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County Louth
Contae Lú
Coat of arms of County Louth
Motto: Lugh sáimh-ioldánach  (Irish)
"Lugh equally skilled in many arts"
Location
Map highlighting County Louth
Statistics
Province: Leinster
County seat: Dundalk
Code: LH
Area: 820 km2 (320 sq mi)
Population (2006) 110,894[1]
Website: www.louthcoco.ie
Notice of Council bye laws at Port Oriel, Clogher Head

County Louth (pronounced /ˈlaʊð/ – Irish: Contae Lú)[2][3] is one of the traditional counties of Ireland and is located within the province of Leinster. It was named after the village of Louth.

County Louth is affectionately called "the Wee County" being the smallest of Ireland’s 32 counties in area having a total area of only 821 km² (317sq miles).[4][5] It is the 19th largest in terms of population.[6] It is the smallest of Leinster’s 12 counties in size and sixth largest in terms of population.

Contents

Origin of name

The village (and thus the county) was named after the Celtic pagan god Lugh, whose festival was celebrated at Lúnasa.

The modern name is now an Lú. This is merely a modern standardised rendering of the older Lughbhaidh and has nothing to do with the comparative/superlative form lú meaning smaller or smallest of the adjective beag.

History

This is a county steeped in myth, legend and history, going back to the pre-historical days of the Táin Bó Cúailnge (Cooley Cattle Raid, see Cúchulainn). Later it saw the influence of the Vikings as seen in the name of Carlingford Lough.

There are a number of historic sites in the county, including religious sites at Monasterboice and Mellifont Abbey

In the early fourteenth century the Scottish army of Edward Bruce (brother of Robert of Bannockburn fame) was defeated in the Battle of Faughart near Dundalk, Edward losing not only his claim to the High Kingship Of Ireland, but also his life. The sixteenth and seventeenth centuries featured many skirmishes and battles involving Irish and English forces. Oliver Cromwell attacked Drogheda in 1649 slaughtering the Royalist garrison and hundreds of the town's citizens (Siege of Drogheda).

Towards the end of the same century the armies of the warring Kings, James and William, faced off in North Louth during the build-up to the Battle of the Boyne - the battle takes its name from the river Boyne which reaches the sea at Drogheda.

In 1798 the leaders of the United Irishmen included Bartholomew Teeling, John Byrne and Patrick Byrne, all from Castletown; Anthony McCann from Corderry; Nicholas and Thomas Markey from Barmeath , Arthur McKeown, John Warren and James McAllister from Cambricville. They were betrayed by informers, notably a Dr. Conlan, who came from Dundalk, and an agent provocateur called Sam Turner, from Newry. Several of the leaders were hanged.

In 1816 the Wildgoose Lodge Murders took place in the west of the county.

The priest and scientist Nicholas Joseph Callan (1799–1864), from Darver, was a famous son of the county.

Irish language

The area of Omeath was Irish-speaking until the early 20th century. A native dialect of Louth Irish existed there until about 1930, but is now extinct, although recordings have been made.[7]

Notable settlements in County Louth

Towns

Villages

 

Demographics

The majority of the county's population live in either Dundalk (2006 pop. 29,037) in north Louth, or Drogheda (2006 pop. 28,973) in the south. The 2006 Census[1] confirmed Dundalk and Drogheda as not only the largest towns in the county, but also the second and third largest towns in Ireland.

Within legally defined boundaries Dundalk has the larger population, however the total population(including suburbs or environs) is greater in Drogheda, this includes areas and suburbs of Drogheda which lie in County Meath.[1]

Data taken from the 2006 Census:

Town Total population
including suburbs or environs		 Population
within legally defined boundary		 Population
of suburbs or environs
Drogheda 35,090 28,973 6,117
Dundalk 35,085 29,037 6,048
Ardee 4,694 4,301 393
Dunleer 2,340
Greenore 979

Notable events

On the 3rd of June 2009, a Leaving Certificate superintendent distributed the incorrect test paper in a Drogheda examination centre. As a result the students of the school in question saw the English Higher Level Paper 2 exam a day before its official release. Word of the paper's content spread, and the State Examinations Commission were forced to cancel the exam and reschedule the exam to take place on Saturday the 6th.

Notable people

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c Central Statistics Office Census 2006 Reports. Central Statistics Office Ireland (April 2007).
  2. ^ Louth - Britannica Online Encyclopedia
  3. ^ Location Result
  4. ^ Louth Ireland
  5. ^ North West Passage
  6. ^ Corry, Eoghan (2005). The GAA Book of Lists. Hodder Headline Ireland. pp. 186–191. 
  7. ^ Louth Irish Language
  8. ^ For 1653 and 1659 figures from Civil Survey Census of those years, Paper of Mr Hardinge to Royal Irish Academy March 14, 1865.
  9. ^ Census for post 1821 figures.
  10. ^ http://www.histpop.org
  11. ^ http://www.nisranew.nisra.gov.uk/census
  12. ^ Lee, JJ (1981). "On the accuracy of the Pre-famine Irish censuses". in Goldstrom, J. M.; Clarkson, L. A.. Irish Population, Economy, and Society: Essays in Honour of the Late K. H. Connell. Oxford, England: Clarendon Press. 
  13. ^ Mokyr, Joel; O Grada, Cormac (November), "New Developments in Irish Population History, 1700-1850", The Economic History Review Volume 37 (Issue 4): 473–488, doi:10.1111/j.1468-0289.1984.tb00344.x, http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/120035880/abstract 

External links

Counties of Ireland
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Antrim† · Armagh† · Cavan · Fermanagh† · Derry or Londonderry† · Donegal · Down† · Monaghan · Tyrone†
Italics denote non-administrative counties. Brackets denote eponymous cities or non-traditional counties. † denotes counties of Northern Ireland


Coordinates: 53°50′N 6°30′W / 53.833°N 6.5°W / 53.833; -6.5


Travel guide

Up to date as of January 14, 2010

From Wikitravel

County Louth is in Ireland's East Coast and Midlands.

  • Louth Village
  • Gyles Quay
  • The Cooley Mountains
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Genealogy

Up to date as of February 01, 2010

From Familypedia

County Louth  view Community messages
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County Louth
Contae Lú
Coat of arms of County Louth
Location
centerMap highlighting County Louth
Statistics
Province: Leinster
County Town: Dundalk
Code: LH
Area: 820 km²
Population (2006) 110,894
Website: www.louthcoco.ie

County Louth (Irish: Contae Lú )[1][2] is a county on the east coast of Ireland, on the border with Northern Ireland.

The county town is Dundalk, which is also the largest town in Louth.[3] The majority of the county's population live in either Dundalk or Drogheda. The 2006 Census[4] confirmed Dundalk and Drogheda as not only the largest towns in the county, but also the largest towns in Ireland.

Drogheda has a population marginally larger than that of Dundalk. This however, includes areas and suburbs of Drogheda which lie in County Meath.[5]

County Louth is affectionately called "the Wee County" being the smallest county[6] in Ireland having a total area of only 821sq kilometres (317sq miles).[7]

Contents

Origin of name

The original Irish name of the county Lughbaidh comes from the place of worship of the Celtic god Lugh whose festival was celebrated at Lughnasa. The Irish month Lughnasa and day of the week De Luain are both derived from Lugh, also.

The names for both county and village have been revised to An Lú. This is is taken from the Irish for the least,[8] due to Louth being the smallest county in Ireland.[9]

History

This is a county steeped in myth, legend and history, going back to the pre-historical days of the Táin Bó Cúailnge (Cooley Cattle Raid, see Cúchulainn). Later it saw the influence of the Vikings as seen in the name of Carlingford Lough.

There are a number of historic sites in the county, including religious sites at Monasterboice and Mellifont Abbey

In the early fourteenth century the Scottish army of Edward Bruce (brother of Robert of Bannockburn fame) was defeated in the battle of Faughart near Dundalk, Edward losing not only his claim to the High Kingship Of Ireland, but also his life. The sixteenth and seventeenth centuries featured many skirmishes and battles involving Irish and English forces. Oliver Cromwell attacked Drogheda in 1649 slaughtering the Royalist garrison (Siege of Drogheda).

Towards the end of the same century the armies of the warring Kings, James and William, faced off in North Louth during the build-up to the Battle of the Boyne - the battle takes its name from the river Boyne which reaches the sea at Drogheda.

Notable settlements in County Louth

Towns

Villages

 

References

  1. ^ http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9049108/Louth
  2. ^ http://www.discoverireland.ie/DI/resultsengine/Location.aspx?LocationID=16
  3. ^ http://www.http://www.cso.ie/census/documents/census2006_volume_1_pop_classified_by_area.pdf
  4. ^ http://www.http://www.cso.ie/census/documents/census2006_volume_1_pop_classified_by_area.pdf
  5. ^ http://www.http://www.cso.ie/census/documents/census2006_volume_1_pop_classified_by_area.pdf
  6. ^ http://www.northwestpassage.org/brochures/
  7. ^ http://www.ireland-guide.com/counties/co_louth.737.html
  8. ^ http://www.ireland.com/ancestor/browse/counties/leinster/index_lh.htm
  9. ^ http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9049108/Louth

[1] Central Statistics Office Census 2006 Reports. Central Statistics Office Ireland (April 2007).

External links

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Italics denote non-administrative counties  ·  (Parentheses) denote eponymous cities or non-traditional counties


This page uses content from the English language Wikipedia. The original content was at County Louth. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with this Familypedia wiki, the content of Wikipedia is available under the Creative Commons License.
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This article uses material from the "County Louth" article on the Genealogy wiki at Wikia and is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike License.

Simple English

County Louth
Contae Lú
Statistics
Province: Leinster
County Town: Dundalk
Code: LH
Area: 820 km²
Population (2006) 110,894[1]
Website: www.louthcoco.ie

]] County Louth (Irish: Contae Lú)[2][3] is a county on the east coast of Ireland, on the border with Northern Ireland.

The county town is Dundalk, which is also the largest town in Louth. Most people that live in Louth live in the 2 biggest towns, Dundalk and Drogheda. The 2006 Census[1] showed that Dundalk and Drogheda as not only the largest towns in the Louth, but also the second and third largest towns in Ireland.

Louth is nicknamed the "the Wee County" because it is the smallest county[4] in Ireland ("wee" means small).[5]

Contents

Where the name comes from

The old Irish name of the county Lughbhaidh comes from the place where people worshipped the Celtic god Lugh whose festival was celebrated at Lúnasa.

The name is now spelled as An Lú. This is just the modern way of spelling Lughbhaidh. 'Lú' means 'small' in Irish, but this is not where the name comes from.

History

The history of Louth goes back a long time. Before people wrote down histories and dates, a famous Irish story is supposed to have happened in Louth. It is called the Táin Bó Cúailge. In this story, a famous warrior called Cúchulainn fights a whole army by himself to protect a brown bull from being stolen.

There are some old monasteries in the county including Monasterboice and Mellifont Abbey

In the fourteenth century the Scottish army of Edward Bruce lost the Battle of Faughart near Dundalk. Edward was killed in the battle. Oliver Cromwell attacked Drogheda in 1649 killing the Royalist garrison (Siege of Drogheda).

Places in County Louth

Towns

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Central Statistics Office Census 2006 Reports. Central Statistics Office Ireland (April 2007).
  2. ↑ Louth - Britannica Online Encyclopedia
  3. ↑ Location Result
  4. ↑ North West Passage : : Brochures : Ireland Travel Tourism Tour Irlande Irlanda Irland Donegal Dublin Dungannon Armagh Omagh Strabane Louth Meath Monaghan
  5. ↑ Louth Ireland / Ireland Louth / County louth ireland / Hotel Louth, Restaurant Louth, Hotels Ireland, Travel Guide County Louth Ireland, Louth Attractions

Other websites

Coordinates: 53°50′N 6°30′W / 53.833°N 6.5°W / 53.833; -6.5

Retrieved from "http://yak.rapint.com/wiki/County_Louth"







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