One might ask why write another book on Portarlington, when the story has been told many times ?  Well my answer would that I feel that most of these have over emphasized the part played by the Huguenot community that came to the area after 1692, and very often contain myths that have if anything grown over the years. The odd thing is that though I am a direct descendant of one of these families, as I will relate later, I feel that if the town is to look forward into the future, it should look back not at the "French Connection", but rather at the Anglo-Irish and native Irish history of the area.  With this in mind, I have tried as best I can to try and portray a more complete story of the town of Portarlington.  As one retired journalist remarked very correctly, I would be dealing with a huge mosaic of historical facts and to always fit them in the correct order is quite difficult.  With this in mind I have been as careful as I could, quoting where possible from contemporary writings.  However should any reader have proof that any of my findings are incorrect, I hope they will contact me so that I might make redress in future writings.  One item that was to cause me some concern was the question of religion, for it is impossible to tell the story of any Irish town without referring to the different groups which are usually alluded to as the Catholics or the Protestants.  In telling this story I have tried not to show any bias either one way or the other, and I hope that my readers will find it so.  I find that part of this problem stems from the fact that most records and indeed private letters were kept by the Protestant side of life in Ireland, and that in many aspects of social and community life both groups often act as if the other side is non existent.
  Above all, I owe a debt of gratitude to all those who have supplied or helped me obtain much of the information  that I have used in this book, not forgetting several who corrected my many errors of grammar in my early efforts, and also to those who gave me courage to finish the project.  For particular support and help, I owe much to John S. Powell, P. J. Tynan, Laois Co. Council Reference Library and Offaly Leader Two.
  It gives me much pleasure that this modest work is being published in conjunction with the fund-raising activities connected with Portarlington's new Amalgamated Secondary School, and if you have purchased a copy I would like to say a personal thank you and hope you will find the story of some interest.
                                     
                                                                                Ronnie Mathews.