Seamus Kenny: a visionary icon of Longford tourism

Long before Center Parcs pushed Longford into the limelight of Ireland's tourism offerings one man ploughed a furrow in soil that others failed to see as fertile. Decades ago the task of stirring up interest O'Farrell county tourism was driven by the late Seamus Kenny.

At the time Seamus was the manager of Ardagh's Heritage Centre and was at the heart of the town's efforts to create a new image of Longford. Ardagh galloped up the Tidy Towns ranking and was even named Europe's top environmental town. Seamus and his crew of volunteers capitalised on the beauty of Ardagh to make it a must visit location. Ardagh is one of the few examples of an estate village in Ireland, built by the Fetherston landlords in the 1820s, a naturally picturesque Tudor Gothic village which owed its inception to Lady Fetherston.

Three times Seamus accepted the overall award on behalf of his village, the third time stating that he hoped the win would play its part in ending County Longford's reign as “the Cinderella of the counties” when it came to tourism.

Pat Kelleher, of the EDI Centre Longford spoke of the effort Seamus made to secure seven Most Tidy Village awards: “He was one of the first to realise the potential of tourism in the county. Seamus was a visionary, he really worked to promote what Longford had to offer on the tourism front.”
Pat says Seamus's personal qualities were at the core of the success in the Tidy Town's competition: “He was highly intelligent, articulate and very artistic.”

The Ardagh man had a knack at putting words into action: “He knew how to get things done. When the council saw the dividend of what Seamus was doing they quickly got behind him. He worked very well with Pat Farrell and they achieved quite a lot. They were instrumental in the three overall Tidy Town award wins for Ardagh.”

“They built it from a low base. They were great at getting people from the community involved. They also attracted big names to Ardagh. They brought three presidents at various stages; Paddy Hillery, Mary Robinson and Mary McAleese all visited the village. There was a very memorable visit from Taoiseach of the time Charlie Haughey, who planted a tree in the park in Ardagh.”

Seamus saw the value of bringing people to Longford: “He brought groups to the county. He got in touch with Historical Societies and other Tidy Towns groups. “Seamus put a lot of work into developing the community centre. He was a trustee of the centre up to the time he died. He was the one who brought Horslips to Ardagh in the 1970s.”

Seamus was also to the fore when the village scooped a silver in the prestigious Entente Florale European Competition.

On Tuesday, January 3, Seamus passed away peacefully, at the Regional Hospital, Tullamore. He was predeceased by his mother Bridget, his father Bernard, his sister Bridie and his sister-in-law Doreen. His is dearly missed by his brother Barney, his niece Eimear, his nephews; Bryan, Eoin, James and Emmet, their wives and partners, cousins, neighbours, relatives and many friends.