Country Ireland Irish Grid Reference N256719 Population 2,339 (2016) Province Leinster | County County Longford Elevation 82 m Local time Saturday 9:22 AM | |
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Weather 11°C, Wind S at 5 km/h, 93% Humidity | ||
Edgeworthstown or Mostrim (Irish: Meathas Troim, meaning "frontier of the elder tree") 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.
Contents
Map of Edgeworthstown, Co. Longford, Ireland
Name
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. However, in 1974, a local government order reverted the name to Edgeworthstown. 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. 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.