Six destinations, and half of them sit within a few miles of Granard in the north of the county. The motte there is the highest Norman earthwork in Ireland, thrown up in 1199 and now topped by a statue of St Patrick; the climb is short and the view takes in five lakes. Abbeylara, in the fields east of the town, is a Cistercian ruin from 1205 with a Sheela-na-gig on the south chapel wall and the Black Pig’s Dyke a kilometre north. Lough Kinale, on the Cavan and Westmeath border, gave up the oldest book shrine in Ireland to divers in 1986, though there is nothing above water but reeds and birds.
The rest are spread south and west. Longford town, where the N4 meets the N5, holds St Mel’s Cathedral, gutted by fire on Christmas Day 2009 and reopened in 2014 with its salvaged Harry Clarke glass and 2,307-pipe organ. Keenagh has the Corlea Trackway, an oak road laid across bog in 148 BC, with an 18-metre section kept indoors. Edgeworthstown offers a free literary trail around Maria Edgeworth’s family house, now a nursing home. Sonnagh Fort, above Lough Gowna at Aughnacliffe, is unguided and needs a drive.
A hilltop market town crowned by the highest Norman motte in Ireland, with a short climb, wide lake views and the Knights & Conquests centre below.
The county town, where a neoclassical cathedral rebuilt after the 2009 fire sits within walking distance of the Royal Canal Greenway and the Friday market.
The Edgeworth family home, private now, but a free trail links its exterior, Maria's grave in St John's churchyard and the Maria Edgeworth Centre.
Home to the Corlea Trackway, an oak bog road from 148 BC, the largest in Europe, with a preserved section indoors and free entry.
A Cistercian ruin from 1205 in open fields, free year-round, holding a Sheela-na-gig that is rare in the midlands and a working graveyard.
9 of 9 shown — tap a pin for the place.
Granard, longford
Granard is a hilltop market town in north Longford, crowned by the highest Norman motte in Ireland – a 1199 earthwork topped by a St Patrick statue, with a short climb to views over five lakes and parts of nine counties. At its foot, the Knights & Conquests centre tells the Norman story and that of Kitty Kiernan, the Granard woman engaged to Michael Collins.
Longford town, longford
Longford town sits where the N4 meets the N5, with a Friday market, a flat stretch of the Royal Canal Greenway and easy-going streets. Its centrepiece is St Mel’s Cathedral – a neoclassical landmark gutted by fire on Christmas Day 2009 and painstakingly rebuilt, reopening in 2014 with its 2,300-pipe organ and Harry Clarke windows.
Edgeworthstown, longford
Edgeworthstown House was home to the novelist Maria Edgeworth and her inventor father, Richard Lovell Edgeworth, and drew guests like Walter Scott and Wordsworth. The house is now a private nursing home, but a free literary trail links its exterior, St John's churchyard where Maria is buried, and the Maria Edgeworth Centre in the old school.
Keenagh, longford
Hidden in the bogs near Keenagh, County Longford, the Corlea Trackway is an oak road laid across the wetland in 148 BC, the largest of its kind uncovered in Europe. An 18-metre section survives indoors at the free visitor centre, with a level bog loop outside.
Longford Town, longford
Gutted by fire on Christmas Day 2009 and rebuilt over five years, St Mel's reopened in 2014 as 'the Longford Phoenix'. Behind its Ionic portico stand 24 limestone columns, salvaged Harry Clarke stained glass and a 2,307-pipe organ. Free to visit in the centre of Longford town.
Abbeylara, longford
Tullamore, meath
Granard, longford
Aughnacliffe, longford
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