Maria Edgeworth Festival 2025

One of the first events of the 2025 Festival was a talk by Doctor Linda Doyle, Provost of Trinity College Dublin who spoke to an attentive audience on the history of Trinity College, the way Maria Edgeworth shaped and influenced Education and the value that Maria’s work has today. In the Maria Edgeworth Centre Melissa Shiels, a PhD graduate from UCC was enthralling another audience with her talk on fashion from the time of Maria Edgeworth, a talk enhanced by costume changes and demonstrations that brought the story to life. Melissa also devoted a class to the making of a Georgian petticoat.
In the Library and Co:Worx, art was the theme with Angela Tuite local artist, helping her students though the intricacies and techniques of bringing their visions to life. Shane Crossan, Arts Officer opened an exhibition of local artists in Co:Worx. Matt Farrell our chairman took a group of enthusiastic guests on a trip to the past on the heritage trail walk which covered local historical sites and the stories of the Edgeworth family, their friends and acquaintances.
Mostrim Players Youth Group showcased the young talent in town with a special show in the Green then it was back to Co:Worx and adults showing off their literary skills with the open mic poetry readings organized by the Longford Writers Group. More local talent was on display later on in the Green where Enda Whitney made us laugh with his stories of accents and misunderstandings. Then the local Comhaltas group took to the stage to entertain us with a selection of musical numbers.

Another glorious sunlit day greeted us on Saturday down at the Maria Edgeworth Centre where Charlie Byrne had set up his pop-up bookshop. This was a lovely addition to the Festival program with a wide variety of books on sale at great value and a steady stream of customers during the day showed that literary entertainment is still of interest to many. Literary pursuits of a different kind were taking place in the Green when the poetry and short story workshops were taking place. Facilitated by authors Lani O’Hanlon (Poetry) and Tríona Walsh(Short story), encouraged the writing talents of the future.
In the Green the ‘Movement’ element of the Festival was in full swing where Marta guided her students through the finer points of Yoga while guests browsed wellness stalls and had tarot readings. Another type of artistic expression was facilitated by Catherine McEnroe who introduced her class to the intricacies of Carrickmacross Lace Making. The art exhibition continued in Co:Worx with visitors admiring the variety of art on display. To end off the exhibition Vitor Vicente was ‘Capturing the Irish Essence’ and introducing the audience to the art of Harry Kernoff and to his own poetry which was inspired by the art. Back at the Centre the storyteller Steve Lally demonstrated his story telling expertise to his students.
Then it was time for the Culture Night where the efforts of all the aspiring writers who entered our story and poetry competitions would be acknowledged by Tríona and Lani and we would hear some of these authors read from their own work. Mixed in was a performance from the fabulous Eimear Reynolds who sang some well known tunes. Singer and presenter Charlie McGettigan took time to have a conversation with the author Andrea Mara and we got to listen in and what a wonderful back and forth this was and we got a fascinating glimpse into the word of Andrea and her writing. Charlie himself sang a couple of his hits. Eimear then rounded out the evening and day two was done.

From early on the Green was a hive of activity as work took place to setup tables and chairs for the tea party that was taking place later on in the day. Stall owners were also congregating and seeking out their allocated spots so they could set up their stalls and lay out their wares. Peter Costello, sound engineer and performer, entertained the early arrivals to the Green and took a tour around the stalls and let the stall holders tell us a little about what they had on offer. Then the first guests started to arrive, and teas began to be served. Meanwhile, in the Maria Edgeworth Centre Melissa Shiels was transforming some willing pupils into a Regency Dance performance troupe and the demonstration they gave afterwards in the Green was highly proficient and much admired.
Across the river Marta held her final event of the weekend – a yoga workshop while the wellness stalls and Tarot readings continued and there was a sound bath for those who wished to participate. The Rose of Tralee is one of Ireland’s best known and loved events and the Longford Rose selected for 2025 was local lady Sara-Lee Greene and she was our special guest at the tea party, mingling with the crowd, posing graciously for photographs and she picked the people who won prizes for their excellent costumes and it was a tough choice, so many people made such a great effort. Sara-Lee’s final contribution to the event was a performance where she sang for the audience.
And then it was all over, stalls were down, bunting, tables and chairs were packed away, everything was tided and cleaned and the 2025 Maria Edgeworth Festival of Literature, Arts & Movement came to an end.