Longford
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Longford An Longfort
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St. Mel's Cathedral, Longford
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 Longford
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| Coordinates: 53°43′37″N 7°47′59″W / 53.7270°N 7.7998°WCoordinates: 53°43′37″N 7°47′59″W / 53.7270°N 7.7998°W | |
| Country | Ireland |
| Province | Leinster |
| County | County Longford |
| Elevation | 72 m (236 ft) |
| Population (2016) | |
| • Rank | 46th |
| • Urban | 10,310 |
| Irish Grid Reference | N135750 |
| Website | www |
Longford (Irish: An Longfort) is the county town of County Longford in Ireland. It has a population of 10,310 according to the 2016 census. It is the biggest town in the county and about one third of the county's population lives there. Longford lies at the meeting of Ireland's N4 and N5 National Primary Route roads, which means that traffic travelling between Dublin and County Mayo or North County Roscommon passes around the town. The station in Longford on the Dublin-Sligo line is important for commuters.
The town is built on the banks of the River Camlin (from Irish: Camlinn, meaning "crooked pool"), which is a tributary of the River Shannon. The name Longford is an anglicisation of the Irish Longphort, from long (meaning "ship") and port (meaning "port" or "dock"). This name was applied to many Irish settlements of Viking origin and eventually came to mean fort or camp in the Irish language, and so Longfort the modern Irish spelling, is the name of this town, which was one of the only Gaelic Irish market towns to arise without first being founded by Vikings or Normans.
The area came under the sway of the local clan which controlled the south and middle of the County of Longford (historically called Anghaile or Annaly) and hence, the town is sometimes called Longfort Uí Fhearghail (fort/stronghold of O'Farrell).
A Dominican priory was founded there in 1400.
The Corlea Trackway Visitor Centre is located near to Longford, in Keenagh. The Centre houses an Iron Age bog road which was built in 148 BC across the boglands in proximity 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. There are other historical artefacts and some exhibits at the centre.
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Wikipedia