Longford

History

The town is built at a fording point on the banks of the River Camlin (), which is a tributary of the River Shannon. According to several sources, the name Longford is an Anglicization of the Irish , referring to a fortress or fortified house. The area came under the sway of the local clan which controlled the south and central County Longford (historically called or ) and hence, the town was known as (fort/stronghold of O'Farrell). A Dominican priory was founded there in 1400. St. John's Church of Ireland (formerly known as Templemichael Parish Church) was built on the site of the priory in 1710. In 1605, King James I granted Baron Delvin (Sir Richard Nugent) the right to hold a Thursday market, a fair in August, and the related baronial courts in Longford/Annaly. In 1815, the Longford Cavalry Barracks was established by the British Army in the town. A spur of the Royal Canal, linking the main canal to Longford town was completed in 1831. Construction on the Royal Canal had begun in May 1790 and concluded in 1817 with the successful joining of Dublin with the River Shannon at Cloondara, County Longford, but had bypassed Longford town itself. From at least the 1830s, The Royal Canal Company offered cheap fares on night boats along the canal for passengers wishing to get from Longford to Dublin, and vice versa. The Irish Waterways History website describes the conditions under which the night boat service operated in the late 1830s: "From 1838 the night boat from Dublin left at two o'clock each afternoon; the boat from Longford left at half-past two. The night boat schedule was arranged to allow links with Charles Bianconi's cars, which linked Longford with Carrick-on-Shannon, Boyle and Sligo". The journey from Dublin to Longford by boat took 17 hours. In…