Ardagh (Ardach)

A charming heritage village of stone cottages around a green.

Ardagh is a designed 19th-century estate village of neat stone houses around a triangular green, repeatedly named among Ireland's tidiest towns. It is linked to St Mel, an early companion of St Patrick.

At a glance

• Pretty 19th-century estate village
• Associated with St Mel
• Frequent Tidy Towns winner

In County Longford

Ardagh is in County Longford, An Longfort in Irish, which means “the fortress / encampment”.

More in Longford

• Lough Ree (Loch Rí): A great lake on the River Shannon, dotted with islands and bordering three counties.
• Lough Gowna (Loch Gamhna): A wooded, island-strewn lake and the source of the River Erne.

Other places of this kind

• The Cliffs of Moher (Aillte an Mhothair): Sea cliffs located at the southwestern edge of the Burren region.
• Newgrange (Sí an Bhrú): A prehistoric monument in County Meath, older than Stonehenge and the Pyramids.
• The Giant's Causeway (Clochán an Aifir): Around 40,000 interlocking basalt columns on the Antrim coast, a UNESCO site wrapped in the legend of Finn McCool.
• Glendalough (Gleann Dá Loch): A beautiful glacial valley of two lakes, home to one of Ireland's most important early monastic settlements.
• The Rock of Cashel (Carraig Phádraig): A dramatic outcrop crowned with medieval buildings, once the seat of the kings of Munster.
• Clonmacnoise (Cluain Mhic Nóis): A great early monastery on the banks of the Shannon, once a renowned centre of learning.

The Irish name

The Irish form of Ardagh is Ardach. You can hear it spoken, and take apart names like it, in the Placename Explorer. The authoritative record for any Irish place-name is logainm.ie.