Longford Yearbook 2025 on sale this week - relive the highs and lows of a remarkable year

The Longford Yearbook 2025 is on sale throughout the county this week.

Published by the Longford Leader / Longford Live, the Longford Yearbook 2025, which would make the ideal Christmas stocking filler, looks back on a year of remarkable events, achievements, and unforgettable moments across the county.

One of the biggest moments of the year was the incredible performance of Cian McPhillips in the World Championships 800m Final in Tokyo on Saturday, September 20, as he agonisingly finished outside the medals.

En-route to finishing 4th place in the fastest ever 800m final at a World Championships, Cian set a blistering new Irish record of 1:42:15. It was a stunning debut World Championships and the Ardagh man certainly lifted the spirits of his county and country. 

The year roared in like a lion as Storm Éowyn wreaked devastation but in the face of adversity Longford’s community spirit shone as people rallied to support those badly impacted by prolonged power cuts and water outages.

Longford Lights cemented itself as one of the high points of Longford's arts calendar with four days of extraordinary entertainment during February  and later on in the year we had Culture Night and the amazing Home of Halloween initiative, including the brilliant Fire and Shadows Procession.  

The sudden death of Shane Lawlor (44), from Drumlish 'sparked a fire' within his family to appeal for AEDs (defibrillators) to be regularly maintained and checked in communities across the country. Shane suffered a cardiac arrest while out for a run with his wife and the heartbroken Lawlor family began campaigning to encourage local authorities and organisations to implement regular checks and maintenance schedules for all public and privately owned defibrillators.

The county celebrated rural life impressively with the Ploughing Championships, Longford and Granard Agricultural Shows attracting thousands of people.

While 2025 also saw Carmel Browne’s term as INTO President come to an end, the immensely talented Shaunagh Connaire launched her short film ‘Brown Bread’ to much acclaim and Longford Slashers All-Ireland intermediate club championship medal winner Clare Farrell, the lead performance nutritionist with Arne Slot's Liverpool FC played a huge role in the Merseysiders getting their hands on the Premier League Trophy.

Longford Leader Managing Editor Alan Walsh said, "The stories in the Longford Yearbook 2025 show how vibrant and thriving communities across Longford are and the many fantastic events we have on our doorstep."

He concluded, "As we prepare to bid farewell to 2025 and look ahead to what the New Year will bring, I hope you enjoy the Longford Yearbook and I thank our advertisers and readers for your continued support of The Longford Leader and LongfordLive.ie. Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year."