This house alongside the royal canal Longford, predates the royal canal. Belonging to Lennon family for 5 generations. Was modernised to be habitable for todays living. Would have been thatched, and the ruin in shot, was a forge, where Mike Lennon the now tenant’s grandfather mended gates and all things metal for the local farmers. The current tenant who wishes to keep private his first name, if known please do not share, but yes he is a Lennon. He came back to Longford to look after a couple of aunts, Mary Anne and Nora, who lived to 101 and 103, and a third aunt who came back at that time called Brigid who passed away eleven years ago at 95years. Never suffers the cold with three foot stone walls. Mike his grandfather was a ganger on the royal canal, from Dublin to where we stood in Longford end of it. He remembered Mary Anne when she was the other side of the canal, would bang on the stone wall with a stone, creating a reverberated sound, that went all the way to the house to alert whoever there to send across the square boat via pole, so she could cross over. Some of ye eagle eye peoples would remember a bridge, not so long ago, that led across this part of canal to the house, was taking away by council for the road he has to the house, on the promise they can take away the bridge. Also was long iron boat barge, that was marooned there, was taken away, and left near canal close to Kilashee village and dumped on dry land beside it. Would have been used for wood coal along the running and working Royal Canal. The left side he told me belonged to Waterways Ireland, where just across from him was a dumping ground for the silt they originally lifted and dumped, when building the canal, the right side belonged to the farmers. It was the first house built and last one standing, that was formerly under the stewardship of a Cootes family from England, its now in townland called Gragh. Not far beyond that, heading back to Longford Town, the bridge nearby, his side of it in the field on the left would have been a working windmill, owned by the Shaw family. The other side of canal and beyond the fields leads to Stonepark, he mentioned the word ‘Stray’. As in the olden times, nothing to do with fairies, the field the other side of the canal to his was nicknamed ‘Stray’. Some people going home in a dark evening, looked out for a light for direction, thinking your walking in one direction, only to end up straying way off, hundreds of yards away from where you thought you were. A lot of people walk this part of canal locally, and you may have noticed the apple tree has been plentiful. He leaves a bowl at the gate, filling it three times daily, free for anyone to take away. As I moved on, he went back to mending a gate, not unlike his late grandfather Mike Lennon