What is recorded here

Longford Castle belonged to the O'Dowd's before English builders took the site, yet Duald MacFirbis claimed they finished every wall except the bed of the yellow steed. That missing chamber may have been a joke, a warning or a boundary the invaders refused to cross. The castle is gone now, leaving only a rectangular grass platform edged by a low scarp in the pasture beside Longford House. Ivy still hides a fragment of masonry at the south-east corner, waiting for someone to remember what the yellow steed rode through.

Situated in level pasture in the demense lands of Longford House. O'Rorke (1890, 116-8) recorded that Longford was one of the chief seats of the O'Dowd's and that the Genealogical Ms. of Duald MacFirbis chronicled that the English erected 'all the bawn of Longford, except Leaba an eich bhuidhe' i.e. the bed of the yellow steed.' The castle has been removed. Its site is marked by a large rectangular platform (c. 38m N-S; c.33m E-W) defined by a scarp (H 1.5-2.3m). The only masonry identifiable is at the SE corner beneath a thick covering of ivy. The platform is now utilised as a landscape feature. Compiled by: Patrick F. O'Donovan Date of upload: 19 January 2011

The site of Longford Castle was a chief seat of the O'Dowd family, an influential Gaelic clan in medieval Ireland, and is recorded in the Genealogical Manuscript of Duald MacFirbis. It is remembered for its historical association with the O'Dowds and its role in the regional power structure of the area prior to the Norman arrival.

This remains an important historical record, but the official description says the monument is no longer visible or has been destroyed. The monument record does not grant public access. Check the route and ask the landowner before entering private land.