Local and Community

This page belongs to the local communities surrounding Ardagullion Bog. Whether you are a local heritage group, an environmental group, a men’s shed, or a sporting organisation, this section of the LIFE site is for you.

Bulletins, news, stories, information on events and gatherings as well as local history from the area is currently being compiled by our Public Awareness Manager. If you have any interesting stories, photos, information or anything concerning Ardagullion and its environs, please email our project via : peatlandsmanagement@npws.gov.ie

If you have a community web presence, or newsletter or information sheet you’d like to see reach a wider audience, don’t hesitate to let Ronan know and it will go up on this site.

We will also link to interesting people and events in the County Longford and all other areas surrounding this raised bog.

EDGEWORTHSTOWN

Edgeworthstown, which was known as Mostrim between Independence and 1974, is a small but busy town with historical and literary links that a major city would love to be able to boast about! Quite a lot of Edgeworthstown’s rich heritage is drawn from it’s association with the famous Edgeworth family, Oliver Goldsmith, Oscar Wilde and many more historical figures.

Edgeworth Society

The Edgeworth Literary Trail offers the visitor guided walks and an opportunity to follow in the footsteps of Maria Edgeworth and her family, Oliver Goldsmith, Sir Walter Scott, William Wordsworth and Oscar Wilde. You can visit the Walled Garden at Edgeworthstown House, the Rectory (birthplace of the Abbé Edgeworth) and St. John’s Church and graveyard where Isola Wilde is buried.

In February 2017 the Edgeworth Society hosted a moving Isola Wilde Remembered day at The Rectory to mark 150 years since her passing, aged just 9 years. Her passing, at The Rectory, was to have a profound effect on her brother Oscar. He visited her grave in Edgeworthstown regularly and kept a lock of her hair with him at all times. She was present in his work, most notably the poem ‘Requiescat’, written in her memory.

Trails are held regularly, and dates etc can be arranged by contacting the Edgeworth Society via the form on their Contact page; Or by email edgeworthsociety@eircom.net; Or by phone 00353-436671801 (9 am to 5pm GMT only)

Edgeworth Literary Festival

Every May, the town hosts a noted Edgeworth Literary Festival . It celebrates the literary heritage of Edgeworthstown and also celebrates the best of current authors and emerging talent. Every year they have excellent guests and competitions.

Here’s the 2017 programme

Click pic for programme

Edgeworthstown Tidy Towns

Every good Irish town needs a good Tidy Towns Committee, and Edgeworthstown has one of the best. Their aim is to promote a cleaner, greener town for everyone and to help keep our home town litter free and environmentally friendly and to boost the standing of Edgeworthstown in Tidy Town rankings.

Busking Festival

Every June, the town hosts a Busking Festival, organised by the Joe Callaghan Branch of C.C.E. and Heritage Week every August and Culture Night in September will see a packed calendar of events taking place.

Ireland’s Heritage Hero – Matt Farrell

Local man Matt Farrell was recognised as Ireland’s Heritage Hero by Minister Heather Humphreys in February 2017.

Matt Farrell who was named Ireland’s Heritage Hero is pictured here with his grandson Jamie Penrose aged 10. (Picture Gary O’Neill)

Matt was presented with the accolade at the Heritage Council’s Heritage Awards Ceremony recognising the fantastic work of the heritage community in Ireland and showcasing the best of National Heritage Week.

The Heritage Council’s Heritage Hero Award celebrates someone who has made an outstanding contribution to the protection and promotion of heritage in Ireland. This year 86 individuals were nominated.

Ireland’s Heritage Hero, Matt, established Edgeworthstown District Development Association and the Edgeworth Society in 1994.

Recently he has been the driving force behind the Edgeworth Heritage project which involved the establishment of the Edgeworth Heritage and Literary trail which takes in Edgeworthstown House and Walled Garden, St John’s Rectory with its Wilde and Goldsmith connections and St John’s Graveyard and Church.

This took years of hard work in the gathering of research and the conservation and preservation of the graveyard, the Rectory, the Schoolhouse and the Fair Green. It also involved ten years of fundraising selling lotto tickets every Saturday night!

Matt Farrell’s dedication shows the important link between people and place, and how an appreciation of our shared heritage can build a community.

Edgeworthstown Community Centre

St Marys Community Centre/Campus is situated just off the Granard Road, with the N55 Cavan to Athlone Road and the N4 Dublin to Sligo Road just a few minutes drive away. The group behind the impressive hall and campus is a non profit organization support by government funding and grants. Set up by a Voluntary Management Committee the centre opened July 2011. Staffed by TUS and CE Scheme Employees. The centre is state of the art facility consisting of rooms and halls available to hire for a wide range of activities.

The mission statement is “To provide fitness activities and recreational facilities that promotes integration and a community spirit to the community.”

GRANARD

Granard Motte and Bailey is one of the best examples of an Anglo-Norman fortifications in the country.

Granard is a large busy town in North Longford. Steeped in history and folklore, the town as it stands today is actually the new town of Granard. A medieval walled town ‘old Granard’, once existed in the townland of Granardkille. The site at Granardkille is believed to be the only one of its type in Ireland. It was burnt to the ground by Edward Bruce in November 1315 after Con O’Farrell refused to submit to him and thereafter abandoned.

The name Granard has many meanings – The Hill of the Sun, The Hill of the Grain or Ugly Height.

Granard Motte and Bailey

Granard Motte and Bailey is one of the best examples of an Anglo-Norman fortifications in the country. Built around 1199 by Norman Knight, Richard de Tuite as part of an initiative to extend Norman control over the country, it was erected upon and within a pre-existing ringfort or rath which may have belonged to a local branch of the Farrell clan.

The Motte is a great flat topped, circular earthen mound, on top of which would have been a timber tower surrounded by a palisade. Across the base was a U-shaped bailey, an enclosure surrounded by a palisade ditch. Animals and soldiers were housed in the bailey. It is very strongly fortified except on the southern side, which seems to have been guarded solely by the deep trench on the summit, out of which defenders fired arms and hurled stone missiles at the approaching enemy.

Standing 534 ft above sea level it is reputed to be the highest Motte in Ireland. The summit affords a view of five lakes, parts of nine counties and faint outline of the Sliabh Bloom Mountains. Many myths are attached to the Motte, some say there is a castle concealed within it, others say it contains vast treasures of gold, while others maintain the hollow in the centre was a grain store. In 1932 a statue of St Patrick was erected on top of the Motte to mark the coming of the saint to Ireland in 432AD.

There is now a major visitor centre in Granard celebrating the unique heritage of the area.

Knights and Conquests, Granard

Experience a time of Knights & Conquests in Ireland’s Hidden Heartlands. Don the clothes of our Norman ancestors and walk on an interactive journey through time. See what it feels like to be a king or queen in your own game of thrones. Have a fun and unique experience with your family and friends.

See WEBSITE: https://www.knightsandconquests.ie/ and https://www.facebook.com/KnightsConquests/

Granard Events

Keep up to date with all that’s happening in Granard on this FACEBOOK page: https://www.facebook.com/Granard-Events-430607700468348/

Granard Men’s Shed

Granard Men’s Shed is a community organisation for men of all ages to come together and undertake a variety of mutually agreed activities. It provides a great social outlet. They are online HERE

Things to see and do in Granard

The new Knights and Conquests Centre is a MUST SEE Ireland’s Hidden Heartlands attraction.

Buildings of interest in the town include the Market House, built in 1785 and once owned by the Greville family, it was refurbished c1980 and is now in use as a branch library. St Marys Church, built in 1867 by John Bourke enjoys a splendid setting at the top of the towns main street, with the great Norman motte behind it while St. Patricks Church close to the Motte, was originally the site of Catholic worship in Granard. The present building is thought to have been built in the early part of the 18th century.

Granard is surrounded by several beautiful lakes such as Lough Gowna and Lough Kinale as well as being convenient to many other excellent angling locations. Derrycassin Woods, located on the shores of Lough Gowna provides some wonderful forest walks for those who wish to while away an hour or two in quiet contemplation of nature. For those with an interest in the ancient history of Ireland, there are several sites of holy wells, crannogs, standing stones and stone circles as well as the nearby ruins of Abbeylara Monastery. The town itself has plenty of public houses with live music and entertainment on weekends as well as shops and other conveniences. Granard plays host to a number of festivals and events throughout the year.