Most of Longford lies in the basin of theRiver Shannon withLough Ree forming much of the county's western boundary. The north-eastern part of the county, however, drains towards theRiver Erne andLough 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) betweenDrumlish andBallinalee in the parish ofKilloe, at 278 metres (912 ft). Cairn Hill is the site of atelevision transmitter broadcasting to much of the Irish midlands.
In thelist of Irish counties by highest point, Longford ranks third lowest – onlyMeath andWestmeath have lower maxima. In general, the northern third of the county is hilly, forming part of thedrumlin belt andEsker Riada stretching across the northern midlands of Ireland. The southern parts of the county are low-lying, with extensive areas of raised bogland and the land being of better quality for grazing and tillage. TheRiver Shannon marks the county's border withRoscommon while the RiversInny and Tang form much of the boundary with Westmeath.
TheRoyal Canal flows through the south of the county terminating at Cloondara at the Shannon. The canal was refurbished and reopened in 2010. Notable lakes includeLough Kinale andLough Gowna on theCounty Cavan border,Lough Forbes on the County Roscommon border andLough Ree in the south where counties Longford, Westmeath and Roscommon meet.
The territory corresponding to County Longford was presumably a frontier colony of theKingdom of Meath in the first millennium. Between the fifth and twelfth centuries, the territory was called the kingdom ofTethbae ruled by varioustuath such as theCairpre Gabra in the north. Tethbae (Latin:Teffia) originally referred to an area north of the River Inny approximating to present-day County Longford.[4]
In the year AD 1070, Tethbae was conquered by the Ó Cuinns, Ó Fearghails and otherConmhaícne tribes, henceforth being known as "MuintirAnnaly", so named after "Anghaile" the great-grandfather of Fearghail O'Farrell. Furthermore, County Longford was often called Upper Conmaicne, to distinguish it from south Leitrim, then called Lower Conmaicne, because both districts were ruled by the descendants of Conmac, son of Fergus and Queen Meadbh of Connacht.[5][6]
Following the Norman invasion of the 12th century, Annaly was granted toHugh de Lacy as part of theLiberty of Meath. An English settlement was established atGranard, with NormanCistercian monasteries being established at Abbeylara and Abbeyshrule andAugustinian monasteries at Abbeyderg and at Saints' Island on the shore of Lough Ree. Monastic remains atArdagh,Abbeylara, Abbeyderg,Abbeyshrule,Inchcleraun Island in Lough Ree and Inchmore Island inLough Gowna are reminders of the county's long Christian history. However, by the 14th century, English influence in Ireland was on the wane. The town of Granard was sacked byEdward Bruce's army in 1315, and the O'Farrells soon recovered complete control over the territory. Annaly later became Longphoirt, now Longford, after O'Farrell's fortress of this name.[7]
The county was officially shired in 1586 in the reign ofElizabeth I from the northern portion of Westmeath,[8] but English control was not fully established until the aftermath of theNine Years' War. County Longford was added to Leinster byJames I in 1608 (it had previously been considered part ofConnacht), with the county being divided into sixbaronies and its boundaries being officially defined. The county was planted by English and Scottish landowners in 1620, with much of the O'Farrell lands being confiscated and granted to new owners. The change in control was completed during theCromwellian plantations of the 1650s. On these lands in County Longford, are the historic ruins of theCoolamber Hall House, which was besieged by one of the Cromwells.
The county was a centre of the1798 rebellion, when the French expeditionary force led byHumbert, which had landed atKillala, was defeated outside the village ofBallinamuck on 8 September by a British army led byCornwallis. General Humbert had hoped to amalgamate his forces with other rebels located in Granard but Cornwallis aware of the danger had defeated these forces in the second battle of Granard prior to defeating General Humbert in Ballinamuck. Considerable reprisals were inflicted by the British on the civilian inhabitants of the county in the aftermath of the battle.
A revolutionary spirit was again woken in the county during theIrish War of Independence when the North Longford flying column, led bySeán Mac Eoin, became one of the most active units on the Irish side during that war.
There are many national and secondary schools located in the county such as Moyne Community School, St. Mels and the Convent (Longford, Granard, Ballymahon, Lanesborough).
With an area of 1,091 km2 (421 sq mi) and a population of 46,634,[2] Longford is the fourth smallest of the 32 counties in area and second smallest in terms of population.[16] It is also the fourth smallest ofLeinster's 12 counties by size and smallest by population. It borders countiesCavan to the northeast,Westmeath to the southeast,Roscommon to the southwest andLeitrim to the northwest.
Longford's population growth during the period 2002–2006 (10.6%) has been stronger than the National average (8.2%).[17]
Agriculture is an important facet in the way of life and for the economy in County Longford. There are 73,764 hectares of area (67.6% of the county's total area) farmed in the county. There are approximately 126,904 cattle in the county too.[18]
^Lee, J. J. (1981). "On the accuracy of thePre-famine Irish censuses". In Goldstrom, J. M.; Clarkson, L. A. (eds.).Irish Population, Economy, and Society: Essays in Honour of the Late K. H. Connell. Oxford, England: Clarendon Press.
^Corry, Eoghan (2005).The GAA Book of Lists. Hodder Headline Ireland. pp. 186–191.
^"Demographic context"(PDF).Offaly County Council Development Plan 2009 – 2015. Archived fromthe original(PDF) on 30 October 2008. Retrieved28 June 2008.
Ó Duígeannáin, Mícheál (1934). "Notes on the History of the Kingdom of Bréifne".The Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland. The Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland, Volumes 64–65 (1) (Digitized 2008 from original at the University of California ed.).Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland:113–140.JSTOR25513764.
Dobbs, Margaret E. (1938). "The Territory and People of Tethba".The Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland. Seventh Series, Vol. 8, No. 2 (2).Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland:241–259.JSTOR25510138.
