Overview
Longford town sits where the N4 (Dublin–Sligo) crosses the N5 to Westport, a compact county town of 10,952 people on the River Camlin. Most people come for one building: St Mel’s Cathedral, gutted by fire on Christmas Day 2009 and rebuilt over five years. But the Friday market and a flat, surfaced stretch of the Royal Canal Greenway are reason enough to break a Midlands drive for an hour or two.
St Mel’s Cathedral
The cathedral traces its line back to the old ecclesiastical seat at Ardagh, which moved to Longford after the Reformation. Bishop William O’Higgins laid the foundation stone on 19 May 1840, using stone carried from the earlier Ardagh cathedral. John Benjamin Keane designed it in the neoclassical manner, modelled on the Madeleine in Paris, and it went up between 1840 and 1856, slowed by the Great Famine. The bell tower and lobby followed in 1863, and the architect George Ashlin completed the great portico in 1893.
Then, on Christmas Day 2009, a fire tore through the interior and destroyed the museum, leaving only the stone shell. A five-year, community-led restoration brought it back, reopening on Christmas Eve 2014. Inside now are 24 hand-carved limestone Ionic columns, Harry Clarke Studios stained glass in the east and west transepts, and a 2,300-pipe Fratelli Ruffatti organ, with a new Carrara marble altar at the centre. The silver tabernacle, by the sculptor Imogen Stuart, survived the fire and has been restored to its place. Go in even if you have only ten minutes; the rebuilt interior is the reason to stop in Longford.
Walking the greenway & the Camlin
The Royal Canal Greenway runs 130 km in all, from the edge of the Dublin commuter belt out to Cloondara in north Longford, and the stretch by the town is flat and surfaced – easy going for walkers, runners and casual cyclists. It passes the former harbour, the Harbour Master’s house and the old ticket office, the bones of Longford’s 19th-century canal trade. A short detour off the route leads to the Corlea Trackway visitor centre at Keenagh, where an 18-metre stretch of Iron Age bog road lies preserved in the peat.
For something slower, follow the River Camlin through the centre. The Mall Walk shadows the river past old stonework and the remnant of the 14th-century O’Farrell fortified house, and links back into the main pedestrian streets.
Markets, festivals & local life
The Friday Farmers Market in Market Square is the reliable weekly fixture – local eggs, preserves, honey, seasonal flowers and fish, and a good place to gather picnic supplies before the greenway. The town’s festival calendar is busier than its size suggests: the Edgeworth Literary Festival in May and the Goldsmith International Literary Festival in June both mine the county’s strong literary connections, and the Longford Set Dancing Weekend fills the town in November.
Cultural life centres on the Backstage Theatre on Park Road, a 212-seat venue with touring productions, local drama and live music through the year.
Getting around & practical tips
Longford is on the N4 (Dublin–Sligo) and the N5 (to Westport), an easy stop on a Midlands road trip. Irish Rail runs regular Dublin–Sligo services, and the station is a short walk from Market Square; Bus Éireann links the town to Dublin, Athlone and Sligo.
Parking is mostly paid: on-street costs from €0.50, though some off-street car parks are free on certain days, and the council usually lays on free parking on set dates in November and December for the Christmas trade. Disabled bays are clearly marked. The greenway is level and suitable for pushchairs and wheelchairs; dogs are welcome but should be on a lead in the centre and near the market. Toilets, cafés and Wi-Fi are along Main Street. Spring and early autumn are the most comfortable times to walk, with fewer midges and the riverbank at its best.
Beyond the town
Longford makes a handy base for the wider county:
- Abbeylara – Cistercian abbey ruins in old woodland
- Corlea Trackway Visitor Centre – the Iron Age bog road and its displays
- Edgeworthstown – home of the Maria Edgeworth Centre
- Lanesborough – Shannon town with access to Lough Ree
- Sonnagh Fort – a prehistoric rath above Lough Gowna
Aim for a Friday morning: catch the market in Market Square, then walk it off along the greenway before the afternoon. St Mel’s is open daily for a quiet look in between.