Longford

The town is built at a fording point on the banks of the River Camlin (from Irish: Camlinn, meaning 'crooked pool'), which is a tributary of the River Shannon. According to several sources, the name Longford is an Anglicization of the Irish Longphort, referring to a fortress or fortified house.[2][3]

The area came under the sway of the local clan which controlled the south and middle of the County of Longford (historically called Anghaile or Annaly) and hence, the town was known as Longfort Uí Fhearghail (fort/stronghold of O'Farrell).[4]

A Dominican priory was founded there in 1400. St. John's Church of Ireland (formerly known as Templemichael Parish Church) was built on the site of the priory in 1710.[5]

Located to the south of Longford, in Keenagh, is the visitor centre of the Corlea Trackway. It houses a preserved 18-metre stretch of Iron Age bog road, which was built in c. 148 BC. There are also a number of portal dolmens located around Longford.

Longford Railway Station

The town serves as the cathedral town of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Ardagh and Clonmacnoise. St Mel's Cathedral,[6] dedicated to Saint Mel, the founder of the diocese of Ardagh, was built between 1840 and 1856. It was designed by architect John Benjamin Keane, who also designed St Francis Xavier's Church on Gardiner Street in Dublin. St Mel's Cathedral features several stained glass windows by Harry Clarke studios. These include one of Clarke's earliest works, The consecration of St. Mel as Bishop of Longford, which was exhibited at the RDS Annual Art Industries Exhibition in 1910, where it received second prize. The cathedral was extensively damaged in a fire on Christmas Day 2009.[7] It remained closed for five years after the fire, while it was the centre of one of the largest restoration projects undertaken in Europe. It reopened for services at midnight mass on Christmas Eve 2014 and has since become a tourist attraction. Two of the intricate stained-glass windows in the transepts of the cathedral, depicting St Anne and the Resurrection, have been restored.

Longford town has a 212-seat theatre called Backstage Theatre just outside of the town, and a four-screen multiplex cinema, with restaurants. The Irish Prison Service HQ, which is in the Lisamuck area of the town, has a sculpture by artist Remco de Fouw, which is one of the largest pieces of sculpture in Ireland.

In a 2003 Guardian article about Patrick McCabe, Longford's "features of distinction" are described as including "a hulking cathedral, a rash of fast-food joints, a grubby cinema and a shopping mall".[8]

Longford Chamber of Commerce

Homebase and Argos outlets in the town (2007)

Longford's main industries are food production, sawmills, steelworking, generator retailing, cable making and the production of medical diagnostics. It is the major services centre for the county as well as the location of the Department of Social Welfare and the Irish Prison Service. The town is also a local commercial centre, with a number of retail outlets including multiples such as Tesco, and Argos, German discount retailers, Aldi and Lidl and Irish retail outlets such as Dunnes Stores and Penneys. A retail park, the N4 Axis Centre, opened in Longford in January 2006.[15]

Longford town has a decentralized government department which employs approximately 300 people, and a further 130 are employed at the Irish Prison Service's headquarters in the town. Connolly Barracks once employed approximately 180 soldiers, many of whom were involved in UN peace-keeping duties, until the barracks closed in January 2009.[16]

While construction was formerly a major local employer, following the post-2008 Irish economic downturn, there were job losses in the construction industry and an increase in unemployment in the region.

Longford town has a number of primary schools (for ages 4–12) and three secondary schools (for ages 12–19): two single-sex schools, St. Mel's College (a Catholic boys' school),[17] and Scoil Mhuire (a Catholic girls' school run by the Sisters of Mercy), as well as a mixed school, (Templemichael College, formerly known as Longford Vocational School). Primary schools in Longford include a Gaelscoil and St. Joseph's. There is also an adult education centre in Longford.

St. Mel's College is the oldest of these schools, being founded in the 1860s by the Roman Catholic Bishop of Ardagh and Clonmacnois as a diocesan seminary to train students for the priesthood. While the school only briefly functioned as a seminary, it served for many years as a boarding school, while also admitting day students. The boarding school was discontinued after 2000 and the school is now only a day school, with the largest student enrolment in County Longford.

The Backstage Theatre and Centre for the Arts is a facility for arts and culture projects in the town and surrounding areas.[22] It is funded by Longford County Council with support from the Arts Council. Backstage is a member of two arts touring networks: Nasc a nationwide network of seven venues and Nomad a north midlands based network.[23]

The town has a number of sports clubs and facilities, including the Gaelic Athletic Association, rugby and tennis clubs, a League of Ireland soccer club (Longford Town FC), two indoor swimming pools, a gym and an 18-hole golf course. A swimming pool was opened in Longford in 2007.

• Willie Browne (1936–2004), Republic of Ireland international footballer
• Francis "Frank" Butler (1847–1926), rifleshot who toured the US (1876–1884) and husband-manager of American sharpshooter Annie Oakley[29]
• Padraic Colum (1881–1972), Irish poet, novelist and playwright[30]
• Ray Flynn (b.1957), Irish mile record holder
• Gareth Ghee, inter-county hurler
• Michael Gomez (b.1977), champion professional boxer was born in an Irish Traveller family in Longford.[31]
• Patrick McCabe (b.1955) novelist, has lived in Longford.[8]
• Ruairí Ó Brádaigh (1932–2013), founder of Republican Sinn Féin[32]

Climate in this area has mild differences between highs and lows, and there is adequate rainfall year-round. The Köppen Climate Classification subtype for this climate is "Cfb" (Marine West Coast Climate/Oceanic climate).[33]

• Carn Clonhugh
• List of towns and villages in Ireland

• Media related to Longford at Wikimedia Commons
• The dictionary definition of Longford at Wiktionary