Edgeworthstown

Edgeworthstown Mostrim Meathas Troim
Town
Edgeworthstown Location in Ireland
Coordinates: 53°46′03″N 7°26′53″W / 53.7675°N 7.4480°WCoordinates: 53°46′03″N 7°26′53″W / 53.7675°N 7.4480°W
Country	Ireland
Province	Leinster
County	County Longford
Elevation	82 m (269 ft)
Population (2016)
• Total	2,339
Irish Grid Reference	N256719

Edgeworthstown or Mostrim (Irish: Meathas Troim, meaning "frontier of the elder tree"^[1]) is a town in County Longford, Ireland. The town is in the east of the county, near the border with County Westmeath. Nearby towns are Longford 12 km to the west, Mullingar 26 km to the east, Athlone 40 km to the south and Cavan 42 km to the north.

Name

Edgeworthstown House, Ireland

The area was named Edgeworthstown in the 19th century after the Anglo-Irish Edgeworth family. An estate was built there by Richard Lovell Edgeworth. His family—which includes Honora Sneyd (his second wife), novelist Maria Edgeworth (his daughter), botanist Michael Pakenham Edgeworth, economist Francis Ysidro Edgeworth, and priest Henry Essex Edgeworth—lived at the estate.

The area's original name was the Irish Meathas Troim or Meathas Truim. This was anglicized as Mastrim, Mostrim, and so forth. These names continued to be used by the locals. In 1935, at the behest of the local Town Tenants' Association, Longford County Council officially changed the town's name to Mostrim.^[2] However, in 1974, a local government order reverted the name to Edgeworthstown.^[3] Today, both names are in use.

Infrastructure

The town is built where the N4 Dublin-Sligo/ N5 Dublin-Castlebar road crosses the N55 Cavan-Athlone road. The town also has a railway station on the Dublin–Sligo railway line. Edgeworthstown railway station opened on 8 November 1855.^[4] Edgeworthstown expanded significantly during the first decade of the 21st century with many new housing developments and updated transport infrastructure including a bypass. The N4 National primary route formerly ran along the Main Street until the town centre was by-passed in July 2006. The N55 route from Athlone to Cavan still passes through the town centre.

Industry

Industries include animal feed processing and pet food manufacturing. Both Paul&Vincent Ltd. and C&D Foods Ltd. employ hundreds of people from the surrounding locality. In 2006, the town's biggest employer, C&D Foods Ltd., was damaged by fire and over half of the factory was destroyed. Production was planned to increase again in 2009.

Sport

• The local G.A.A. club is named Mostrim, while the minor section of the club are called Wolfe Tones. The club has won three Longford Senior Football Championships, in 1974, 1985 and 1992. Mostrim won an u-21 championship 2002 and the minor team Wolfe Tones won Minor A Championships in 2002 and in 2006. The club colours are green and red.
• Gaelic Football is by far the dominant sport in the County, however Edgeworthstown is one of the strongholds of Hurling in the county. The Hurling club in the town is called Wolfe Tones and has won a record 13 County Hurling Titles. The hurling strip is also green and red. Hugh Devine Park is the homepitch for both Mostrim and Wolfe Tones. Many underage inter-county competitive games and senior inter-county challenges are held in the park as well.
• There is also a soccer club in Edgeworthstown, called Mostrim United. The club caters for all age groups of boys and girls soccer teams from u-8 to u-15. The teams compete in the Longford & District Schoolboy League. The colours of the soccer club are green and black.

See also

• List of towns and villages in Ireland
• Market Houses in Ireland
• Granard

References

1. A. D. Mills, 2003, A Dictionary of British Place-Names, Oxford University Press
2. "Edgeworthstown, Co. Longford renamed Mostrim", The Belfast Weekly News, 29 August 1935
3. S.I. No. 166/1974 — Local Government (Change of Name of Non-Municipal Town) Order, 1974. Irish Statute Book.
4. "Edgeworthstown station" (PDF). Railscot - Irish Railways. Retrieved 2007-09-05.

External links

• St John's Church of Ireland Church, Edgeworthstown (Buildings of Ireland)
• Edgeworthstown House