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Corlea Trackway, County Longford
Photograph: Sheila1988 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Province of Leinster

County Longford

An Longfort

“un LONG-fort” · the fortress, from longphort — a word Irish took from Norse for a ship-camp

Known as The Slashers. No nickname appears in the standard reference. The Slashers is what is used, after Myles 'the Slasher' O'Reilly, who was killed at the bridge of Finnea in 1646. The origin is not settled.

Did you know? Beneath a Longford bog lay the Corlea trackway — a great oak road built in 148 BC, wide enough for wheeled carts, preserved perfectly for 2,000 years.
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Longford by the numbers
Leinster province 46,751 people · 2022 census 1,091 km² · 29th of 32 by size County town Longford -29% in the Famine · 115,491 people in 1841, 82,000 in 1851 (approx.) 6 baronies · 911 townlands 1930s folklore · the Schools' Collection ↗ 11 surnames 3 towns on the site 291 daily Irish speakers Highest point Carn Clonhugh, 278 m 0 senior All-Irelands 30 notable people born here 842 historic buildings recorded Everything on the site about Longford ↓
Carlow Cavan Cork Donegal Dublin Clare Galway Kerry Kildare Kilkenny Laois Leitrim Limerick Longford Louth Mayo Meath Monaghan Offaly Roscommon Sligo Tipperary Waterford Westmeath Wexford Wicklow Antrim Armagh Down Fermanagh Londonderry Tyrone

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The history of Longford

In the first millennium Longford was probably a frontier of the kingdom of Meath, and from the 5th to the 12th century it was the kingdom of Tethbae. In 1070 it was taken by the O'Quinns, the O'Farrells and other Conmhaicne peoples, and became Muintir Annaly. After the Normans came it was granted to Hugh de Lacy; there was an English settlement at Granard and monasteries at Abbeylara, Abbeyshrule, Abbeyderg and on the islands of Lough Ree and Lough Gowna.

Edward Bruce's army sacked Granard in 1315 and the O'Farrells took back their country; the county's name comes from their fortress, the longphort. It was shired in 1586, and James I moved it from Connacht into Leinster in 1608. It was planted in 1620, and the Cromwellian settlement of the 1650s finished the change of ownership.

In 1798 the French army under Humbert, which had landed at Killala, was defeated at Ballinamuck on 8 September, after Cornwallis had beaten the rebels at Granard; heavy reprisals followed. In the War of Independence the North Longford flying column under Seán Mac Eoin was one of the most active on the Irish side.

Drawn from the History section of the Wikipedia article on County Longford ↗, rewritten here and adding nothing it does not say; licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. The chronology above is this site's own; where the two differ, the article is the one to check.

The land — from Wikipedia

Most of Longford lies in the basin of the River Shannon with Lough Ree forming much of the county's western boundary. The north-eastern part of the county, however, drains towards the River Erne and Lough Gowna. Lakeland, bogland, pasture-land and wetland typify Longford's generally low-lying landscapes: the highest point of the county is in the north-west – Carn Clonhugh (also known as Cairn Hill or Corn Hill) between Drumlish and Ballinalee in the parish of Killoe, at . Cairn Hill is the site of a television transmitter broadcasting to much of the Irish midlands.

Read the full article ↗ · Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Clans & surnames of Longford
Coffey Ó Cobhthaigh Gaelic learned family · “descendant of Cobhthach, 'victorious'” Gaynor Mag Fhionnbhairr Gaelic sept · “son of Fionnbharr, 'fair-head'” Masterson Mac an Mháighistir Gaelic sept & English settlers · “son of the master, from máighistir (Latin magister)” McCormack Mac Cormaic Gaelic sept · “son of Cormac, 'charioteer'” McGinley Mag Fhionnghaile Gaelic sept · “son of Fionnghal, ‘fair valour’” Merrigan Ó Muireagáin Gaelic sept · “descendant of Muireagán, a diminutive of a name beginning Muir-” O'Farrell Ó Fearghail Gaelic sept · “descendant of Fearghal, 'man of valour'” Quinn Ó Cuinn Gaelic sept · “descendant of Conn, 'chief'” Ronan Ó Rónáin Gaelic sept · “descendant of Rónán, 'little seal'” Sheridan Ó Sirideáin Gaelic sept · “descendant of Sirideán, 'the seeker'” Tully Mac an Tuile / Ó Maoltuile Gaelic learned family · “son of the flood — 'of God's will'”

Tap a name for its full page — story, homeland map and neighbours. Or see all surnames from County Longford, with the other counties each name is tied to.

Towns, saints and legends of Longford

Towns. Longford An Longfort, Edgeworthstown Meathas Troim, Ballymahon Baile Uí Mhatháin. What every town name means →

Legends set here. Brí Léith — Midir and Étaín. On the atlas →

First names that belong here. Fearghal, Cairbre, Irial.

Irish in Longford today

At the 2022 census, 14,993 people in Longford said they could speak Irish. 291 speak it every day outside school, and 782 weekly.

1 primary school here teaches entirely through Irish (2025/26, 106 pupils).

CSO, Census 2022, table SAP2022T3T2CTY. Every county compared →

The top of Longford

Carn Clonhugh (Carn Clainne Aodha), 278 metres, in the North Midlands.

Rivers and loughs: River Shannon, River Inny, Lough Ree.

MountainViews, via Wikipedia. Every county's highest point → · Rivers and loughs →

Longford in the All-Ireland

Hurling: no senior title.
Football: no senior title.

Every county's All-Ireland titles →

Born in Longford

From Wikidata: people whose recorded birthplace is in the county, who have a Wikipedia article and are no longer living, with dates shown only where the article confirms them, ordered by how many languages Wikipedia covers them in. Traditional birthplaces of early saints are as Wikidata records them. Dates are left off where the sources disagree.

People in Longford, census by census

Longford had 115,491 people in 1841 and has 46,751 now (-60%). Its peak was 115,491 in 1841; its low point 28,250 in 1971, -76% of 1841. It has never regained the population it had before the Famine.

1821183118411851186118711881189119011911192619361946195119561961196619711979198119861991199620022006201120162022
107,570112,558115,49182,34871,69464,50161,00952,64746,67243,82039,84737,84736,21834,55332,96930,64328,98928,25030,78531,14031,49630,29630,16631,06834,39138,97040,87346,634

Census returns as tabulated in the county's Wikipedia article. All 32 counties, 1821 to today →

Hidden Longford — the places the buses miss
  • Corlea Trackway
    An 18-metre stretch of the great oak road of 148 BC, preserved in a climate-controlled hall exactly where the bog swallowed it.
On the ground in Longford
  • 3 castles · Castle Forbes, County Longford, Coolamber Hall House, Granard Motte

Every pin is placed by its documented coordinates. All the monuments of Ireland →

Everything on the site about County Longford

The county

History

Monuments and heritage

Coast and country

People and culture

Quick answers
What is the Irish name for County Longford?

An Longfort. Longford is one of the 12 counties of Leinster (Cúige Laighean).

Who ruled County Longford in the Middle Ages?

Around 1014 it was held by Mide (Kingdom of Meath); by 1450, Annaly (O'Farrell). The full era-by-era chronology is on this page.

What surnames come from County Longford?

Names historically associated with Longford include Coffey, Gaynor, Masterson, McCormack, McGinley, Merrigan, O'Farrell, Quinn, among others.

What does An Longfort mean?

An Longfort, said “un LONG-fort”, means the fortress — from longphort — a word Irish took from Norse for a ship-camp. The same word gives the longphorts the Vikings built up the rivers.

What is the population of County Longford?

46,751 at the 2022 census, against 115,491 in 1841, before the Famine.

What is the county town of Longford?

Longford. County Longford covers about 1,091 km², which makes it the 29th largest of the 32 counties.

Who are famous people from County Longford?

Among the best-known people born in Longford are Francis Ysidro Edgeworth, Sir Henry Wilson, 1st Baronet, Padraic Colum, George Edward Dobson, George Monro, Michael Pakenham Edgeworth. The full list, with their birthplaces, is on this page.

What did the Famine do to County Longford?

The census counted 115,491 people in Longford in 1841 and 82,000 in 1851 (the 1851 figure is approximate): a change of -29% in ten years, through death and emigration.

Sources for this page

A clean copy for school projects or the family file; collapsed sections print in full.

The chronology of who held the county is this site's own reading of the standard histories onto today's county borders, and says so where the fit is rough. Quoted passages are marked and licensed. Spotted an error? Say so — corrections are credited.

Trace your ancestors in Longford

Free, from the holding institutions. How to begin: the six-step guide → · Spotted an error on this page? Suggest a correction.