Longford facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Longford An Longfort
Town
St Mel's Cathedral, Longford
Longford Location in Ireland
Country	Ireland
Province	Leinster
County	County Longford
Elevation	72 m (236 ft)
Population  (2022)
• Rank	46th
• Urban	10,952
Time zone	UTC±0 (WET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+1 (IST)
Eircode routing key	N39
Telephone area code	043
Irish Grid Reference	N135750

Longford (Irish: An Longfort) is a busy town in Ireland. It's the main town of County Longford. In 2022, about 10,952 people lived there. This makes it the biggest town in the county. About one-third of everyone in County Longford lives in the town of Longford!

Longford is located where two important roads meet: the N4 and the N5. This means that lots of traffic going between Dublin and places like County Mayo or north County Roscommon passes by the town. The Longford railway station is also very popular for people traveling to and from Dublin.

History of Longford

Longford town was built at a place where people could cross the River Camlin. This river flows into the larger River Shannon. The name Longford comes from the Irish word Longphort. This word means "fortress" or "fortified house."

Long ago, a local family called the O'Farrells ruled this area. So, the town was known as Longfort Uí Fhearghail, which means "fort of O'Farrell."

A Dominican priory (a type of monastery) was started here in the year 1400. Later, in 1710, St. John's Church of Ireland was built on the same spot.

Cool Places to Visit

There are many interesting places to see in and around Longford.

Corlea Trackway Visitor Centre

South of Longford, in a place called Keenagh, you can find the Corlea Trackway visitor centre. This centre has a special 18-metre (about 59 feet) section of an Iron Age bog road. This ancient road was built around 148 BC! You can also find old stone structures called portal dolmens around Longford.

St Mel's Cathedral

Longford is home to St Mel's Cathedral. This big church is named after Saint Mel, who was an early bishop of the area. It was built between 1840 and 1856. The famous architect John Benjamin Keane designed it.

St Mel's Cathedral has beautiful stained glass windows made by the Harry Clarke studios. One of the earliest works by Clarke, called The consecration of St. Mel as Bishop of Longford, is here. It even won an award in 1910!

Sadly, the cathedral was badly damaged by a fire on Christmas Day in 2009. It was closed for five years while it was being fixed. This was one of the biggest restoration projects in Europe! The cathedral reopened on Christmas Eve 2014 and is now a popular place for visitors. Two other amazing stained-glass windows, showing St Anne and the Resurrection, have also been fixed.

Arts and Entertainment

Longford town has a 212-seat theatre called Backstage Theatre. It's just outside the town. There's also a cinema with four screens and places to eat. The Irish Prison Service Headquarters, located in Lisnamuck, has a huge sculpture by artist Remco de Fouw. It's one of the largest sculptures in all of Ireland!

Economy and Jobs

Longford Chamber of Commerce

Longford Railway Station

Shops at the N4 Axis Centre (2007)

Longford is a hub for many different businesses. Some of the main industries include making food, working with wood at sawmills, and creating steel products. They also sell generators, make cables, and produce medical testing equipment.

The town is the main service centre for the county. It's also where the Department of Social Welfare and the Irish Prison Service have their offices. Longford has many shops, including big names like Tesco, Aldi, Lidl, Dunnes Stores, and Penneys. A shopping area called the N4 Axis Centre opened in Longford in 2005.

The government has offices in Longford that employ about 300 people. Another 130 people work at the Irish Prison Service headquarters.

Education in Longford

Longford town has several schools for different age groups.

Primary Schools

For younger children (ages 4–12), there are a number of primary schools. These include a Gaelscoil (an Irish-speaking school) and St. Joseph's.

Secondary Schools

For older students (ages 12–19), there are three secondary schools:

• St. Mel's College: This is a Catholic boys' school.
• Scoil Mhuire: This is a Catholic girls' school run by the Sisters of Mercy.
• Templemichael College: This is a mixed school, meaning both boys and girls attend. It used to be called Longford Vocational School.

St. Mel's College History

St. Mel's College is the oldest of these schools. It was started in the 1860s by the Roman Catholic Bishop of Ardagh and Clonmacnois. It was originally meant to train students to become priests. While it didn't stay a seminary for long, it was a boarding school for many years. Now, it's a day school only, and it has the most students in County Longford.

There is also an adult education centre in Longford for people who want to continue learning.

Getting Around Longford

Longford has good transport links, making it easy to travel to and from the town.

Road Travel

Longford is where the N5 road (which goes to Castlebar and Westport) and the N4 road (which continues to Sligo) separate.

The N5 used to go right through the town centre, which sometimes caused traffic jams. But a bypass road was opened on August 3, 2012, to help traffic flow better. The N4 Sligo road also has a bypass around the town, which opened in 1995.

Train Travel

The Longford railway station opened on November 8, 1855. It's part of the Dublin-Sligo line. It's about 91 kilometres (57 miles) from Sligo and 122 kilometres (76 miles) from Dublin. Many people use the train to commute to Dublin, with journeys usually taking about an hour and three-quarters.

Canal Travel

The Royal Canal was reopened in October 2010. It had been unused and overgrown for many years. Now, you can travel by boat all the way from Spencer Dock in Dublin to the River Shannon in Cloondara.

Bus Services

You can find many bus services in Longford. Both the state-run Bus Éireann and private companies like Kane's, Donnelly's, and Farrelly's offer routes to Dublin and other towns. During the school year, private companies also provide transport to colleges.

Donnelly's Pioneer Bus Service, a local company, runs a route from Longford to Granard. Whartons Travel, another local bus service, connects Longford to Cavan.

Air Travel

Longford's main air transport spot is at Abbeyshrule Aerodrome, south-east of the town. Small planes often fly in and out of here. The airport also has two flight training centres where people can learn to fly different types of aircraft.

Sports in Longford

Longford town has many sports clubs and facilities for different activities. You can find clubs for Gaelic football, rugby, and tennis. There's also a soccer club, two indoor swimming pools, a gym, and an 18-hole golf course. A new swimming pool opened in Longford in 2007.

Gaelic Football and Hurling

Gaelic football is the most popular sport in County Longford. The main office for Longford GAA is in Pearse Park in Longford Town. This stadium can hold about 11,000 people.

The Longford Gaelic football team has won important titles, like the Leinster title in 1968 and a National League title in 1966. The under-18 county team also won the Leinster title in 2002 and 2010.

St. Mel's College, the big boys' secondary school in Longford town, has a strong history in school football. They have won 29 Leinster titles and 4 All-Ireland titles (the Hogan Cup). The main local GAA club is Longford Slashers. They are based in Longford town and have won the most Longford Senior Football Championship titles (16) in the county, including a win in 2013.

Soccer

Longford town's main soccer club is Longford Town FC. It was started in 1924 and joined the League of Ireland in 1984. The club's home ground is on Strokestown Road. Longford Town FC has won the FAI Cup twice, in 2003 and 2004.

Other Sports

The local rugby union club, Longford RFC, was formed in the 1960s. They play in the Leinster League.

The Longford Sports & Leisure Centre, located in an area called The Mall, has a swimming pool, a gym, and facilities for indoor and outdoor football and basketball.

Famous People from Longford

Many interesting people have connections to Longford:

• Willie Browne (1936–2004), an international footballer for the Republic of Ireland.
• Francis "Frank" Butler (1847–1926), a famous rifle shooter who toured the US. He was also the husband and manager of the well-known sharpshooter Annie Oakley.
• Padraic Colum (1881–1972), an Irish poet, writer, and playwright.
• Ray Flynn (born 1957), who holds the Irish record for the mile run.
• Michael Gomez (born 1977), a champion professional boxer who was born in Longford.
• Patrick McCabe (born 1955), a novelist who has lived in Longford.
• Ruairí Ó Brádaigh (1932–2013), who founded Republican Sinn Féin.

Climate

Longford has a mild climate. This means there aren't huge differences between the highest and lowest temperatures. It also gets enough rain throughout the year. This type of climate is called an "Oceanic climate."

See also

In Spanish: Longford (Condado de Longford) para niños