INTERVIEW | Keeping the ‘Mother of the Novel’ alive through volunteering

Matt Farrell has been involved in the preservation of Maria Edgeworth's legacy and putting Edgeworthstown on the map. Volunteering at the Maria Edgeworth Centre, he has helped keep her name relevant, as well as giving tours around the town of historical significance. Outside of Maria Edgeworth’s legacy, Matt has invested a lot of time in positive developments to Edgeworthstown, providing amenities, such as a recreational park, a library and childcare facilities. He was Ireland’s Heritage Hero in 2016. This was an award from the Heritage Council.

Matt attended St Mel's College, Longford, for 5 years, with friends he meets annually 60 years on. After his Leaving Certificate, Matt went on to live in Dublin for 10 years, before returning to Edgeworthstown when the company he worked for, Paul Vincent, opened a new mill there and needed a new administrator. He worked there for 37 years. Matt was also elected during Covid as the president of the Longford Golf Course.

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Where in Longford are you from?
I was born in Edgeworthstown. I grew up in a typical, rural shop in the 50s and 60s called the Tea House. I was one of 5 and grew up in an Ireland that was a different place. My father ran the shop and unfortunately my mother died when she was 48-years of age. My father acted as an unofficial counsellor to his many customers. He listened and tried to help whenever he could. It was an unusual time. I recall writing official letters on behalf of customers who would not have been able to write themselves. That’s where it all began, my involvement in the community.

What inspired you to archive the life of Maria Edgeworth?
I suppose on two counts. One, if Maria Edgeworth was in Kerry or Dublin, we’d be reading about her everyday. She would be featured on the airwaves, including RTÉ. Her legacy would be used to generate tourism, . Secondly, because she was such a pioneering and influential person, I felt the family and herself should be celebrated. This year, the Centre will probably have 3,000 visitors. Most of those are from abroad. Most of them are researching the centre before they come so they know what they’re coming to. We’re reaching out. We’ve visitors from Asia, Americas, Europeans and we hope to develop that over the years. I believe that Edgeworthstown can become a destination town on a level with locations associated with famous historical figures such as Jane Austen, William Wordsworth, Walter Scott and the Brontë sisters. These locations attract over 50,000 visitors a year.

Have there been any difficulties in the development of the centre?
If I’m being honest, there are challenges in promoting an Anglo-Irish writer in Ireland. People would consider her to be English and of the landlord class. She considered herself Irish. If you’re genuinely interested, you have to look beyond that. Maria Edgeworth was born into that class, she didn’t choose it. She came from a modest beginning. They took their responsibilities as landlords seriously and reformed the landlord system, particularly in Longford. That was one of the challenges. Sometimes, you feel you’re on a difficult course in promoting an Anglo-Irish writer. That’s changed. We’ve changed people’s attitudes towards the contribution the family made, especially to education and literature. One of the projects we’re working on at the moment is promoting her novel ‘Belinda’, Maria Edgeworth’s first romantic novel, which will celebrate 225 years next year.

There is already a lecture on 'Belinda' in Trinity College planned. The talk will be given by Professor James Chandler from Chicago University. We are planning for a number of other events. 'Belinda' was published 11 years before Jane Austen’s romantic novels were published. It was a remarkably controversial novel for the time. It addressed issues such as breast cancer, same sex relationships, cross-dressing, gambling addiction. A number of social issues that few writers would do at the time. She was brave to tackle issues.

What can visitors expect on a visit to Edgeworthstown?

We have two attractions, the stand-alone museum which is housed in what is believed to be the last remaining schoolhouse of its kind in Ireland, built in 1840. The museum houses a remarkable collection of memorabilia, artifacts, manuscripts, paintings, books and letters. We also take visitors on a tour of the town: St Mary’s Church with its Harry Clarke stained glass windows; the manor which was the former home of the Edgeworths with its working walled garden; St John’s church and graveyard where Maria Edgeworth is interred. Isola Wilde, sister to Oscar Wilde, is also interred here. Visitors can also visit the new library. The town also has strong connections with Oliver Goldsmith. He received his classical education in Edgeworthstown before going to Trinity College.

How did you start getting involved in the community?
My late twenties, there was a local development group Edgeworthstown & District Development Company in the town and I was asked if I could get involved. I stayed involved for over forty years. We were trying to do projects to enhance the town. For various reasons we were not making a lot of progress. In the mid 90s, Fás gave funding towards community groups to put strategic plans together. We prepared a small, medium, long-term plan for Edgeworthstown.

What has been the greatest achievement that you’ve ever had?
When I walk along the Main Street and see the library, I think it’s a wonderful library, with wonderful people working in it. It was a long-term ambition in the 1960s when life was very different, to have a fine library in the town. The second is when I welcome people to Edgeworthstown, to see their amazement at the history and heritage associated with the town. When people say they want to visit the place that inspired the ‘Mother of the Novel’ the first feminist and a social reformer. When I walk through the town and see people walking the park, that was all put together by very hard work, sacrifices made. I suppose I wouldn’t have been able to give it the time if I didn’t have the support of my family. Yeah, it’s very rewarding now. We have one of the finest parks here. We didn’t envisage how Edgeworthstown would change so much.

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Do you have any advice for any Longford individual who may want to become a historian or archivist?
We’re always open to volunteers. We’ve had some wonderful volunteers recently. We’ve a major programme called the MSPI programme, sponsored by the Heritage Council of Ireland. It’ll probably take 4-5 years for full accreditation. When we get that, we’ll be on the same level as the National Museum in Ireland, The Museum of Modern Art and other major National Institutions. We need people to work on that. For any young student, the process we’re going through would give them a great opportunity as archivists or museum curators. We’ve reached out to a few universities and they have plans to place students in our Centre for work experience.

Can I take this opportunity to thank all those volunteers who gave so generously of their time to bring all these projects in Edgeworthstown to fruition. Small communities very much need volunteering to survive and develop and we in Edgeworthstown are blessed with the level of volunteering.