County Louth - Towns

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.

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Situated within a mile distance eastwards for the roundabout of the N1 with the main road to Carlingford, the name is derived from Scanlon, son of Fingin chief of Ui Meith who died in 672. His descendant MacScanlon is credited with a defeat of the Danes in Dundalk bay in 833. In the Norman-English period the Ballymascanlon destrict extending northwards to Carrikarnon was granted by Hugh de Lacy to Mellifont Abbey and after the dissolution of the monasteries in the 16th century the property passed to the Moores, the grantees of the monastic properties of Mellifont abbey. In the latter part of that century it was with its tower house, long since demolished, for a short time in the hands of Hugh O'Neill earl of Tyrone.

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Situated three miles south of Dundalk, this small seaside village is a popular local resort especially for children. It is also used as a venue for sail boarding when the tidal conditions permit, the water being very shallow receding a considerable distance at low tides. There is a very fine view of the whole range of the Carlingford mountains and the north side of Dundalk by with its clusters of houses and cottages along the lower slopes of the mountains and coastal areas. It can be reachd either by bus from Dundalk or by car directly from the latter or from the Dublin road adjacent to the Fairways Hotel.

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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.

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.

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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.

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