for the three weeks or so build-up to Christmas at peak listening times. As a result the
foreseeable future of the idiom is guaranteed.
The phrase has endured for over two hundred years. Now it is your turn to ensure it will live on
into the distant future by making unabashed usage of it. This book will also serve as another
welcome boost for the humorous phrase. The book will be launched on Friday, June 27 by
sports historian and commentator Paul Rouse in the Crank House, Lower Main Street,
Banagher at 5.30 p.m. The authors ask everyone interested to come along and show their
support. Beannchor Abú!

Kieran Keenaghan

James Scully

Date: Friday 27th June

Where: Crank House, Banagher

Time: 5:30pm