County Louth is named after thevillage of Louth, which in turn is named afterLugh, a god of the ancient Irish.[7] Historically, the placename has had various spellings;Lugmad,Lughmhaigh, andLughmhadh (seeHistoric Names List, for full listing).[8]Lú is the modernsimplified spelling.
The county is steeped in myth, legend and history, and is the setting of some of theTáin Bó Cúailnge epic. Later it saw the influence of theVikings, as seen in the name ofCarlingford Lough. They also established alongphort atAnnagassan 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, theFir Arda Ciannachta (Midhe). The whole area became part of the O'Carroll Kingdom ofAirgíalla (Oriel) early in the 12th century underDonnchad Ua Cerbaill. At the same time, the area was removed from the diocese of Armagh and theepiscopal see of theDiocese of Airgíalla or Clogher was transferred to Louthc. 1130–1190.
TheNormans 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 andMonaghan 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 theMcMahon lordship ofAirgíalla.
In the early 14th centuryEdward Bruce made claim to theHigh Kingship of Ireland and led an expeditionary force to Ireland. The Scottish army was repulsed fromDrogheda 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 theBattle of Faughart near Dundalk, by a chiefly local force led byJohn 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 theBraganstown 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.
One of theStatutes of Kilkenny in 1465 (5Ed. IV,cap. 3) stated "That every Irishman that dwell betwixt or amongst Englishmen in the County of Dublin,Myeth, Vriell [i.e. Oriel], and Kildare ... shall take to him an English surname of one town, as Sutton, Chester,Trym,Skryne, Corke, Kinsale; or colour, as white, blacke, browne; or arte or science, as smith or carpenter; or office, as cooke, butler ...". This was an attempt to compel Irish families inthe Pale, including Louth, to adopt English surnames.
In 1189, a royal charter was granted toDundalk after a Norman nobleman namedBertram de Verdun erected a manor house at Castletown Mount. Bertram's granddaughterRoesia de Verdun later builtCastle Roche in 1236. In 1412, a royal charter was granted to Drogheda which unified the towns of Drogheda-in-Meath and Drogheda-in-Uriel (Louth) as aCounty in its own right, styled as 'the County of the town of Drogheda'.[9] Drogheda continued as a County Borough until the setting up of County Councils, through the enactment of theLocal Government (Ireland) Act 1898, which saw all of Drogheda, including a large area south of theRiver Boyne, become part of an extended County Louth.[9][10][11]
The 16th and 17th centuries featured many skirmishes and battles involving Irish and English forces, as Louth was on the main route to 'the Moiry Pass' and the Ulster areas often in rebellion and as yet uncolonised.Oliver Cromwell attacked Drogheda in 1649 slaughtering the Royalist garrison and hundreds of the town's citizens. Towards the end of the same century, the armies of the warring Kings,James II andWilliam (III) of Orange, faced off in south Louth during the build-up to theBattle of the Boyne; the battle was fought 3 km (1.9 miles) west from Drogheda. Drogheda held for James under Lord Iveagh but surrendered to William the day after the battle of the Boyne.[citation needed]
In 1798, the leaders of theUnited Irishmen included Bartholomew Teeling, John Byrne, and Patrick Byrne, all from Castletown; Anthony Marmion from Louth Town and Dundalk, Anthony McCann from Corderry; Nicholas and Thomas Markey from Barmeath, and Arthur McKeown, John Warren, and James McAllister from Cambricville. They were betrayed by informers, notably a Dr Conlan, who came from Dundalk, and anagent provocateur called Sam Turner, from Newry. Several leaders were hanged.
TheBurning of Wildgoose Lodge took place on the night of 29–30 October 1816, for which 18 men were executed.
The priest and scientistNicholas Callan (1799–1864), inventor of the first induction coil, was from Darver.
Louth, colloquially known as "The Wee County", is the smallest of Ireland's 32 counties by area, at 826km2.[13] 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, andDown to the northeast. It bounded to the east by theIrish Sea.Dundalk is the county town and is located approximately 80 km (50 mi) fromBelfast and 85 km (53 mi) fromDublin. Louth is also the northernmost county in Leinster, and the only county in the province to share a border withNorthern Ireland.
Louth has a temperate oceanic climate (Köppen climate classificationCfb), with cool humid summers and mild winters, strongly influenced by Atlanticocean 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) fromArdee, 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.[14]
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 atClogherhead 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 theCooley Mountains, with the stations atOmeath (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.[15]
Climate data forArdee (1989–2019, extremes 1968–present), 31 mAOD
According to theCentral Statistics Office, 139,703 people lived in County Louth as of the2022 census, a 7.9% increase since the2016 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, andDrogheda, located in the south on the border withCounty 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 theDublin–Belfast corridor; with the completion of theM1 motorway in particular driving the growth of Drogheda as a commuter town ofDublin. However, the northern areas of the county along the border withNorthern Ireland have experienced a slight decline since 2011.[25]
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).[26]
In 2021, there were 1,677 births within the county, and the average age of a first time mother was 30.5.[27]
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, andIrish Travellers comprised a further 0.7%. Other white people who did not consider themselves ethnically Irish accounted for 8.5% of the population.[28]
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.[29]
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.[30]
Louth ethnic composition of population
Racial Composition
2022 Census
Percentage
2016 Census
Percentage
White
119,101
85.9%
116,813
91.5%
Black
4,547
3.3%
3,567
2.8%
Asian
3,808
2.7%
2,399
1.9%
Others including mixed
2,333
1.7%
1,756
1.4%
Not stated
8,918
6.4%
3,176
2.5%
In contrast to the other counties in theMid-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 neighbouringCounty 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.[31]
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) andRomanian (0.57 percent).[32]
TheCooley Peninsula was the lastGaeltacht outpost in Leinster. Speakers ofIrish existed aroundOmeath and into southernArmagh up until the middle of the 20th century. The area had its own local dialect, songs, poetry and traditional customs. The dialect, known asGaeilgeOriel, 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.[33] An Irish language college,Coláiste Bhríde, was originally established in Omeath in 1912, but later moved toRanafast,County Donegal. In 2012,Coláiste Bhríde celebrated its 100th anniversary in Omeath, and locals were taught phrases inGaeilge Oriel.
Uniquely, the Cooley Peninsula had a sizable population ofPresbyterianGaeilgeoirí in the late 18th and 19th centuries, owing to its proximity toUlster. 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.[34]
Despite its historicGaeltacht, 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.[35]
According to theCentral Statistics Office (CSO),[36] 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 byIslam in third, with 2,281 adherents, andAnglican denominations including theChurch of Ireland,England and Episcopalian in fourth, with 2,195.
The county is located within thearchdiocese ofArmagh in the Roman Catholic Church, and the Archbishop of Armagh has been recognised by theVatican as the "Primate of All Ireland" since 1353.[37] This was replicated in the Church of Ireland following theReformation, and the ProtestantDiocese of Armagh covers the same territorial extent as the Catholic diocese. Further, theArchbishop 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 oratheist 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 wereHinduism (107%), Orthodox Christianity (80%) andPantheism (78%), while the most rapidly declining religions wereLutheran (−23%),Evangelicalism (−19%),Buddhism (−13%) andApostolic orPentecostal (−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.
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.[38]
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.[44]
This brought the areas of the Greater Drogheda area inCounty Meath and their combined population of 20,375 into a single constituency.[45]
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.
^"Placenames Database of Ireland". Fiontar (DCU) and The Placenames Branch (Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht). 2008.Archived from the original on 24 September 2021. Retrieved28 February 2014.
^Lee, J. J. (1981). "On the accuracy of thePre-famine Irish censuses". In Goldstrom, J. M.; Clarkson, L. A. (eds.).Irish Population, Economy, and Society: Essays in Honour of the Late K. H. Connell. Oxford, England: Clarendon Press.
^Killen, W. D. (1 October 1875).The Ecclesiatical History of Ireland. London: [[Macmillan Publishers|Macmillan and Co.. p. 294.
^"Services". Louth County Council.Archived from the original on 30 April 2011. Retrieved31 March 2011.
^County of Louth Local Electoral Areas and Municipal Districts Order 2018 (S.I. No. 626 of 2018). Signed on 19 December 2018. Statutory Instrument of theGovernment of Ireland. Archived from the original on 2 February 2019. Retrieved fromIrish Statute Book on 8 September 2020.
^County Of Louth Local Electoral Areas And Municipal Districts (Amendment) Order 2019 (S.I. No. 6 of 2019). Signed on 17 January 2019. Statutory Instrument of theGovernment of Ireland. Archived from the original on 16 April 2019. Retrieved fromIrish Statute Book on 8 September 2020.
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