County Longford
 Longford is a small landlocked county
that forms the north-western part of the
province of Leinster, bordering both
Connacht and Ulster, and is bounded on the
west by Lough Ree and the River Shannon.
Longford lies in the
low-lying country that forms part of the central
plain of Ireland. It is best known as a centre
for angling, shooting and hunting. Extensive
bogs in the county have been developed to produce
peat for power stations
Longford has one of Irelands finest churches, St. Mel's
Cathedral built in the 1800's. The Irish
name for the county is Longfort, which means
stronghold or fortress.
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Main Tourist Attractions Include
:
Bogwood
Sculpture Artists
This bogwood workshop is
located at Barley Harbour, Newtowncashel.
Their workshop and studio is beside Lough Ree on
the River Shannon. Here the story of bogwood is told
through video,
photographs, charts and finally the finished pieces of sculpture. Bogwood
is found in Irish Bogs where it has been preserved for 5,000
years. This wood was part of the great forest that covered
the central plains of Ireland. Michael and Kevin Casey are
artists who create beautiful sculptures from this wood.
Rathcline
Church
Located in Rathcline cemetery;
three miles from Ballinamock, here stands the lovely
ruin of an ancient church. The ruined building has
the remains of a Romanesque window and dates from
the 12th or 13th century. The church was renovated
around the 15th century. Most of the gothic doorway,
which was inserted then, still survives today. Also
added was an ogee-headed window high on the west
gable with a 'Síle-na-Gig' carved on the northern
splay
Battle
of Ballinamuck Centre
Located in the historic former
R.I.C. barracks in Ballinamuck, is a lively exhibition
which gives details of the Year of the French and
the Battle of Ballinamuck in 1798. Having discovered
the details you may tread the ground where the battle
took place.
Heritage Sites
Corlea
Trackway Visitor Centre - Kenagh
The Centre interprets an Iron Age bog road which
was built in the year 148 BC across the boglands
close to the River Shannon. The oak road is the largest
of its kind to have been uncovered in Europe and
was excavated over the years by Professor Barry Raftery
of University College Dublin. Inside the building,
an 18 metre stretch of preserved road is on permanent
display in a specially designed hall with humidifiers
to prevent the ancient wood from cracking in the
heat. Bord na Mona and the Heritage Service have
carried out conservation work on the surrounding
bog to ensure that it remains wet and that the buried
road is preserved.
Ardagh
Heritage Village
Ardagh's varied attractions
range from its fame as an early Christian archaeological
site, associated with Saints Patrick and Mel, to
its famous mythological associations with the legend
of Midhir and Etain, celebrated by contemporary Irish
poet Eavan Boland in her long poem. The Heritage
Centre is enhanced by a plantation containing thirty-five
species of native broadleaf trees, with special emphasis
on the Sessile Irish Oak.
As well as being designated a nationally important heritage
village; Ardagh has also the distinction of being awarded
Prix d'Honneur of the Entente Florale and a winner of the
National Tidy Towns Award in 1989.
