Longford - Places of Interest

Places of Interest

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 artifacts and some exhibits at the centre.

St. Mel's Cathedral in the town features several stained glass windows by Harry Clarke studios. These include one of his earliest works The consecration of St. Mel as Bishop of Longford which was exhibited at the RDS Annual Art Industries Exhibition in 1910, where it received second prize. It was also exhibited at The Arts and Crafts Society of Ireland fourth exhibition in the same year. The Cathedral was extensively damaged in a fire on Christmas Day 2009. The two most intricated stained-glass windows in the transepts of the Cathedral it seems will be able to be restored - these depict St Anne and the Resurrection.

Longford town boasts a state-of-the-art 200-seat theatre, and a four-screen multiplex cinema, with restaurants. The mix and quality of housing is extensive and the Rural Renewal Scheme (1999–2006) has ensured that a steady supply of residential development has come about. Longford town has a decentralised government department which employs approximately 300 people with plans for a further 160 to be employed at the Irish Prison Service's new headquarters in the Lisamuck area of the town. Longford's local army barracks once employed approximately 180 soldiers, many of whom were involved in UN peace-keeping duties. However, the barracks closed at the end of January 2009 as part of government cutbacks in military spending. The personnel have been transferred to Athlone.

The town serves as the cathedral town of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Ardagh and Clonmacnoise. St Mel's Cathedral, dedicated to Saint Mel, the founder of the diocese of Ardagh, was designed by architect John Benjamin Keane, who also designed St. Francis Xavier's Church on Gardiner Street in Dublin. On Christmas morning of 2009, the cathedral was severely damaged as the result of a fire.

There are a number of portal dolmens located around Longford.