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heritage · Sunday 23 August 2026 · 3:00pm 
Literary Stroll with Tea and Treats
At Maria Edgeworth Visitor Centre · Ballymahon Road, Edgeworthstown, Co. Longford
At Maria Edgeworth Visitor Centre · Ballymahon Road, Edgeworthstown, Co. Longford
Edgeworthstown’s literary past gets a walking tour of its own on Sunday, 23 August 2026, when the Maria Edgeworth Centre leads a guided stroll through the town before settling in for tea and cakes. The walk sets off from St Mary’s Church on the Dublin Road at 3pm and moves through the streets and buildings that shaped the town, tracing its links to Maria Edgeworth and the wider literary circle connected to the area. It falls during National Heritage Week and is aimed at regulars and first-time visitors alike.
The route follows the paths associated with Maria Edgeworth, the novelist whose family gave the town its name, along with passing references to Jane Austen, Oscar Wilde and Oliver Goldsmith, all of whom have some connection to the area’s literary heritage. A local guide points out landmarks along the way and tells the stories behind them as the group makes its way through the town centre over roughly ninety minutes. The walk finishes back at the Maria Edgeworth Visitor Centre, where participants are served tea, coffee and homemade treats while the guide answers questions and the group swaps impressions of what they have just seen. The pace is gentle and the tone conversational rather than formal, closer to a chat with a well-informed neighbour than a lecture, and there is plenty of time built in for photographs and questions along the route.
Edgeworthstown sits on the N4 between Longford town and Mullingar, about a fifteen minute drive from Longford. There is on-street parking near St Mary’s Church and around the town centre, and Bus Éireann services running along the N4 corridor stop in the town.
A walk through the town’s literary streets is a good excuse to see more of what Edgeworthstown has to offer beyond the tour itself, from its churches to its market square and the wider Edgeworth family story. There is more to explore in Edgeworthstown and across Co. Longford.
Heading to Maria Edgeworth Visitor Centre in Edgeworthstown? Longford has plenty more to see. Read the Edgeworthstown area guide, find what else is on, and explore the towns and villages nearby.