The stories behind Longford.
Read about the people, places and events that have left their mark on County Longford.
Stories & guides
28 articlesOrigins, archaeology & medieval Longford
Ancient timber roads, medieval earthworks and the traces left in the landscape.
Archaeology explained · Kenagh and Corlea Bog
How the Corlea trackway survivedUnderstand what makes Corlea’s Iron Age oak roadway so remarkable.Explore the guide
Prehistoric archaeology · North Longford
The portal tombs near AughnacliffeAn unusual double capstone, prehistoric burial and the later tale of Diarmaid and Gráinne.Explore the guide
Medieval history · Granard
Medieval Granard: town and motteExplore the links between the motte, the town and the Norman period.Explore the guide
Archaeology guide · Across the county
Is that mound or ruin a recorded monument?How to use the official archaeological records to investigate sites across County Longford.Explore the guide
Ingo Mehling / CC BY-SA 3.0Rebellion, land & difficult times
Evictions, the Famine and the upheavals that changed life in Longford.
The 1798 Rising · North County Longford
Ballinamuck and the defeat of 1798In September 1798, the French-led campaign ended in the fields around Ballinamuck.Explore the guide
Social history · Local history
The Land War in DrumlishAn introduction to land reform, rural life and the memorial to the Land War in Drumlish.Explore the guide
Revolution & remembrance · Across the county
Longford during the revolutionary yearsBallinalee is one well-known chapter in the county’s experience of war, division and political change.Explore the guide
Famine & social history · Longford Town
Longford Workhouse during the Great FamineAt Glack, the workhouse built for 1,000 people had more residents than beds by October 1847.Explore the guide
Social history · Canal corridor, south Longford
Longford and the National Famine WayFollow the story of famine migration along the canal through County Longford.Explore the guide
Writers, women & remembered voices
Local writers, schoolchildren’s stories and women’s community records.
People & literature · Edgeworthstown
Maria Edgeworth and the world of EdgeworthstownThe novelist’s writings, family papers and life in Edgeworthstown offer more than a literary footnote.Explore the guide
Archival research · Longford Archives
Exploring the Edgeworth Family PapersA practical introduction to the surviving documents of the Edgeworth family.Explore the guide
People & literature · Across County Longford
Writers with Longford connectionsMeet a handful of writers whose lives intersected with County Longford.Explore the guide
Writers & literature · Longford Town & Colmcille
Pádraic Colum and his Longford beginningsThe writer’s childhood in Longford and the workhouse his father ran were part of a much wider literary life.Explore the guide
Women & community life · Across County Longford
The women’s groups that shaped Longford lifeThe Irish Countrywomen’s Association papers preserve decades of meetings, projects and photographs.Explore the guide
Folklore & memory · Across Longford
The Longford stories schoolchildren saved in the 1930sThe Schools’ Collection holds local memories of fairs, cures, place names and strange happenings.Explore the guide
Architecture & village life · Ardagh
Ardagh: the making of a Victorian villageWhy the green, clock tower and neighbouring houses in Ardagh fit together so neatly.Explore the guide
Richard Lovett (1888) / Public domainCanals, trade & changing landscapes
The canal, its harbours and the work of getting people and goods across the county.
Industrial heritage · County Longford waterways
The canal and harbour places of LongfordRichmond Harbour, old locks and the Longford branch are reminders that the canal was built for work.Explore the guide
Industrial heritage · Cloondara, Abbeyshrule and Longford
The Royal Canal in County LongfordFrom a transport artery to a walking and cycling route.Explore the guide
Engineering history · Cloondara & south Longford
1817: the Royal Canal reaches CloondaraThe engineering work that brought the Royal Canal west to Richmond Harbour and the Shannon.Explore the guide
JP / CC BY-SA 2.0Find your roots & research the county
Census returns, townland names and the documents that help piece a family together.
History & local records · Across the county
Where to begin with Longford historyFive centuries are not enough to explain Longford. Start with a place, then follow its records.Explore the guide
Family history · Research guide
Start your Longford family historyUseful archives, census records and a starting method for tracing County Longford ancestors.Explore the guide
Genealogy research · Countywide
Finding a Longford family in three censusesUsing the 1901, 1911 and newly released 1926 returns without losing track of the right household.Explore the guide
Land & family history · Countywide
Who occupied your Longford townland in 1854?Griffith’s Valuation is a useful guide to holdings and occupiers, but it is not a family census.Explore the guide
Townlands & language · Countywide
What Longford’s townland names can tell usOld spellings and field name books offer clues to the county’s changing landscape and languages.Explore the guide
Maps & landscapes · Countywide
Find old Longford on the mapPut the county’s 1837 maps beside the 1913–14 revision and see what has changed.Explore the guide
Research & archives · County archives & local studies
Longford in the newspapersUse local newspapers to explore everyday Longford life across generations.Explore the guide
Family history records · Across the county
Searching Longford burial registersWhich records survive in the County Archives, and what to do when a name is missing.Explore the guide
Roads & local government · Countywide
Longford’s roads and bridges in the Grand Jury recordsWhat eighteenth- and nineteenth-century county accounts reveal about familiar roads, bridges and buildings.Explore the guide
Ancient history · Near Kenagh
Corlea Iron Age RoadwayAn 18-metre stretch of a timber road built in 148 BC survives in the Longford bog.Explore the guide
Medieval heritage · Granard
Granard MotteThe great medieval earthwork above Granard and the story of Anglo-Norman power.Explore the guide
Architecture & heritage · Longford Town
St Mel’s CathedralA cathedral rebuilt after the Christmas Day fire of 2009.Explore the guide
2ManyCats4Me / CC0 1.0
瑞丽江的河水 / CC BY-SA 4.0