POSTED 21.5.2018
Stories from Ireland’s Hidden Heartlands
StoryLab last month worked with Longford County Council to create a unique 16-page commemorative guide celebrating Longford’s rich cultural heritage on the 250th anniversary of the writer Maria Edgeworth.
The aim of this storytelling project was to bring the story of a county, that is perhaps sometimes overlooked, to a national audience.
With the launch of Failte Ireland’s Hidden Heartlands initiative, it was a good time to showcase Longford’s many varied attractions and longstanding cultural and literary roots.
The county boasts a fine array of storytellers with direct and indirect links including Padraic Colum, John Connell, Maria Edgeworth and her family as well as Oliver Goldsmith and Oscar Wilde.
Wilde’s sister Isola is buried in Edgeworthstown after her tragic death there at the age of 10, an event that the great writer never got over.
Other content focused on a guide to Longford’s many breathtaking walking trails and bog heritage, as well as a look inside Center Parcs Longford Forest, a brand-new visitor attraction opening in summer 2019.
Published in the Irish Independent, the guide reached a readership of more than 300,000 people.