Despite her work as a novelist, short story writer and playwright, Maria Edgeworth was also a prolific letter writer. Therefore she wrote to family and friends about events that they witnessed and lived through. As a result Maria left us letters on how the Edgeworths were experiencing the 1798 rebellion. The Irish Rebellion of 1798 […]
Poetry Competition 2017 There were some great entries for this year’s Literary Festival 2017 Poetry Competition. Professor Iggy McGovern was adjudicator and picked out three excellent examples as prizse winners. Below are the three winners Ist Prize of Literary Festival 2017 Poetry Competition Paul Nash ‘The Night Train Steward’ THE NIGHT TRAINSTEWARD With fading […]
Isola Wilde Remembered: A Visit to Edgeworthstown On the 26th February last we hosted a commemoration of the 150th anniversary of Isola Wilde’s death. Isola Wilde died in Edgeworthstown on a visit to her aunt and uncle. The Oscar Wilde Society in the UK sent a representative to cover the event for their society magazine […]
Emily Crawford – journalist – whose father came from Edgeworthstown. Crawford, Emily was born 31 May 1841, probably in Dublin, daughter of Andrew Johnstone, landowner, of Corboy, Edgeworthstown, Co. Longford, and Grace Johnstone, an American. After the death or her husband in 1857 Grace took Emily and her sister to Paris and there Emily attended […]
William Edgeworth the cartographer Son of Richard Lovell Edgeworth and his third wife Elizabeth. William Edgeworth’s practical interests initially followed those of his father, such as surveying; he moved into cartography. His 1813 map of County Longford was noted. Soon William Edgeworth started mapping Roscommon with Richard Griffith. William Edgeworth is Mapping Roscommon A letter written […]
A visitor to our town – Patrick Dunne – wrote of his visit to the historical sites in Longford and how his pre-conceived notions about Edgeworthstown were changed as a result of his visit. He has written an article about this and we’re grateful for his permission to reproduce the article below. Edgeworthstown boasts with […]
The construction of the Spire in Edgeworthstown Richard Lovell Edgeworth erected a pre-fabricated spire on the Church of St John in 1811 – it lasted until the early twentieth century when it had to be removed for safety reasons. He worte a description of how the Spire was constructed and raised into place in a […]
A new gravestone as a memorial to Isola Wilde In 2012 at the suggestion of Wildean scholar Angela Kingston a decision was made to erect a new headstone for Isola Wilde. Because the original headstone vanished at some point in the past. As a result Chairman Matt Farrell sourced stone in Cong County Mayo. Surely […]
This item is courtesy of the Worcester Journal Why Maria Edgeworth Matters December 14, 2015 by Sean O’Rourke Believe me, I know. A nineteenth- century novelist may not seem the sexiest subject in the world. But try this: think of Maria Edgeworth as a woman who attempted to exert her influence far beyond the boundaries […]
