pawsha

Hi, My husband and I will be spending 7 days in Ireland In April. We will be travelling with our 11 yo grand-daughter (the fourth and last of our g.children to tour
parts of Europe with us). We will be visiting London,Paris and maybe Rome(We have been to these places before and have a good idea of what we want to see). This however, is our first trip to Ireland. My four grandparents migrated to Australia from there, two from Dublin, one from Cork and my paternal grandfather (my favourite) from Longford. I am anxious to "show and tell" Sarah about her family history. I cannot find much about Longford on the net and since our family records were destroyed during "the troubles" I too, would like to see the place where Poppa grew up. Can anyone tell me about Longford, what sights there are to see and where to stay etc?
Cheers Pawsha

JoanneH

Hi: I have been through there though not for several years. As I recall its not that big a place. My family is from the same general area. Here is what the Irish Tour board has to say about it. Hope this helps.
827. Longford
Longford, the county town, is on the south bank of the little Camlin River and on the Dublin-Sligo road. It was named after the ancient castle of the princes of Annaly, the O' Farrells, who also founded a Dominican priory in 1400. Neither building has survived, but there are slight remains of the castle erected by the 1st Earl of Longford in 1627 incorporated in the old military barracks. During the Confederate Wars of 1641 the castle was captured by the English, and later it withstood a siege of several weeks by Owen Roe O' Neil.
Near the centre of the town is St Mel's Cathedral, a nineteenth-century Renaissance-style building of grey limestone. The saint's crosier is preserved in the diocesan museum at the rear of the cathedral. St Mel's College, the diocesan seminary, contains part of the library of Edgeworthstown House. The County museum containing many artefacts and providing a genealogical service is located in the old post office in the main street.

Services in Longford
Bed & Breakfasts | Hotels | Car Rental | Vacation Packages
Heritage Centres, Genealogical Centres, Taxi Services, Bogs, Farmhouses, College & Campus, Tombs, Homes (Historical), Museums, Cinemas, Nightclubs, Festivals and Fairs, Monastic Sites, Golf, Library, Islands, Self Catering, Churches (Historical), Monastery, Harbours, Canals, Rivers, Stone Circles, Pubs, Town Information, Hills (Historical), Restaurants

flanneruk

"since our family records were destroyed during "the troubles""

They weren't. If I've misunderstood and you know all this already, please excuse the following egg-sucking lesson

Your grandparents appear to have been born before 1918 - which means their birth certificates are in the Irish registers, whose indices are available at any Mormon Family History Centre in the diaspora countries. Copies of the certificates themselves can be obtained from the Mormons too.

Usually, getting to the baptism certificate depends on your grandparents' denominations - but if Catholic or C of I, it ought to be doable. Most dioceses had versions both in the church and at the diocesan centre, so very little completely perished

Mormon FHCs have the index to the 1911 Irish census, which will give the street address: even if the gp's migrated before then, the likelihood is that one their parents was still alive, and traceable.

You may not have time to do the full searches in Dublin (generally, there's little value expecting to find much in the towns concerned). But with homework in your local FHC (in diaspora cities like Liverpool - the real one - and Sydney, the Mormon helpers are remarkably familiar with the minutiae of Ireland and both of RCs and the C of I) you'll be amazed how much of your family's records are actually in Australia, or obtainable from there.

Padraig

You don't need to ask the Mormons about the Irish census in 1911. The whole thing is available online: http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/. You can even view the original returns and see your ancestors' signatures.

Longford is the name both of a county and its principal town. It would be useful to know where in Longford your grandfather originated.

pawsha

Thanks for replies. Have checked 1911 census through national archives and havent been able to trace his family. The name O'Donohoe is often sought after thru Longford from America and Australia but to no avail. I will however try the Mormons. Thanks for the tip. As a child my grandfather would lovingly tell me of Ireland and his home. All I could think of was how to get out of the room without appearing rude. I have spent many years and countless hours of regret trying to find out this info.
Cheers Pawsha