Around the year 1548, the English built a fort in the Laoghaise (or Leix) region to guard against attacks on the Pale. In 1556 Queen Mary 1 decided on the plantation of the Irish territories, by confiscating their land and giving it to English settlers, calling the area Queen's County and stipulating that Fort Leix (Port Laoghaise) be renamed Mary Burgh.

In this work, author and local historian Joe Curtis explores the visual history of Portlaoise as it developed up to the modern age, covering various aspects of religion, education, health, business and law and order along the way.