HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Ardagh (, older version ) is a village in
County Longford County Longford () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. It is named after the town of Longford. Longford County Council is the Local government in the Republic ...
,
Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
. Ardagh is located towards the south of County Longford, southwest of
Longford town Longford () is the county town of County Longford in Ireland. It had a population of 10,952 at the 2022 census. It is the biggest town in the county and about one third of the county's population lives there. Longford lies at the meeting of I ...
, located off the N4 road. Originally a site of pre-Christian worship, Ardagh became a site of Christian settlement with the arrival of
Saint Patrick Saint Patrick (; or ; ) was a fifth-century Romano-British culture, Romano-British Christian missionary and Archbishop of Armagh, bishop in Gaelic Ireland, Ireland. Known as the "Apostle of Ireland", he is the primary patron saint of Irelan ...
sometime between 434 and 435. The bulk of the village was laid-out in the mid-19th century. The barony of Ardagh is named for the village. There is also 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. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...
of the same name.


History


Early and pre-history

Ardagh village is located beside Ardagh Mountain, a hill which reaches a height of . This hill, formerly known as Brí Leith, was believed to be home of Midir, a pre-Christian king of the ancient Tuatha De Danann. Brí Leith is associated with several folkloric stories and is mentioned in the Book of Tara. The Book of Rights notes that the high king was entitled to have
bilberries Bilberries () are Eurasian low-growing shrubs in the genus ''Vaccinium'' in the flowering plant family Ericaceae that bear edible, dark blue berries. They resemble but are distinct from North American blueberries. The species most often referre ...
from Brí Leith as part of his harvest meal. There are several important
Early Christian Early Christianity, otherwise called the Early Church or Paleo-Christianity, describes the historical era of the Christian religion up to the First Council of Nicaea in 325. Christianity spread from the Levant, across the Roman Empire, and be ...
sites in and near Ardagh, including the Church of St. Mel. St. Mel is the patron of Ardagh and was the first bishop, he was part of St. Patrick's entourage and some say he was his nephew. St. Mel is thought to have been buried there. The history of Ardagh dates back to the dawn of Christianity in Ireland, and it's episcopal succession can be tracked back to one of the primitive fathers of the Irish church. During the
medieval period In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...
, Ardagh experienced some "religious turmoil", and in 1167 the settlement, including the church and houses, was burned down. Then, in 1230, Ardagh was the scene of contest for the role of bishop, resulting it the destruction of the episcopal house and cathedral tower. William O'Ferrall, who was Bishop of Ardagh in 1496 (and had been since 1479), tried to take over as the chieftain of Longford (known as the lordship of Annaly at the time). His aim was to take over as chieftain from the other branch of the O'Ferrall family, resulting in an attack on Ardagh. After the attack, the cathedral was left without a roof, sacristy, campanile, and bell, leaving only a single altar standing. The church is still in ruins today and the village saw limited development until the Featherston family arrived in the 1700s. A fairy tree in Ardagh was featured on a 1983 episode of ''
The Live Mike ''The Live Mike'' was an Irish television comedy, variety, and chat show presented by Mike Murphy. It was first broadcast on RTÉ 1 on 9 November 1979. The programme featured a candid camera pieces by Murphy himself, with parody songs and comed ...
'' presented by Mike Murphy. The owner of the land on which the tree grew stated that, if the tree were to fall over, he would have "less than one week to live".


Featherston family

The first Featherston recorded in Ardagh was Thomas Featherston, who acquired 235 acres of land in the area in 1703. He died in 1749. While no exact date is known for the construction of Ardagh House, it is believed to have been visited by
Oliver Goldsmith Oliver Goldsmith (10 November 1728 – 4 April 1774) was an Anglo-Irish people, Anglo-Irish poet, novelist, playwright, and hack writer. A prolific author of various literature, he is regarded among the most versatile writers of the Georgian e ...
in 1745. According to local legend, Goldsmith's visit to Ardagh House inspired his comedy ''
She Stoops to Conquer ''She Stoops to Conquer'' is a comedy by Irish writer Oliver Goldsmith, first performed in London in 1773. The play is a favourite for study by English literature and theatre classes in the English-speaking world. It is one of the few plays ...
'' or ''Mistakes of a Night''. Reputedly, while looking for an inn, some locals directed Goldsmith to the Featherston mansion "in jest". According to this story, the Featherstons realised the joke and played along. The following morning, Goldsmith was made aware of his mistake and, years after the experience, he used the events to influence the plot of his comedy.
Sir Ralph Fetherston, 1st Baronet Sir Ralph Fetherston, 1st Baronet (died May 1780) was an Anglo-Irish politician. Fetherstone represented County Longford in the Irish House of Commons from 1765 to 1768. Between 1768 and his death in 1780 he represented St Johnstown.E. M. Johnst ...
, was given the rank of
baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...
in 1776, and this descended to later heads of the family. Among the contributions of the Fetherston baronets to Ardagh were significant developments carried out within the village in the 1860s. Much of the village layout was designed and built by the architect J. Rawson Carroll, reputedly based on Lady Fetherston's idea of a Swiss village. A clock tower, village green, and arts-and-crafts style houses were designed with the view from the house in mind. The view from the front door of Ardagh House encompasses much of the village, from the
Church of Ireland The Church of Ireland (, ; , ) is a Christian church in Ireland, and an autonomy, autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. It is organised on an all-Ireland basis and is the Christianity in Ireland, second-largest Christian church on the ...
church on the left, to the old rectory on the right.


Later development

Ardagh's Heritage Centre tracks the history of the village, including its literary associations, which include featuring pseudonymously in
Oliver Goldsmith Oliver Goldsmith (10 November 1728 – 4 April 1774) was an Anglo-Irish people, Anglo-Irish poet, novelist, playwright, and hack writer. A prolific author of various literature, he is regarded among the most versatile writers of the Georgian e ...
's ''
She Stoops to Conquer ''She Stoops to Conquer'' is a comedy by Irish writer Oliver Goldsmith, first performed in London in 1773. The play is a favourite for study by English literature and theatre classes in the English-speaking world. It is one of the few plays ...
'', and in a poem by
Eavan Boland Eavan Aisling Boland ( ; 24 September 1944 – 27 April 2020) was an Irish poet, author, and professor. She was a professor at Stanford University, where she had taught from 1996. Her work deals with the Irish national identity, and the role o ...
. The village was awarded the ''Prix d'Honneur'' of the
Entente Florale The Entente Florale Europe (, "Flowery Alliance of Europe") is an international horticultural competition established to recognise municipalities and villages in Europe for excellence in horticultural displays. Trophies are presented annually by ...
and won the
Irish Tidy Towns Competition Tidy Towns ( Irish: ''Bailte Slachtmhara'') is an annual competition, first held in 1958, organised by the Department of Rural and Community Development in order to honour the tidiest and most attractive cities, towns and villages in the Republ ...
on three occasions in 1989, 1996 and 1998.


Development and architecture

According to Longford County Council's 2006 Local Area Plan, Ardagh had seen a number of young families moving to the village, resulting in the "demographic augmentation of the village" as well as the building of new houses in the area. The centre of Ardagh village is still the village green, with three roads stemming from the centre; towards Longford (north), Carrickboy (west), and east in the direction of
Edgeworthstown Edgeworthstown or Mostrim () is a small town in County Longford, Ireland. The town is in the east of the county, near the border with County Westmeath. Nearby towns are Longford 12 km to the west, Mullingar 26 km to the east, Athlone 4 ...
. There are a number of different styles of houses in Ardagh dating back to the 1860s. However, the building materials have stayed relatively the same throughout the years, with one modern difference being the black cast iron gutters in some cases being replaced with more modern equivalents such as aluminium or uPVC. The fasciae are one of the most distinctive features of 1860 houses in Ardagh. The original fasciae are ornately carved timber however, this is another category of features that have been replaced with modern equivalents. The 1860s' houses were built from ashlar limestone or sandstone, with limestone corner stones and details around the windows, while the more modern houses are a combination of stone or brick covered in plaster. Some houses also have a shamrock fanlight above the door. While no original doors remain from 1860, the shape of the doorway suggests they could have been wooden double doors. Every house designed by Rawson Carroll also has a shed which (together with the boundary walls) is part of the "character of the village".


Public transport

Edgeworthstown railway station is around 9 kilometres from the village. Until August 2013,
Bus Éireann Bus Éireann (; "Irish Bus") is a state-owned bus and coach operator providing services throughout Republic of Ireland, Ireland, with the exception of Dublin, where bus services are provided by sister company Dublin Bus. It is a subsidiary of C ...
route 118 (
Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...
-
Mullingar Mullingar ( ; ) is the county town of County Westmeath in Ireland. It is the third most populous town in the Midland Region, Ireland, Midland Region, with a population of 22,667 in the 2022 census of Ireland, 2022 census. The Counties of M ...
-
Longford Longford () is the county town of County Longford in Ireland. It had a population of 10,952 at the 2022 census. It is the biggest town in the county and about one third of the county's population lives there. Longford lies at the meeting of ...
) served Ardagh on Saturdays.


See also

* Cathedral of Saint Mel in Ardagh * List of towns and villages in Ireland


References

{{Authority control Towns and villages in County Longford Civil parishes of County Longford Planned communities in the Republic of Ireland