Forgney () is a

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authorit ...

and

townland A townland ( ga, baile fearainn; Ulster-Scots: ''toonlann'') is a small geographical division of land, historically and currently used in Ireland and in the Western Isles in Scotland, typically covering . The townland system is of Gaelic orig ...

in County Longford, Ireland. Evidence of ancient settlement in the area include a number of ringfort and

holy well A holy well or sacred spring is a well, spring or small pool of water revered either in a Christian or pagan context, sometimes both. The water of holy wells is often thought to have healing qualities, through the numinous presence of its guar ...

sites in Forgney townland. Forgney is associated with the poet Oliver Goldsmith, and the local

Church of Ireland The Church of Ireland ( ga, Eaglais na hÉireann, ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Kirk o Airlann, ) is a Christian church in Ireland and an autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. It is organised on an all-Ireland basis and is the secon ...

church, the ''Church of St. Munis'', is where the Rev. Charles Goldsmith, father of the poet, administered from 1718 to 1730. The present church was built in 1810 and replaced that of Goldsmith's day. It is located on the R392 regional road. The church contains a stained glass window with a brass plaque erected in 1897 and inscribed: IMG R392road1726

The local

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

church, the ''Church of the Immaculate Conception'', was built . John Henry Patterson was born in Forgney in 1867. He was an Anglo-Irish soldier, hunter, Zionist and author known for his book ''

The Man-eaters of Tsavo ''The Man-Eaters of Tsavo'' is a semi-autobiographical book written by British soldier and author John Henry Patterson. Published in 1907, it recounts his experiences in East Africa while supervising the construction of a railroad bridge over the ...

'' (1907), which details his experiences while building a railway bridge over the Tsavo river in Kenya in 1898-99. In the 1996 film ''

The Ghost and the Darkness ''The Ghost and the Darkness'' is a 1996 American historical adventure film directed by Stephen Hopkins and starring Val Kilmer and Michael Douglas. The screenplay, written by William Goldman, is a fictionalized account of the Tsavo man-eaters, ...

'', he was portrayed by actor

Val Kilmer Val Edward Kilmer (born December 31, 1959) is an American actor. Originally a stage actor, Kilmer found fame after appearances in comedy films, starting with ''Top Secret!'' (1984) and ''Real Genius'' (1985), as well as the military action film ...

. In the First World War, Patterson was the commander of the

Jewish Legion The Jewish Legion (1917–1921) is an unofficial name used to refer to five battalions of Jewish volunteers, the 38th to 42nd (Service) Battalions of the Royal Fusiliers in the British Army, raised to fight against the Ottoman Empire during ...

References

Civil parishes of County Longford Townlands of County Longford Church of Ireland parishes in the Republic of Ireland {{Longford-geo-stub