Remembering Longford's Jude Flynn, author, playwright, and historian

There was great sadness in Longford and surrounding areas as news that local author, playwright and historian, Jude Flynn of Aughadegnan, Longford town and formerly of Gortletteragh passed away on Monday, February 17.

The Chairperson of Longford Historical Society, Patrick Donnelly, gave a graveside oration to acknowledge the service Jude gave to the society, to Longford Tourism and the Genealogy Society and his legacy to the county through his 19 editions of Fireside Tales.

Born in the Leitrim townland of Drumgrania, the popular local historian contributed to the preservation of history, that of his adopted county and of his native parish of Gortletteragh.

Jude was a tireless cataloguer of stories of life in bygone times: “He was extraordinary,” Longford County Archivist, Martin Morris, told the Leader.

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“If you looked at the local history scene around Ireland, you wouldn't find another Jude Flynn anywhere because of the sheer volume of work that he did.

“He published 19 editions of Fireside Tales, all based on a collection of over 500 interviews he did with people over 40 years,” Martin said.

The diligence he applied to his discipline was unswerving: “A lot of people think about doing it, but Jude actually went out and did it. He went to three continents to interview people over the years.”

Jude's efforts to record times past brought him to Australia, the US and the UK: “Of course the vast majority were done here.

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“He preserved an oral history. This was people telling stories that were passed on, about things that wouldn't necessarily be recorded anywhere else. In some cases, he asked people about their lives, and about their own life stories. There was also folklore, the stories of fairies and ghosts.”

The local historian composed a picture of the past, not through the major events, but through the details of people's lives: “That oral history is very important and very fragile, because when the people go, the stories go with them.

“Jude was one of the first people in Longford to recognise that. He went out and recorded so many people. He made it his life's work, you could say, from the early 1980s onwards. I think 1981 is the first.”

Those recording's are part of the Longford archives: “We have his tape collection here. It's been digitised. From the first one in 1981 to the last one in around 2020.”

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Jude's passion brought him together with like minded history enthusiasts: “He was one of the founder members of Longford Historical Society and I think he was probably the last surviving founder member of that first meeting in 1967.”

Martin spoke of the interpersonal skills that made Judge a good interviewer: “He was very sharp, in the best sense of the word. He had great wit and was very on the ball, very clued in.

“He was good with people. That's one of the reasons he did interviews so well, because he could speak to people and get good stories out of them.”

Jude's interests extended beyond history: “He was involved in a range of organisations. He was on the Longford Tourism Committee for several years, serving as treasurer at one point.

“He was the founder of the Longford Genealogy Centre, going back to the late 80s. He was the key person in setting it up. He was also involved in the St Patrick's Day Parade Committee in Ballymahon.

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“During the centenary commemoration of the Drumlish Land War in 1981 Jude was one of the driving forces. He contributed to the Ballinamuck Centenary commemoration in 1998. He put so much energy into everything he did.”

All of Jude's work came second to his commitment to family: “He reared a young family. His wife died young and Jude raised three children. He had personal sadness. He looked after brothers who were ill, but he just did it all.”

Jude was synonymous with Longford Historical Society. The society owns a major collection of artefacts, archives and books, currently in storage.

It ran a museum in Main Street, Longford, 1991-1994, but it closed due to structural problems in the building, a project Jude hoped would be revived.

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“There are five applications under consideration at the moment,” Martin said, “That's the best chance we have for funding. There's nothing guaranteed, but there's a good application being put together and we were very hopeful.

“The Historical Society's collection will go into it. It would be the key component of the overall collection. We'll have to make sure Jude is remembered whenever we get a museum. We'll pay tribute to Jude for all the work he did.”

Over the years Jude was also very active in his home county. In 1958 he established a branch of Muintir na Tíre in the Gortletteragh, reviving crossroads dances and in 1959 organised a bonfire dance at Farnaught Cross.

He wrote two plays in the early 1960s: ‘Sunset in the Valley’ and ‘The Warning Light’ which gained him nationwide acclaim.

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In 1968 Jude was a founder member of the ‘Leitrim Guardian’ and has made many valuable contributions to it since. Jude wrote a book on Rev Peter Conefry (Prince of Cloone).

He was a constant contributor to many historical publications and penned an account of Fr Tom Conefry’s involvement in the Drumlish Land War for the centenary booklet in 1981.

Jude died peacefully at his home in Longford town on Monday, March 24, 2025.

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Jude was predeceased by his beloved wife Mary, parents Thomas and Emily, sister Úna, brothers Liam, Matt, Bart, Gerard and Fr Tom.

We offer our sympathies to his daughter Gráinne, sons Ciaran and Joe, sister Peggy, daughters-in-law Tina and Jean, son-in-law Ryan, grandchildren Emma, Tara, Daniel, Michael, Ruby, Amber and Donal, sisters-in-law, brothers-in-law, nieces, nephews, relatives and friends on their sad loss.

Following his Funeral Mass in St Mel's Cathedral celebrated by Fr James MacKiernan assisted by Fr John Quinn, Fr Brian Brennan, Fr Tom Murray and Fr Sean Casey, he was laid to rest in Gortletteragh.