County Louth

History

County Louth is named after the village of Louth, which in turn is named after Lugh, a god of the ancient Irish. Historically, the placename has had various spellings; Lugmad, Lughmhaigh, and Lughmhadh (see Historic Names List, for full listing). Lú is the modern simplified spelling.

The county is steeped in myth, legend and history, and is the setting of some of the Táin Bó Cúailnge epic. Later it saw the influence of the Vikings, as seen in the name of Carlingford Lough. They also established a longphort at Annagassan in the ninth century. At this time Louth consisted of three sub-kingdoms, each subject to separate over-kingdoms: Conaille (Ulaidh); Fir Rois (Airgialla); and, the Fir Arda Ciannachta (Midhe). The whole area became part of the O'Carroll Kingdom of Airgíalla (Oriel) early in the 12th century under Donnchad Ua Cerbaill. At the same time, the area was removed from the diocese of Armagh and the episcopal see of the Diocese of Airgíalla or Clogher was transferred to Louth c. 1130–1190.

A number of historic sites are in the county, including religious sites at Monasterboice, Mellifont Abbey and the St Mary Magdalene Dominican Friary.

The Normans occupied the Louth area in the 1180s, forming the County of Oriel (Uriel or Vriell) out of the O'Carroll kingdom. At this time the western boundary of occupation was unfixed and Monaghan was still considered part of Oriel. However, over time, Louth became differentiated as 'English' Oriel, to distinguish it from the remainder ('Irish' Oriel), outside the control of the Norman colony, which had passed into the hands of the McMahon lordship of Airgíalla.

In the early 14th century Edward Bruce made claim to the High Kingship of Ireland and led an expeditionary force to Ireland. The Scottish army was repulsed from Drogheda but laid waste to much of the Anglo-Norman colony of Ireland including Ardee and Dundalk. Edward was crowned on the hill of Maledon near Dundalk on 2 May 1316. His army was finally defeated and Edward was killed in the Battle of Faughart near Dundalk, by a chiefly local force led by John de Bermingham. He was created 1st Earl of Louth and granted estates at Ardee on 12 May 1319 as a reward for his services to the Crown in defeating the Scots. De Bermingham was subsequently killed in the Braganstown massacre on 13 June 1329 along with some 200 members of his family and household, in a feud between the Anglo-Irish families of Louth.

Geography

Louth, colloquially known as "The Wee County", is the smallest of Ireland's 32 counties by area, at 826km2. It is the 17th most populous county, making it the fourth most densely populated county on the island of Ireland. It is the smallest of Leinster's 12 counties in size and the 6th-largest by population. Louth is bordered by four counties – Meath to the south, Monaghan to the west, Armagh to the north, and Down to the northeast. It bounded to the east by the Irish Sea. Dundalk is the county town and is located approximately 80 km (50 mi) from Belfast and 85 km (53 mi) from Dublin. Louth is also the northernmost county in Leinster, and the only county in the province to share a border with Northern Ireland.

Climate

Louth has a temperate oceanic climate (Köppen climate classification Cfb), with cool humid summers and mild winters, strongly influenced by Atlantic ocean currents. Coastal areas generally experience milder winters and cooler, windier summers than inland areas. Daytime highs are generally in the 18–23 °C (64–73 °F) range throughout the county in July, with overnight lows in the 10–14 °C (50–57 °F) range. January and February are the coldest months, with average daily minimum temperatures typically falling below 2 °C (36 °F).

Met Éireann records climate data for the county from their station at Boharnamoe, ca. 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) from Ardee, in the southwest of the county. The county's record high temperature is 30.9 °C (87.6 °F), set on 12 July 1983. The coldest temperature ever recorded in Louth was on 1 January 1979, when the temperature at Ardee fell to −15.2 °C (4.6 °F). Due to the moderating influence of the Irish sea, the temperature at Ardee has only surpassed 30 °C (86 °F) once since records began in 1968. Prolonged or heavy snow is rare, but most of the county will typically experience snowfall on a few days per year.

Precipitation is evenly distributed year-round, with only about 30 mm (1.2 in) of rainfall separating the wettest months (October and November) from the driest months (March and April). There are a number of synoptic weather stations which solely record rainfall located throughout the county. The driest areas are located along the coast, with average annual rainfall at Clogherhead being 735 mm (28.9 in), making it one of the driest locations on the island of Ireland. The wettest areas of the county are located around the Cooley Mountains, with the stations at Omeath (1,118 mm (44.0 in)) and Glenmore (1,203 mm (47.4 in)) recording the most rainfall in the county.

The coastal areas of the county are particularly vulnerable to flooding and storm surges during the Winter months, and significant flood defences have been constructed along Dundalk Bay. Louth County Council's Climate Change Adaptation Strategy identified coastal and riverine flooding as the primary environmental risks to the county.

Demographics

Population

According to the Central Statistics Office, 139,703 people lived in County Louth as of the 2022 census, a 7.9% increase since the 2016 census. The population density of the county is 169.1 people per square kilometre, more than double the national average, which makes Louth the second most densely populated county in the Republic of Ireland, and the fourth most densely populated county on the island of Ireland. As of 2022, Louth was also the second most urbanised county in the State, with 69.7% of the county's population living within urban areas. Under Central Statistics Office (CSO) classification, an "urban area" is a town with a population greater than 1,500. As a result, much of the county outside of the larger towns is relatively sparsely populated, with most small areas (SAs) having a population density of between 20 and 50 people per km2.

The county has two dominant population centres, Dundalk, located in the north of the county, and Drogheda, located in the south on the border with County Meath. These two towns combined comprise approximately 58.9% of the county's total population, and are the 6th- and 7th-largest urban areas in Ireland respectively. Overall, Drogheda is the larger of the two.

Louth has experienced a rapid rate of population growth since the 1960s, nearly doubling in size in the fifty years between the census of 1966 and that of 2016. Its rate of growth (7.9%) since the 2016 census ranks 13th of 26 counties. The sizeable population growth in the county is influenced by its location along the Dublin–Belfast corridor; with the completion of the M1 motorway in particular driving the growth of Drogheda as a commuter town of Dublin. However, the northern areas of the county along the border with Northern Ireland have experienced a slight decline since 2011.

In 2016, Louth surpassed its pre-famine (1841 Census) population, becoming one of only five counties in the State to do so. As of the 2022 census, 5.9 per cent of the county's population was reported as younger than 5 years old, 28.1 per cent were between 5 and 25, 51.8 per cent were between 25 and 65, and 14.2 per cent of the population was older than 65. Of this latter group, 4,591 people (3.3 per cent) were over the age of 80. The population was evenly split between females (50.68 per cent) and males (49.32 per cent).

In 2021, there were 1,677 births within the county, and the average age of a first time mother was 30.5.

Urban areas

The most populous towns in Louth as of the 2022 census were (population in parentheses):

Ethnicity and migration

As of the 2022 census, the population of County Louth was 85.9% white. Those who identified as White Irish constituted 76.7% of the county's population, and Irish Travellers comprised a further 0.7%. Other white people who did not consider themselves ethnically Irish accounted for 8.5% of the population.

The second largest ethnic group in Louth in 2022 was black, accounting for 3.3% of the population. Of this group, virtually the entire population lived in the two largest towns, with 56.5% of Louth's black residents living in Dundalk and 36.2% living in Drogheda.

Those of Asian and Mixed Race backgrounds accounted for 2.7% (3,808 people) and 1.7% (2,333 people) of the population respectively, with the majority of these groups residing in either Drogheda or Dundalk. Around 9,000 people or 6.4% of the population did not state their ethnicity in 2022, a significant increase from 2.5% in the 2016 census.

In contrast to the other counties in the Mid-East Region, which are characterised by widespread migration from the Dublin area, Louth has one of the highest proportions of native residents in Ireland. Around two-thirds (64.5%) of Louth's residents were born within the county, making it the 7th most indigenous county in the State. People from elsewhere in the Republic of Ireland accounted for just 13.9% of Louth's population in 2022, compared with 49.2% in neighbouring County Meath to the south. A total of 30,145 people (21.7%) were born outside of the country, up from 24,509 people (19.2%) in 2016.

The largest foreign national groups by citizenship in Louth are: British (1.69%), Polish (1.50 percent), Lithuanian (1.40 percent), Nigerian (0.97 percent), Latvian (0.89 percent) and Romanian (0.57 percent).

Irish language

The Cooley Peninsula was the last Gaeltacht outpost in Leinster. Speakers of Irish existed around Omeath and into southern Armagh up until the middle of the 20th century. The area had its own local dialect, songs, poetry and traditional customs. The dialect, known as Gaeilge Oriel, is now extinct, as the last native speaker, Anne O'Hanlon, died in 1960 at the age of 89. However, extensive recordings of the dialect were made by German linguist Wilhelm Doegen for the Royal Irish Academy in 1928. An Irish language college, Coláiste Bhríde, was originally established in Omeath in 1912, but later moved to Ranafast, County Donegal. In 2012, Coláiste Bhríde celebrated its 100th anniversary in Omeath, and locals were taught phrases in Gaeilge Oriel.

Uniquely, the Cooley Peninsula had a sizable population of Presbyterian Gaeilgeoirí in the late 18th and 19th centuries, owing to its proximity to Ulster. In 1808, Reverend William Neilson published "An introduction to the Irish language" to distribute to Presbyterian ministers in the area, as many in their congregations could not speak English.

Despite its historic Gaeltacht, Louth has the lowest percentage of Irish speakers of any county in the State. Just 31.8% of the population stated that they could speak any level of Irish in the 2022 census.

Religion

According to the Central Statistics Office (CSO), the Catholic Church is by far the largest religious institution in County Louth, with 100,077 members. Orthodox Christianity was the second largest religious denomination, with 2,598 adherents. This was followed by Islam in third, with 2,281 adherents, and Anglican denominations including the Church of Ireland, England and Episcopalian in fourth, with 2,195.

The county is located within the archdiocese of Armagh in the Roman Catholic Church, and the Archbishop of Armagh has been recognised by the Vatican as the "Primate of All Ireland" since 1353. This was replicated in the Church of Ireland following the Reformation, and the Protestant Diocese of Armagh covers the same territorial extent as the Catholic diocese. Further, the Archbishop of Armagh also has the title of Primate of All Ireland within the Church of Ireland.

As was the case in much of Ireland, there was a significant increase in the number of people stating that they were either non-religious or atheist in the 2022 Census. This demographic has increased by 202% in a little over a decade (2011 to 2022), from 5,485 to 16,556. People with no religion now account for 11.9% of the county's population, up from 8% in 2016.

The fastest growing religions in the county between 2016 and 2022 were Hinduism (107%), Orthodox Christianity (80%) and Pantheism (78%), while the most rapidly declining religions were Lutheran (−23%), Evangelicalism (−19%), Buddhism (−13%) and Apostolic or Pentecostal (−11%). Although Catholicism only recorded a 4.3% decrease, the share of County Louth's residents who identified as Catholic fell sharply from 81.8% in 2016 to 72.1% in 2022.

Local government and politics

Louth County Council

The local authority is Louth County Council, which has its offices in Dundalk, and provides a number of services including planning, roads maintenance, fire brigade, council housing, water supply, waste collection, recycling and landfill, higher education grants and funding for arts and culture.

As of the 2019 local election, Louth has been divided into five local electoral areas, whose councillors sit in three municipal districts: Ardee (which is also a municipal district), Drogheda Rural and Drogheda Rural (which form the borough district of Drogheda), and Dundalk—Carlingford and Dundalk South (which form the municipal district of Dundalk).

Freedom of the county

The following people have received the freedom of County Louth.

Joe Biden: 25 June 2016.

Louth Dáil constituency

For elections to Dáil Éireann, Louth is represented by the five-seat Dáil constituency of Louth which takes all in the county of Louth, and in County Meath, the electoral divisions of Julianstown and part of St. Mary's.

The Report on Dáil and European Parliament Constituencies 2007 outlined:by extending the constituency southwards from, and in the environs of, Drogheda and taking in electoral divisions which have extensive linkages with the town. This will allow the inclusion of the town of Drogheda and hinterland areas in a single constituency.

This brought the areas of the Greater Drogheda area in County Meath and their combined population of 20,375 into a single constituency.

At the 2024 general election, the constituency elected two Sinn Féin TDs (nationalist and left-wing), one Labour Party TD (centre-left), one Fine Gael TD (centre-right), and a Fianna Fáil TD (centre-right).

People

Entertainment

Pierce Brosnan – Actor, James Bond

Eamonn Campbell – Member of The Dubliners

Andrea Corr – Singer, The Corrs

Caroline Corr – Musician, The Corrs

Jim Corr – Musician, The Corrs

Sharon Corr – Musician, The Corrs

Evanna Lynch – Actress, Harry Potter

Cathy Maguire – Singer/songwriter

John Moore – Film director

Pádraigín Ní Uallacháin, traditional Irish singer and academic.

Gerry O'Connor – Traditional Irish fiddle player

Colin O'Donoghue – Actor, Once Upon a Time

Emily Taaffe – Actor

Aislinn Clarke – Film writer and director

Military

James Samuel Emerson (1895–1917), British soldier and posthumous Irish recipient of the Victoria Cross,

Patrick Anthony Langan-Byrne, British pilot, who was an Irish flying ace of the First World War credited with Ten aerial victories.

Admiral Francis Leopold McClintock KCB FRS – British Royal Navy officer and Explorer

George Martin Lees (1898–1955), British soldier, geologist and leading authority on the geology of the Middle East.

Major-General Arthur Thomas Moore VC – British Soldier and Irish recipient of the Victoria Cross.

Albert Cashier (otherwise Jennie Irene Hodgers), was born in Clogherhead and was a soldier in the Union Army during the American Civil War

Lisa Smith (soldier), a former Irish soldier who converted to Islam and later travelled to Syria during the Syrian Civil War to join Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS).

Anthony Coningham Sterling (1805–1871), British Army officer and historian, author of The Highland Brigade in the Crimea.

James Sheridan (Medal of Honor), Quartermaster United States during the American Civil War – Sailor and recipient of the Medal of Honor for action at Battle of Mobile Bay

Hans Moore (1834–89), British Army Major who received the Victoria Cross during the Cape Frontier Wars

William Kenny (1880–1936), British Soldier and Irish recipient of the Victoria Cross

John Barrett Captain of HMS Minotaur (1793) and HMS Africa (1781)

Politics

Dermot Ahern – Politician, Fianna Fáil TD for Louth

Paddy O'Hanlon – Former Nationalist MP for South Armagh

James Carroll – Politician, Fianna Fáil, member of Seanad Éireann from Louth

Éamonn Ceannt, Irish republican known for his role in the Easter Rising of 1916. Born Galway, raised and educated in Louth.

Mark Dearey – Politician, Green Party Senator from Louth

Damien English – Politician, of Fine Gael who has served as Minister of State since 2014.

John Foster, 1st Baron Oriel (1740–1828), last Speaker of the Irish House of Commons.

Séamus Kirk – Politician, Fianna Fáil TD for Louth

Tony Martin, Canadian social democratic legislator.

John McClintock (1770–1855), MP for Athlone 1820, for County Louth 1830–31

Brendan McGahon – Politician, Fine Gael TD for Louth

John McGahon, Fine Gael Senator

Michael McKevitt – Republican dissident leader

Arthur Morgan – Politician, Sinn Féin TD for Louth

T.K. Whitaker (Irish Economist)

William Hughes, Irish-born US senator from New Jersey.

Sport

Thomas Byrne – Former racing driver

Nick Colgan – Footballer

Kenny Finn – Irish American soccer and Gaelic football player

Beatrice Hill-Lowe – Archer

Gary Kelly – Footballer, Leeds United

Robert Kearney – Irish Rugby player

Colin Larkin – footballer, Hartlepool United

Tommy Smyth – Football commentator for ESPN

Steve Staunton – Footballer

Kevin Thornton – Footballer

Ian Harte – Footballer

Kate O’Connor – Heptathlete

Misc

Fr Nicholas Joseph Callan, priest and scientist best known for his work on the induction coil.

George Drumgoole Coleman – Civil architect

Dorothy Macardle, historian.

Matthew O'Neill, 1st Baron Dungannon, alias Matthew Kelly, (1520–1558), born in Dundalk. Father of Hugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone.

Katherine Plunket, (1820–1932), was an Irish aristocrat from Ballymascanlan, County Louth, a prolific botanical illustrator and formerly the oldest person ever to be born and die in Ireland, at 111 years and 327 days.

Nano Reid, artist.

Peter Rice – Structural engineer.

Alexander Williams, artist. Born in Monaghan, raised and educated in Louth.