St Mel's Cathedral

The Cathedral Church of St Mel is the cathedral church of the Diocese of Ardagh and Clonmacnois, located in the town Irish town of Longford. Built between 1840 and 1856, with the belfry and portico as later additions, it has been considered the "flagship cathedral" of the Irish midlands region, Longford's "landmark building" and "one of the finest Roman Catholic churches in Ireland".

The Cathedral is named in honour of St. Mel, who died around the year 487/488, a contemporary of St. Patrick, and first Bishop of Ardagh. The foundation stone of the Cathedral was laid on 19 May, 1840 by Bishop O’Higgins, just before the start of the Great Famine which was to cause so much misery and death over the following decade. The building as a result was delayed and the Cathedral did not open for worship until 1856.