Louth
Towns & Villages Louth
Towns & Villages
| Ardee
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Dromiskin |
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Castlebellingham |
Dundalk
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Carlingford |
Dunleer |
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Clogherhead |
Louth Village |
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Collon |
Omeath |
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Drogheda |
Termonfeckin |
Carlingford - click here for www.carlingford.ie ( accomodation, restaurants, activities)
A visit to Carlingford Heritage Village is a must during your visit to County Louth. You can cruise Carlingford Lough, take in a round of golf, spend a few hours fishing, a two-hour hike up the mountain will reward you with spectacular views - if you have still any energy left you can book an adventure course at the activity centre. After all that activity, wind down in any one of the fine restaurants in the village - many of them have won awards.
Since it first won the National Tidy Towns competition in 1988 the local community have embarked on an extensive scheme for the preservation and development of the medieval character of the town while at the same time providing the visitor with all the modern conveniences including hotel and guesthouse accommodation, an adventure centre, a yachting marina, periodic festivals and cruises around Carlingford Lough in the summer season.
Carlingford prospered throughout the 15th and 16th centuries but with the growth of the nearby town of Newry its importance has steadily declined hastened by the early 18th century. Newry Ship canal which enabled ships to by-pass the port in their journeys up the lough to Newry. A modern benefit of this has been the preservation of the medieval character of the place which is now one of the Heritage Towns of Ireland.
Leaving Carlingford via the road to Newry, the Omeath district is entered at the townland of Ballyonan, stretching thence along the Lough shore to Cornamucklagh and ranging back from the shore along the northern slopes of Sliabh Foy (1,935 feet) to the Long Womans Grave and the northern slopes of Carnwaddy, Clermont, and the Flagstaff Hill standing high above Narrowwater on the west. This area and it's counterpart kingdom of Mourne on the north shore was almost certainly the site of the Viking settlement in Carlingford from whom it gets its name Carlinn Fjord. Later re-taken by the Irish the lands were re-apportioned, the northern side to the Mughdorna (Mourne) and the southern side to the Ui Meith (Omeath) both of the O' Carrall kingdom of the Oirghialla. Well served by a good road system the district can be accessed by car, cycle or on foot and provides panoramic views of Carlingford Lough, the volcanic ring dyke of Sliabh Foy and the mountains of Mourne across the Lough in County Down. Omeath was the last native Irish speaking district of north Leinster where an Irish School was maintained in the earliest part of the present century in what is now the Park Hotel before it was moved to Rannafast in County Donegal. In addition to the Tain Holiday village with its expensive leisure facilities and caravan park the village itself and its surrounding area are well supplied with hotel and guest houses and other catering facilities including pony and trap rides from Omeath.
Dundalk, a busy manufacturing centre at the head of Dundalk Bay, is the county town of Louth. Dundalk racecourse is 1 1/2 miles (2 km) to the north. There is greyhound racing twice weekly. Salmon and trout fishing is available on the River Fane and other streams, and there is golf (18) at Blackrock, horse-riding instruction and pony-trekking. Louth Foxhounds and Dundalk Harriers hunt the district. Tennis, squash, dancing, cinemas and other entertainments are available. An international theatre festival takes place every year. The forest park at Ravensdale has walks and nature trails.
Though now only a cluster of houses, it was once important enough to give its name to the county. St Patrick is said to have built the original church here and to have appointed St Mochta first Bishop of Louth . St Mochta 's House, beside the village, is a small building dating probably from the twelfth century. It is in excellent preservation and has a high-pitched roof of stone. The lower storey is vaulted and the upper is reached by a stairway built into one of the walls. Also beside the villages St Mary's Abbey. Built long before Anglo Norman times, it was reconditioned in 1148 by Donough O'Carroll, the Prince of Oriel, who also endowed Mellifont. In 1242 an important synod was held here. The abbey was destroyed by fire in 1312 but rebuilt. The ruins (probably 14th century) are of a large church about 150 feet by 50 feet.
Dunleer is the principal town in the barony of Ferrad and was formerly a municipal corporation of seventeenth century foundation. It is the site of the early Irish monastery of Lann Leire or Church of Leire the Lann being derived from the Welsh Llan suggesting a Britonic origin.
Two miles north of Castlebellingham, this was an important ecclesiastical centre from the time of St Patrick. It was a residence of the archbishops of Armagh during the 14th century, one of whom Milo Sweetman died here in 1380. The early monastic foundation was frequently plundered by the Danes of Annagassan and was eventually abandoned, the monks taking refuge in St. Mochta's of Louth. The remains of a round tower still survive from this period, standing in the churchyard of the Church of Ireland Parish Church, the site of the early monastery. Here also will be found the remains of a ringed-cross in the Celtic style and a carved spiral pillar of ninth/tenth century origin, part of the old church doorway. A mile north west of the village stands the 15th century tower house of the Gernons of Milltown.
Formerly Gernonstown this manorial village is situated seven miles south of Dundalk on the N1 roadway. Largely the construction of the Bellingham family descendants of a captain in Cromwell's army who received a grant of the confiscated lands of the Gernons of Gernonstown in the 1650's. The castle was situated on the site of the present Bellingham Castle Hotel, a building of early 18th century construction, formerly the home of the Bellinghams and substantially remodelled at the end of that century. Later remodelling include the towers turrets and entrance gateway. The river Glyde can be accessed from the grounds of the hotel. The village includes a group of Widow's Almshouses, cottages and other dwelling houses constructed by the Bellingham family probably to the design of William Vitruvius Morrison, while the roadside crucifix was fashioned from a royal oak blown down in 1902.
Ardee which is the capital town of the rich tillage countryside of mid-Louth takes its name from the Irish, Ard Fhirdia, the ford on the river Dee where Cuchulainn fought and killed his friend Ferdia in the course of the Tain Bo Cuailgne. The foundation of the town is attributed to the Norman knight Gilbert de Pippard, from whom the Pepper families descend, who obtained a grant of the barony of Ardee from Prince John in 1185 and who was responsible for the construction of the motte-castle on the eastern side of the town known today as Castleguard. The town walls date from the late fourteenth and early fifteenth centuries, but only fragments now remain.
Situated along the coast north of Drogheda, this is an important fishing village with Port Oriel a harbour and pier constructed in 1885. Southwards from the harbour it is possible to walk along the rocky cliffs of the headland. Half a mile south of the village stands Glaspistol Castle, a 16th century tower house built by the Dowdalls.
Formerly the seat and castle of the medieval and later Protestant primates of Armagh until 1656, this was the site of an early Irish monastery dedicated to St. Feckin, only the high cross of which now stands in St. Feckin's churchyard within which is listed the Church of Ireland parish church to a design by Francis Johnston and built in 1792. At the south end of the village is the Roman Catholic Church of the Immaculate Conception designed by William Hague and erected in 1883. Termonfeckin Castle is a 15th century tower house associated with the Brabazon family
The ancient and historic town of Drogheda is situated on the River Boyne, which at this point seperates the counties of Louth and Meath. It is an important industrial centre. Although 4 miles (6 km) from the coast, Drogheda is also a notable port with a fine harbour formed by the estuary of the River Boyne. Home to Oliver Plunkett's head and one of Ireland's finest Samba bands. A bustling town full of young people yet rich in ancient history.
Collon is now the remains of a manorial village of the Foster family nearby Oriel Temple now the Cistercian Abbey of New Mellifont where visitors are welcome during the daylight hours. Originally the home of chief baron Foster who settled his demesne here in the 1750's, his son John who succeeded him was the celebrated speaker of the Irish house of Commons until its closure under the act of Union of 1801. The village architecture is of the late 18th century and consists of two rows of two storey estate houses with a grassy market place in the upper end. On the north-eastern corner of the crossroads stands Collon House built c1740 by the chief baron Anthony Foster with a later 18th century addition.