The Coach House - Longford House

The History of Longford House 

The earliest origins of Longford Demensne are lost in the mists of early Connaught history; however it is known that the castle mound was originally a Celtic Longphort known as the castle of the O’Dowds greatly predating the castle that was erected by Anglo-Normans in the early 12th Century.  The property was recaptured by Brian O’Dowd nearly a century later, then after a lengthy MacSweeny tenure, Thomas Crofton came into possession of the property in 1615 and the Crofton family has resided here ever since.

              

The Croftons

              
  

The Croftons were patrons of the legendary Irish harper O'Carolan.  He stayed with them for extended periods in the early 1700’s. Two harp compositions, Mrs. Crofton and Edward Crofton were written while he resided at the house.

Sydney Owenson, a distant cousin, who later became Lady Morgan, was employed as governess to Sir Malby Crofton's children in 1806.  While she resided at Longford House, she wrote The Wild Irish Girl, the first novel sympathetic to Irish nationalism and extremely popular in both England and Ireland throughout the 19th century.

The Croftons today

 Today, the Dowager Lady Sally Crofton, the widow of Sir Malby Crofton, the 5th Baronet, resides in the Coach House which has been completely refurbished and can be reserved for weddings, corporate conferences, art exhibitions, family reunions, golf groups, musical festivals and tour groups. The Coach House sleeps 16 people with room for a further 9 in the Smoke House, additional accommodation can be obtained locally