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| County Louth |
County Louth is the smallest county in Ireland and is sometimes referred as "the wee county". Despite a short trip to Dundalk in 2005 for an interview at the Dundalk Institute of Technology (DKIT), and its proximity to Dublin (where I lived for 4 years!), I never had the opportunity to really visit this county. County Louth could briefly be described in the following way: the Cooley Mountains in the North, beaches in the East, two main towns, Dundalk and Drogheda linked to each other via the M1 motorway, a town in the West (Ardee) and the country side all around. Whether you are a city or a country person or a rambler, County Louth offers you a choice of things to do and see. If you plan to go through this county, here are some illustrated examples of what I suggest you could see, do or visit in Co. Louth. |
| 1. Visit the Battle of the Boyne Visitor Centre... [    ] The Visitor Centre is located in the recently restored 18th century Oldbridge House, which was built on the battlesite. In brief, the Battle of the Boyne occurred in July 1690, between King William III (with his army of 36,000 men) and his father-in-law, King James II (with his army of 25,000 men). It was the largest number of troops ever deployed on an Irish battlefield. This battle was strategically very important in 17th century Europe: at stake were the British throne, French dominance in Europe and Religious power in Ireland. |
| 2. Attend a dressage demonstration... [  ] For people on tight budgets, you can always enjoy a walk and a picnic on these old battlefields for free. You may also have the chance to see the dressage and archery demonstrations (with period costumes, see picture). So bring your camera along! |
| 3. Go to Carlingford... [ ] If there's one town in Co. Louth, where I would have stayed longer, it has to be Carlingford. It is small indeed, but the town has got medieval streets and quite a few castles and monuments, showing its importance throughout history, in particular in the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries. In photo #2, you can see Taaffes Castle, a fortified house, which belonged to a rich trading family in the 17th century. |
| 4. Walk through Carlingford... [ ] There is another item to see in Carlingford: King John's Castle. King John was the brother of Richard Lionheart and had visited the town in 1210. The castle is dated from the 13th century, but it underwent alterations in the 15th and 16th centuries. In the background, The Mount Sliabh Foy (also called Carlingford Mountain) dominates the town. Note that another castle dedicated to King John can be visited in Limerick, on the shores of the River Shannon. |
| 5. Observe Northern Ireland from Greenore... [ ] At only a few kilometres from Carlingford, you can go to Greenore. From there, you can see County Down (in Northern Ireland) on the other side of Lough Carlingford (in fact an arm of the sea). You can easily distinguish Greencastle at the centre of the picture. |
| 6. Go in the area of Dolmen Proleek... [ ] Without the tourist office of Carlingford, I don't think I would have found the location of the Dolmen, as there are no signs, on the main road indicating its presence. To access it, you'll have to park your car at the Ballymascanlon Hotel on the R173 and walk around 15 minutes (at your own risk  ) along a golf course. However, while writing those lines and with a bit of research on the Internet, I realised that what I naively thought was the dolmen is in fact a "passage tomb" which also belonged to the site (dated from the Stone Age, 3000-2000 BC). I believe the dolmen is just behind the little clearing, which you can see in the background. |
7. Meet "Ardee" without Laurel... |
| 8. Dundalk: stay in it or leave it... [ ] In Northern Ireland, there is a local saying about the town of Dundalk: "Dundalk, stay in it or leave it". This summarises a little bit the feeling one can have when he/she arrives in Dundalk. The town by itself is pleasant to visit and has got enough shopping centres, boutiques and restaurant to please Madame. However, I haven't seen any sites or spots in the town, which left me impressed. You definitely need more than two days to get a better opinion. |
| 9. Visit Monasterboice Cemetery... [ ] Going to a cemetery is rarely a pleasure, however, the one of Monasterboice is worth a detour. It is famous for its 8th century high-crosses, decorated with scenes inspired from the Bible. The site used to contain the highest round tower in Ireland (pictured). Unfortunately, it was partially destroyed in 1097 with the manuscripts and treasures it contained. Similar high-crosses and round towers can be seen in Co. Monaghan, Co. Wicklow and Co. Offaly. |
10. Visit the ruins of Old Mellifont Abbey... |
| County Louth in pictures | ||
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"Thanks for keeping us up to date! Great work on the blog again and can't wait for your next stories, got anything planned to write about?"Tourism Ireland, 17 June 2011 (on Facebook). |
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 Photo 1. Battle of the Boyne Visitor Centre. |
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 Photo 3. Taaffes Castle. |
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 Photo 4. King John's Castle. |
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 Photo 5. Greencastle (Ulster) from Greenore. |
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 Photo 6. Passage Tomb near Proleek Dolmen. |
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 Photo 7. Cúchulainn and Ferdia in Ardee. |
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 Photo 8. Dundalk. |
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 Photo 9. Monasterboice Cemetery. |
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 Photo 10. Old Mellifont Abbey. |
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Legend:
Nice; Worth a visit; Well worth visiting
Please note that this grading system is only based on my interests and personal experience as a French expat in Ireland. Feel free to visit the same locations and share your experience .
Free or Not Applicable Entrance fee ≤€5 ; €5<Entrance fee≤€10 ; €10<Entrance fee≤€15 and so on...
These price ranges are indicative only to help you plan your holiday budget and are subject to change. Discounts generally apply for families, groups, children, students and seniors citizens.
While the admission to this site is free, a parking fee may apply.
Heritage Site managed by the Office of Public Works. Most OPW sites are free of charge on the first Wednesday of every month during 2011. A Good tip: the Heritage Card entitles you unlimited admission for one year to all OPW sites (around €21).