Live-in Care in Longford
Fully managed live-in care across Longford from Garda-vetted, experienced and insured carers — with someone in place within a few days.
Care usually starts within days, with no HSE assessment queue
Garda-vetted carers, employed and insured by us
One primary carer, with a familiar backup
4.8/5 on Google and 5/5 on Bark
What happens next
We call you back
Someone from our care team rings you to talk through what’s needed and answer your questions.
A short conversation
Which days and hours would help, what has got harder at home, and anything we should know about your loved one.
We match a carer
Garda-vetted, employed and insured by us. Care usually starts within days, sometimes sooner.
Two ways to arrange live-in care
Flex
A carer lives in the home and provides your agreed active care hours through the day, plus the reassurance of a carer resting in the home overnight.
Constant
A small team of carers provides cover around the clock, so someone is awake and on hand day and night. It suits higher-dependency needs.
What do our live-in carers help with?
Everyday support that keeps life at home going.
Medication
Housekeeping
Overnight Help
Personal care
Meal Prep
Companionship
How live-in care works in Longford
Distance is often the difficulty in Longford, and a carer who shares your loved one's home takes it out of the equation. In the drumlin hills around Drumlish and Ballinamuck, or on the lanes running down to Lough Gowna near Aughnacliffe, the help is already in the kitchen at breakfast and still there at bedtime.
At the 2022 census, 781 people in County Longford were aged 85 or older. Families often raise live-in care at that stage of life, after a fall or a spell in hospital, or once memory loss begins to unsettle the evenings.
One primary carer looks after your loved one. When they take time off, a second carer your loved one already recognises steps in. The carer's day includes help in the bathroom and with dressing, cooking and clearing up, and reminders about medication at the right times. Insulin, injections and wound dressings are outside the carer's role. Anything outside those limits is a conversation to have with your care manager.
Every live-in carer we send is Garda-vetted and trained as a healthcare assistant, is on the UIH payroll and is covered by our insurance. If your loved one has a dog to walk, a turf range to keep going or a favourite chair by the window, mention it. Details like these help the care team plan a placement that fits the house as it already runs.
Live-in care across Longford
We can place live-in carers in homes anywhere in County Longford, and the arrangement often suits houses a fair distance from a town. That takes in farms around Ballinamuck and Killoe, Abbeylara by Lough Kinale and the lakeshore townlands by Aughnacliffe. It can suit households in Longford town and Edgeworthstown too, once short visits no longer cover the day. Every placement begins with a chat about the house, the room set aside for the carer and the rhythm of your loved one's day.
Towns and areas we cover
Longford town
Ballymahon
Granard
Lanesborough
Edgeworthstown
Drumlish
HSE health region
HSE Dublin and Midlands
Main hospital
Regional Hospital Mullingar
Also nearby
Cavan Monaghan General Hospital, Cavan town · Roscommon University Hospital, Roscommon town
GP out of hours
MIDOC
Growing older at home in Longford
Small and low-lying, Longford sits in the heart of the midlands. The Shannon forms its whole western boundary with Roscommon, passing Lough Forbes before it opens into Lough Ree, where Longford, Westmeath and Roscommon meet. Lough Gowna and Lough Kinale lie on the Cavan border. In the north the ground rises through drumlins to Carn Clonhugh, the hill with the television mast. The south is flatter, with broad raised bogs and the Royal Canal, which ends at the Shannon in Cloondara.
Census 2022 counted 46,751 people in the county, and only 10,952 of them lived in Longford town. Edgeworthstown, with 2,199, came next, followed by Lanesborough-Ballyleague, Ballymahon, Drumlish and Granard. Put every town the CSO lists in the county together and they still hold fewer than half its people, so most households are in the countryside or in small villages.
The older population is growing. In 2022 the county had 7,332 residents aged 65 or older, up from 5,824 in 2016. They made up 15.7% of Longford's population, a little above the national figure of 15.1%.
For care at home, that spread of houses matters. A carer heading for the hills above Drumlish or the bog roads near Keenagh spends longer on the road than one calling in Longford town. Hospital care means leaving the county too, because the HSE lists no acute hospital within Longford.
Sources: HSE, CSO, Longford County Council, Transport for Ireland, TFI Local Link, Citizens Information, Alzheimer Society of Ireland, Family Carers Ireland, ALONE. Checked 23 October 2026.
Local support in Longford alongside private care
These local contacts are worth keeping to hand alongside private care. They are separate from UIH, and numbers, hours and meeting days can change, so check with each one before you rely on it.
- HSE Home Support Office, Longford deals with the public Home Support Service from Unit 20, Daingean Hall, N4 Axis Centre, Battery Road (043 333 9780).
- Alzheimer Society of Ireland has a dementia day care centre at St Joseph's Hospital on the Dublin Road. The Longford Alzheimer Café meets at No. 2 Earl Street on the last Wednesday of each month, and the Sweet Memories Dementia Choir gathers at Slashers GAA Club. Helpline 1800 341 341.
- Longford Citizens Information Centre is on Level 1 of Longford Shopping Centre, above Tesco (0818 07 5890).
- TFI Local Link Longford Westmeath Roscommon runs rural bus services across the three counties from Governor's House in Mullingar (044 934 0801).
- Family Carers Ireland supports Longford carers from Harbour House, Harbour Street, Mullingar (044 934 7922).
- Age Friendly Longford, led by Longford County Council, is one of 31 local Age Friendly programmes.
- ALONE includes the county in its Longford and Central Westmeath area. Its national support line is 0818 222 024, open 8am to 8pm daily.
Setting up care after a hospital discharge in Longford
Coming home from Regional Hospital Mullingar or Cavan Monaghan General Hospital is often the moment a family sees that visits alone will not be enough. Where the timing allows, a live-in carer can be settled in the house for your loved one's first night back, helping them ease into familiar surroundings and habits. Care usually starts within days, sometimes sooner. Give us a ring once the ward mentions a likely date for going home, and we will plan towards it.
Why families choose United Irish Healthcare
We employ, vet and insure every carer, and we arrange cover ourselves when your carer takes leave. Care usually starts within days, sometimes sooner, and your loved one has one primary carer with a familiar backup.
Why Longford families choose us
North Longford rises through drumlins towards Carn Clonhugh, and for a home in those hills above Drumlish, live-in care means help is already in the house when the day starts.
A primary carer settles into the house and learns how your loved one likes things done, while a familiar backup covers days off on a farm outside Granard.
What families say
United Irish Healthcare have been beyond any of my expectations. UIH had us sorted in a matter of hours. I cannot thank Daniel, Olivia and Jean enough — highly recommend.
Doireann Kate Gough
We use UIH for night care for our Mam. The staff have been fantastic — it is very personal and she is comfortable with her carers.
Orla Daly
For the last 8 months Mum has had two very kind carers fulfilling her wish to stay in her own home. The peace of mind is well worth it.
Verified Google review
Frequently Asked Questions
Is there a setup or placement fee?
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Yes. A one-time placement fee covers the work of assigning your carer and setting up the placement. Your care manager includes it in your quote, and a replacement carer never costs extra.
Can I decide which days and hours the carer works?
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Yes, you can specify the days and hours in accordance with your package. The number of days is flexible; a 24/7 package means a carer is available every day of the week.
Will I have the same carer consistently?
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Yes. You will have a designated primary carer, available except when on leave, on holiday, or unwell — when a reliable secondary carer familiar to the family and client steps in.
Does the carer have to live in the home full time?
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No. Our carers have their own homes and may return to them when they are off duty.
Questions about live-in care in Longford
My loved one lives on a farm outside Drumlish and won't hear of moving. Could live-in care work there?
Very often it can. A carer who lives in has no daily drive to make, so a remote farm is as workable as a house in town, and your loved one stays with the kitchen, the fire and the neighbours they know. Before anything is arranged, we will want to hear about the spare room and the lane up to the house.
My loved one has dementia and goes to the Alzheimer Society day centre at St Joseph's in Longford. Would live-in care fit around that?
It can. The same primary carer is in the house most days, and a familiar stand-in covers the days off, so home stays predictable while the day centre remains part of the week. The Alzheimer Society accepts referrals to its day care once a GP or consultant has confirmed the dementia diagnosis, and we can plan the days at home around the days at the centre.
Is there a hospital in County Longford itself, and can you help when my loved one comes home from one further away?
The HSE's hospital list shows no acute hospital inside the county. Regional Hospital Mullingar, on the Longford Road in Mullingar, is in the same HSE Dublin and Midlands region and has an emergency department open to all ages. Cavan Monaghan General Hospital in Cavan town also has an emergency department. For minor injuries in anyone aged five or over, the Injury Unit at Roscommon University Hospital is listed as open from 8am to 8pm daily, though hours can change, so check hse.ie before travelling. We can help arrange care at home after a stay or visit at any of them.
Lanesborough and Ballyleague face each other across the Shannon. Do you cover both sides, and the villages near Lough Ree?
Yes. United Irish Healthcare arranges care in all 26 counties, so Lanesborough is covered, and so is Ballyleague on the Roscommon bank, along with Newtowncashel and the other villages on the Lough Ree shore. Before anything starts, we will ask for clear directions to the house and talk about which type of care makes sense for how far out it is.
Which GP service covers Longford after hours?
Longford has an out-of-hours GP service, but the company running it in the midlands has changed in recent years, so check the current name and phone number on hse.ie or your GP's out-of-hours message. Its Longford treatment centre is on the St Joseph's Hospital campus on the Dublin Road. Weeknight cover runs from 6pm until 8am, and the service is open for the full 24 hours on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays. The service does not take walk-ins, so ring for an appointment before setting out, and in an emergency dial 999 or 112.
Up to 40%
home-carer tax relief at your marginal rate
Relief is claimed on Form HK1 at your marginal rate. Always check your position with Revenue.
Other care we arrange in Longford
Live-in Care in nearby counties
Live-in Care in Leitrim · Live-in Care in Roscommon · Live-in Care in Westmeath · Live-in Care in Cavan
