Living next door to Albert

THE sleet fell having no alternative, but no one noticed that bleak night, mo bhron. It was February 1992 on Main Street, Longford. They had erected a special platform for their homecoming hero, and they turned out to welcome him in ecstatic thousands.

Albert Reynolds, their local TD, had just become leader of Fianna Fail, and Taoiseach. They cheered his every word, they laughed at his jokes, and they wept when his voice cracked as he spoke of Kathleen his wife, then recovering from cancer. They are warm people in Longford.

Longford has been by passed since then, and the Taoiseach doesn't live there anymore.

The new Dublin Sligo road beside the town was opened last year, by the Co Meath residing Taoiseach, John Bruton, but the town is still on the direct route to Ballina. The traffic does not seem to have eased all that much.

It is not a place that immediately comes to mind when thinking of "towns to visit", but there is plenty to do and see there. The town is a central base for anglers who wish to avail of the fine coarse fishing facilities in, the area, and/or those who are interested in its very fine literary heritage.

Longford is built on the river Camlin and was an important artillery and cavalry base for the British from the 1700s.

. WORTH VISITING:

St John's Church on the Battery Road is a mid 18th century, Gothic building with a fine spire. Its vestry has a list of rectors going back to the 1400s. One of the first soldiers to receive the Victoria Cross. Private Joseph Ward, is buried in its graveyard. He received the medal for his bravery in the Crimean War and the Indian mutiny.

St Mel's Cathedral, seat of the Bishop of Ardagh and Clonmacnoise, is a 19th century Renaissance building in grey limestone, which dominates the town. Its foundation stone was laid in 1840. The main body of building is Romanesque. Opposite it is a monument, erected in 1968, to the memory of those who died for Irish independence in 1916.

Also worth seeing is the Diocesan Museum nearby. On show there is the 10th century crozier of St Mel. The Courthouse, on Main Street, built in 1791, is one of the oldest extant buildings in the town and will soon undergo major refurbishment.

The Canal, to the rear of the swimming pool on the Market Square, is now a green area - once occupied by a Royal Canal Harbour. It was closed in the 1960s, but there are moves afoot to reopen it. This would facilitate the re connection of Longford, by canal, with the Shannon at Clondra four miles away, linking the town into the Shannon Erne waterway system.

Longford Museum and Heritage Centre, on Lower Main Street, includes an authentic folk kitchen, the Aughafad cross which dates from the 10th century and a gold watch given by Michael Collins to Kitty Kiernan. Its inscription reads: "From Michael to Kitty - date 8/10/1921". She came from Granard, Co Longford.

The Market Square in the town centre still serves as a market area and there is a Celtic cross there erected to the memory of 234 gallant soldiers of the county of Longford who fell in the "Great World War". The Backstage Theatre at the Longford Slashers GAA Club in Farneyhoogan, outside the town is a beautiful, modern 215 seat theatre, opened in April 1995 by Albert Reynolds. "The Slashers" in the GAA Club title, refers to a well known local football character from the 1950s, whose nickname was "Slasher".

The Literary, Historical and Cultural tour of North Longford takes in places associated with: Oliver Goldsmith, a native son whose Deserted Village poem is set in Pallas there; Maria Edgeworth, author of Castle Rackrent and one of the first novelists, who lived at Edgeworthstown, and the poet Padraic Colum who wrote The Drover. He was born in what was then the workhouse in Longford town, in 1881.

Also worth a visit nearby is the beautiful village of Ardagh, which won the Tidy Town's competition in 1989; the Corlea Trackway, near the village of Kenagh, where an oak roadway dating from the Iron Age was discovered in 1984, and Carrigglas Manor with its Gandon built stables.

. WHERE TO STAY:

The Longford Arms Hotel on Main Street: £37 for B&B per single, or £34 per person sharing. The Annaly Hotel, on Main Street, £30; The Camlin Court Hotel, £20 to £30 B&B. There is also country house, townhouse, farmhouse, and specialist accommodation available in the area. Information can be had from the Tourist Office on Main Street. Local Bord Failte approved B&Bs offer breakfast and overnight accommodation from £14 to £16. Details from the Tourist Office.

. WHERE TO EAT:

The Bistro on Richmond Street offers European, particularly French fare, at between £20 and £25 for dinner. The Longford Arms restaurant has lunches from £10.25 and dinner at £16.95. The coffee dock there has tea, coffee, sandwiches, salads, and light meals at reasonable prices, from £3.50 to £6/£7 for meals. The Annaly restaurant has meals from £5, while The Rising Sun on Dublin Street and The Eastern Palace on Kilashee Street offer Chinese meals from about £6.

Towards the upper end of the market is P.V. Fallon's on Ballymahon Street, while The Roadhouse Cafe, on Dublin Street, offers food at middle range prices. Also worth consideration in this context is The Market Bar on the Square and Valentine's on Main Street, which have good quality pub food at between £3 and £4. And there are numerous fast food outlets, cafes, and bars offering food.

. WHAT TO DO:

You can walk on the Mall, a landscaped area along the river Camlin, or along the Royal Canal. You can fish on the Shannon nearby, or Lough Gowna. There's pony trekking at the Aughrea Equestrian centre every day, pitch and putt (18 hole) at Murrayfield, golf (18 hole) at the course on the Dublin road, swimming at the Market Square pool, badminton, squash, basketball and a gym at the Mall Sports Complex, sub aqua at the swimming pool, tennis on any of four floodlit courts at Battery Road, and there's greyhound racing on the track at Park Road every night, Monday to Friday. Also worth a visit is The Atrium Gallery at the Backstage Theatre and arts centre, and The Gallery on Dublin Road. Both carry displays of work by local artists.

. NIGHT MOVES:

Touring theatre companies visit the Backstage Theatre nearly every week. The Odeon Cinema on Bridge Street is open every day. Traditional music is regular in many of the town's pubs, notably Kane's and Gaffney's on Ballymahon Street.

. WHAT TO BUY:

Fuschia on Dublin Street has a fine display of original pottery and wood carvings by Irish artists. It also sells Tore Truffles, handmade chocolates by a local company.

. GETTING THERE:

Take the N4, from either east or west. There's a regular bus service to the town, as well as a regular train service to/from Dublin.