Edgeworthstown: Literary History and Heritage Trail

Edgeworthstown brings together a clearly defined literary history theme and several named historic places. The Edgeworthstown Heritage and Literary Trail provides a concrete thread: it leads through the town and ends at the Maria Edgeworth Centre. If literary history influences your choice of where to stay, you can include the trail’s stops and the Centre’s themes in your travel plans.

The Edgeworthstown Heritage and Literary Trail

The trail is organised by the Maria Edgeworth Centre in Edgeworthstown, County Longford. You can book the guided walk online through the Centre’s website; check availability before your trip. The route passes the Gothic Revival St Mary’s Church, with its Clarke stained-glass windows. It also goes past Maria Edgeworth’s ancestral home, with its restored walled garden, and continues to St John’s Church and the graveyard. Maria Edgeworth and Isola Wilde are buried there.

The trail ends at the Maria Edgeworth Centre, which houses an extensive collection of Edgeworth family memorabilia. Church architecture, family history and burial sites are presented as different stops along a themed route. This helps you understand the focus of a visit: the trail connects literary associations with specific places in Edgeworthstown, rather than being limited to a single exhibition.

The Maria Edgeworth Centre and its themes

The Maria Edgeworth Centre is housed in a 19th-century national school building. The Maria Edgeworth Visitor Centre is located in one of Ireland’s oldest national school buildings, which opened in 1841. The Centre presents the history of Ireland’s early national education system. This educational theme complements the family history, which plays an important role on the Heritage and Literary Trail.

The Maria Edgeworth Visitor Centre features audio, visual and interactive presentations in seven languages. Check visitor information before your trip if these formats are important to your plans. The Maria Edgeworth Centre also hosts an annual festival, as well as talks and workshops throughout the year. Programmes and individual dates may change, so check in advance for the event you plan to attend.

More to explore in County Longford

County Longford also has routes with different focuses. The Royal Canal Greenway is a 130-kilometre walking and cycling route from Maynooth in County Kildare to Clondra in County Longford. Its infrastructure includes 90 bridges, 33 locks, 17 harbours and four aqueducts.

The National Famine Way also runs through County Longford, where it follows the Royal Canal Greenway. The signposted walking and cycling route follows the last known journey on Irish soil of 1,490 people who were forced to leave Strokestown in County Roscommon in 1847. The two routes therefore have different focuses: the Royal Canal Greenway highlights its long distance and canal infrastructure, while the National Famine Way focuses on the history of this forced journey.

The Dublin–Sligo railway line is also useful for getting around County Longford; stations in the county include Longford Town and Edgeworthstown. Timetables and services may change, so check the latest information from Irish Rail before setting off.

Discover more destinations: Killashee, Cloondara, Longford, Moyne, Mosstown, Granard, Ballymahon, Lanesborough.

For the wider travel guide: County Longford.