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Longford
is a county in the province of Leinster, the name comes
from the Gaelic Longfort (the fortress).The county is mainly
rural, and Longford is its only large town. Bounded on the
north-west by Leitrim, on the north-east by Cavan, on the
south-east by Westmeath, and on the west by Roscommon from
which it is separated by Lough Ree. The River Inny flows
through the county. Longford has an area of 1,044 sq km
(403 sq MI). The maximum dimensions are 45 kilometers from
north to south, and 35 kilometers from east to west. Most
of Longford is lowland, which rises gently from the River
Shannon, with isolated hills. The underlying rock is limestone,
with some slate and shale in the north. Most of the land
is farmed, and about a fifth is bog land.
More than a quarter
of the working people have jobs in agriculture. Almost all
the farmland is under grass, with beef cattle and milk accounting
for three-quarters of the agricultural output. There are
several modern industries, and manufacturing now accounts
for one-fifth of employment. Textiles and clothing are the
leading industries. Half of them are town.
County Longford from
Samuel Lewis' Topographical
Directory of Ireland 1837 |
There is a peat-fired power station at
Lanesborough on the River Shannon which uses peat from the county's
bogs. Some areas of bog and wet soils have been planted with pine
trees for timber production.
The county borders lough Ree in the west
and offers some excellent angling, salmon, trout, bream, tench,
and roach can all be caught in the county's rivers and lough's.
The 18th century playwright and poet Oliver
Goldsmith was born in Pallas near Ballymahon, and the county
has many associations with him: there is an interpretative centre
in Glassan. Carriglas Manor, near Longford town, is the finest
stately home in the county and was built in 1857 in the then-popular
Neo-Gothic style. It contains the original furnishings and a costume
collection, and there is extensive surrounding parkland. Granard,
which has the remains of a motte-and-bailey castle built in 1199,
holds a famous harp festival every August.
Lough Ree contains the islands of Inchbofin
and Inchclearaun on which are archaeological ruins from the early
Celtic Church. The islands are also associated with the mythological
figure of Medb (Maeve) an Irish warrior queen, also known as Queen
Mab.
Before and after the famine many people
in search of a better life emigrated to North America, Australia
and Britain, between the years of 1842 to 1860 a considerable
number of people from Longford chose Argentina. Many of them settled
in Buenos Aires. Edel Miro O'Farrlell who became the president
of the Republic of Argentina in 1914 was a kinsman of one of these
early emigrants.
