History of Ardagh & Moydow.

Ardagh.

The early history of Ardagh begins a short distance outside the village at Bri Leith (pronounced Bree Laye). This forested hill was once a famous centre of pre-Christian religious worship. The importance of the hill, like Tara and Dun Aillnne, rested in the fact that it commanded extensive views over the surrounding countryside. With the coming of Christianity in the fifth century, the centre of religious worship moved away from Brí Leith to Ardagh itself. The name Ardagh, Árd Archadh in Irish, means the high field, which indicates that when St Mel first arrived here the area was unsettled, with lots of open ground on which to build. Only the legends of Aonghus, Midhir and Etain survive to remind us that this was a great religious centre at Bri Leith. An important relic, which survives from this earlier period is the crosier of St. Mel now preserved in Longford Cathedral Museum. It was much venerated throughout the Middle Ages and pilgrims came great distances to seek the intercession of the saint whose relics were preserved at Ardagh. From what we know of early monastic sites it is probable that the monastery of Ardagh covered an area as large as that of the present village but the only surviving remnant of this ancient monastery is a small stone oratory in the grounds of the Protestant parish church. We know little about the manner in which the early monastery developed during its first 600 years but by the twelfth century it was clearly the largest and most important settlement in Longford.

While Ardagh’s importance declined with the coming of the Normans, a change in its fortunes was to occur with the arrival of a new family, the Fethersons. The Fetherstons made Ardagh their home and built the present Ardagh House sometime before 1745. It was at this time that one of the most famous incidents in Ardagh’s history occurred. This was the visit of the young Oliver Goldsmith who was fooled into mistaking the mansion (Ardagh House) for an Inn. His endeavours to court the Fetherston daughters in the belief that they were servant girls formed the plot of his most successful play, “She Stoops to Conquer”, a comedy which explores the contemporary themes of sexual morality and double standards. The enduring legacy of the Fetherstons, however, is the village of Ardagh itself.

The village and estate were managed by Sir George Ralph Fetherston and his English wife Frances Solly from Essex. It was Sir George’s nephew, however, who was to have the most dramatic impact on Ardagh. He was Sir Thomas Fetherston and in 1862 he employed the Victorian architect John Rawson Carroll to improve the village as a memorial to his late uncle George. The village is arranged around a triangular green bounded on the north by the grounds of Ardagh House and on the east by the Protestant parish church. Grouped to the south and west are the detached single and two storey cottages whose picturesque appearance gives Ardagh much of its charm.

 Ardaghs connection with the Fetherston family is also celebrated in many ways mainly by the Clock Tower Memorial in the village and the newly reconstructed Fetherston Stables attached to the familys former stately home, which are open to the public and well worth a visit. The Fetherston Mansion is now St. Brigids Training Centre under the auspices of the Sisters of Mercy. The Fetherston Courtyard is laid out on a grand scale and still retains the original design of the horse feeding and ventilation systems. Works of the local novelist Canon Guinan are displayed, including "The Patriots", episodes of which are said to be based on the life of General Sean MacEoin.

Moydow.

Moydow - (Magh Dumha) Anciently it was part of a territory known as Tethba. The barony was formed from the territories of Clanawlye (Ardagh & Moydow), and parts of the territories of Moybrawne (Taghshinny parish), Clanconnor (part Kilcommock, part Cashel parishes), and Muintergalgan.

Its ancient name was Cill-Modhint after St. Modhints church that was destroyed by fire in 1155. (St. Modhint died in 591) Also in this area are the ruins of the oldest nunnery in Ireland.

Here is supposed to have been the abbey of Kilmliodain, of which St. Modan or Moduid "the Simple," who was bishop of Carnfurbuidhe, was abbot in 591. The parish comprises 45771 statute acres, of which about 1203 are bog : the land is in general good, and the state of agriculture improving. A peculiar kind of stone, called pudding stone, is found on the isolated mountain of Slieve Gouldry, on the southern confines of the parish; and there is a quarry of freestone, which is worked for flags.

The Church of Ireland is a small plain building without a tower, erected and repaired in 1831, by aid of a loan of £50 from the Board of First Fruits. In the R. C. divisions the parish forms part of the union of Ardagh, and has a chapel at Moydow.