County Louth - Heritage/Historical<< Louth Homepage |
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| Here's a selection of Louth Heritage/Historical.Click on the 'Go to ALL' link to get the full list. |
1. Abbeys |
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Old Mellifont AbbeyCo. LouthIn the tranquil valley of the River Mattock, a subsidiary of the Boyne, lie the noble ruins of Mellifont, the first Cistercian monastery to be established in Ireland. Founded in 1142 by St. Malachy, the monastery was consecrated amidst great pomp and ceremony in 1157 at a great national synod attended by seventeen bishops and the High King. The new monastic order was successful in re-introducing discipline into what has become a very lax Irish Church. Over forty other Cistercian monasteries were opened in Ireland following the success of Mellifont. The monastery is also poignantly remembered in Irish history for a more tragic happening; it was here, following his defeat at the Battle of Kinsale, that the great Hugh O' Neil formally surrendered to Mountjoy in 1603, a surrender that marked the deathknell of the Gaelic civilisation which can be tracked back to centuries before the time of Christ. | |
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2. Castles (Historical) |
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Carlingford CastleCo. LouthKing John's Castle: Allegedly founded by King John who stayed here for three days in 1210, the castle may have been begun some years previously by Hugh de Lacy. The semicircular western half of the castle was probably built before King John's visit. This curving wall, which enclosed an open courtyard, had two-storey buildings leaning against its inner face; the entrance, on the west side, was flanked by two rectangular towers (only parts of the northern tower remain) and at the south-western corner there is another rectangular tower. The high dividing wall, and the whole of the eastern half of the castle was added in 1261. Here there are tow floors above a basement (now largely filled up). There were a number of rooms on the ground floor; the entrance to this part of the castle was through a door in the first floor, and here was probably situated the great hall of the castle. In 1495 it was decreed that none by and Englishman should be Constable of the castle. Probably taken by Sir Henry Tichbourne in 1642, it was compelled to surrender to Lord Inchiquin in 1649. However in the following year it was delivered to sir. Charles Coote. In 1689. However in the following year it was delivered to sir Charles Coote. In 1689 it was fired upon by the retreating Jacobite forces, and General Schomberg later used it as a hospital. The Mint: Situated in a narrow street just off the Square, this is a 15th century town tower-house with an extended turret over the door. The exterior is remarkable in having mullioned windows which are decorated with some pre-Norman Celtic motifs such as interlacing, as well as a horse and a human head. The stonework has a number of decorative motifs pocked on it. there are three storeys in all, none of which has a fireplace. it is said to have been the site of a mint which was set up in 1467. further down the street is an old town gate, above which is a small room. The Thosel, where the elders of the town met. Dominican Priory: South of the town lies the Dominican priory dedicated to St. Malachy of Armagh, and said to have been founded by Richard de Burgo, Earl of Ulster in 1305. A stone head carved on the exterior east window may be of 13th or 14th century date. But, while blocking or absence of other windows makes dating difficult, much of the surviving structure may be the result of work carried out after 1423, when an indulgence was granted for repairs to the church 'after damage by enemies and robbers'. A gap in the east wall, underneath the window, now gives access to the tall, slender preachers' church which is divided almost in the middle by a 15th century tower. The western end is fortified with turrets at the top corners and a bartizan high above the door, from which to drop things on unwanted intruders. Lying to the south are the remains of two-storey claustral buildings. | |
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3. Towers (Round) |
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Dromiskin round TowerCo. Louththe church is alleged to have been founded by St. Patrick, but it is more likely that it was his disciple Lughaidh (died 515-16) who founded the monastery. St. Ronan, who cursed Suibhne Geilt and caused him to go mad, was abbot here and died of the great plague in 664. The High King, Aedh Finnlaigh, died here in 876. The monastery was plundered by the Irish in 908, by the Danes in 978 and again by the Irish in 1043. The Round Tower and a High Cross still survive from the old monastery. The round Tower and a High Cross still survive from the old monastery. The Round Tower, which is 55 feet high, has a round-headed doorway which originally has columns supporting the arch. The two rectangular windows at the top as well as the conical roof are modern, dating to 1879. To the east of the tower are the remnants of a High Cross which has been re-erected in modern times on a granite base and shaft. There is a Celtic whirl on the west face of the cross. The east face has a central square panel at the intersection with a knot out of which grow beasts who devour others; to the left is a hunting scene, to the right a scene perhaps of David bringing the head of Goliath to Jerusalem. Nearby are the remains of what was probably a medieval parish church. The east gable of the church probably dates to the 13th century; the present 2 light east window was inserted in the 15th century into the earlier 3-light window. | |
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4. Interpretative Centre |
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County Museum DundalkJocelyn St, Co. LouthThe Exhibition contains original artifacts from farms, local industries, the railway and the port. Items such as ploughs, shoes, tobacco, linen, beer and newspapers are combined with models, audio visual presentations, touch screen interactives, film and graphics to tell the story of the development of industry in Louth from 1750 to the present day. An extensive programme of temporary exhibitions, films, concerts, lecture and recitals has been developed to offer the visitor a wide variety of events to choose from. Talk books giving a detailed account of the museum and its main exhibitions are available on request in Spanish, Italian, French and German. The Museum offers adequate car parking at the rear and good quality lunches are available from a number of small outlets in the immediate vicinity. | |
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5. Heritage Centres |
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Holy Trinity Heritage CentreCo. LouthA beautifully restored medieval church exhibiting Carlingfords development from its Norman origins. Facilities include: Guided tours available. School groups most welcome. Education packs available. | |
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6. Motte (Historical) |
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Dun Dealgan Motte and BaileyCo. LouthAlthough the site is associated with the legendary hero CuChulainn, the present earthworks are a Norman motte and bailey built possibly by the de Verdons in the last 30 years of the 12th century. The walls of the square bailey are well preserved. The castle on top is a folly built by Patrick Byrne - a well-known pirate - in 1780, and as a wooden tower once crowned the motte, the tower gives some of what a motte with a tower must have originally looked like. | |
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7. Towers (Historical) |
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The Magdalene TowerCo. LouthThe Magdalene Tower crowns the highest point in the northern part of the town and is a landmark for many miles around. It was the belfry tower of the once extensive Dominican friary founded here about 1224 by Lucas de Netterville Archbishop of Armagh. The tower appears to be of 14th century construction and was possibly a later addition to the monastery. It springs from a fine Gothic Arch above which there are two further storeys connected by a spiral staircase, the entrance to which is a considerable distance from the ground on the north side. The roof of the arch is groined from the angles, each groin being supported by a cherub's head carved in stone. The walls of the tower are perforated by eight windows, two in eachside with cut stone facings. The battlements were damaged by Cromwell's cannon during the siege of 1649. In the Millmount Museum may be seen a variety of 14th century flooring tiles, found here during excavations for a house foundation some years ago. | |
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8. Dolmens |
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ProleekCo. LouthA splendid 'tripod-dolmen', 12 feet in height, standing at the edge of a field near a ruined gallery-tomb. It is reached by a signposted path from the grounds of Ballymascanlon Hotel. It has long been called 'The Giant's Load' since, from a certain viewpoint, it resembles a huge figure bowed under the weight of a heavy burden - in this case a rounded granite capstone weighing in excess of 30 tons. This well known landmark has often been illustrated. As early as 1742 an engraving of it appeared in Thomas Wright's Louthiana, wherein he states that 'the native Irish tell a strange story about it, relating how the whole was brought all at once from the neighbouring mountains, by a giant called Parrah Boug M'Shagjean, and who they say was buried near this place.' Unlike other antiquarians of his day, Wright recognised the sepulchral purpose of these monuments and dismissed as fantasy the idea that they were Druid's alters. Visitors to Proleek will notice that the top of the capstone is dotted with pebbles; throw one up, runs the legend, and if it remains on the convex surface the person who cast it will marry before a year has elapsed. | |
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9. Forts (Historical) |
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St Laurence's GateCo. LouthParts of the town walls dating to the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries still survive. Most notable of the remains is St. Laurence's Gate, regarded as the finest example of a barbican or fortress gate still to be seen in the country. Consisting of twin pillars four stories high, its imposing edifice dominates the western approaches to the town. | |
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10. Homes (Historical) |
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Chantry CollegeCo. LouthBuilt in the early fifteenth century as the residence of the priests who were employed to continuously chant the mass for church benefactors. It is one of the few surviving chantry houses left in Ireland. | |
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11. Crosses (Historical) |
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Dromiskin round TowerCo. Louththe church is alleged to have been founded by St. Patrick, but it is more likely that it was his disciple Lughaidh (died 515-16) who founded the monastery. St. Ronan, who cursed Suibhne Geilt and caused him to go mad, was abbot here and died of the great plague in 664. The High King, Aedh Finnlaigh, died here in 876. The monastery was plundered by the Irish in 908, by the Danes in 978 and again by the Irish in 1043. The Round Tower and a High Cross still survive from the old monastery. The round Tower and a High Cross still survive from the old monastery. The Round Tower, which is 55 feet high, has a round-headed doorway which originally has columns supporting the arch. The two rectangular windows at the top as well as the conical roof are modern, dating to 1879. To the east of the tower are the remnants of a High Cross which has been re-erected in modern times on a granite base and shaft. There is a Celtic whirl on the west face of the cross. The east face has a central square panel at the intersection with a knot out of which grow beasts who devour others; to the left is a hunting scene, to the right a scene perhaps of David bringing the head of Goliath to Jerusalem. Nearby are the remains of what was probably a medieval parish church. The east gable of the church probably dates to the 13th century; the present 2 light east window was inserted in the 15th century into the earlier 3-light window. | |
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12. Museums |
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County Museum DundalkJocelyn St, Co. LouthThe Exhibition contains original artifacts from farms, local industries, the railway and the port. Items such as ploughs, shoes, tobacco, linen, beer and newspapers are combined with models, audio visual presentations, touch screen interactives, film and graphics to tell the story of the development of industry in Louth from 1750 to the present day. An extensive programme of temporary exhibitions, films, concerts, lecture and recitals has been developed to offer the visitor a wide variety of events to choose from. Talk books giving a detailed account of the museum and its main exhibitions are available on request in Spanish, Italian, French and German. The Museum offers adequate car parking at the rear and good quality lunches are available from a number of small outlets in the immediate vicinity. | |
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13. Monastic Sites |
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MonasterboiceMonasterboice, Co. LouthThough little more than half a mile to the west of the busy Dublin road, there is an air of detachment and antiquity about this celebrated place. The monastery came into existence in the sixth century but little is known of its founder, St Buite. Its fame rests chiefly on its exquisitely sculptured High Crosses, notably the South Cross, now generally called Muiredach's Cross after an abbot whose name is inscribed on the base. The cross is remarkable for the variety and organisation of its scriptural themes and the superb quality of the carving, executed in the early decades of the tenth century. Not far away, beside the Round Tower (now capless but still over 90 feet high), is the slender and beautiful West Cross, alias the Tall Cross, from its exceptional height of 21 feet. it has suffered from weathering and not all of its panels are identifiable. In another corner of the graveyard, partly obscured by trees and sometimes missed by visitors, is the North Cross. Though not as elaborate as the other two it is nevertheless a fine specimen, decorated with unusual spiral motifs. A handsome sundial stone stands alongside. Other remains here include two featureless churches. | |
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14. Stones (Historical) |
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Barnaveddog Standing StoneCo. LouthA great standing stone making the site on an ancient mound, which tradition states marks the site of a 'Giants Grave'. The stone itself contains the remains of an Ogham inscription, which has been translated a 'Branogeni'. | |
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15. Churches (Historical) |
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Jumping Church of KildemockCo. LouthA remarkable ancient ruin in which the western gable wall has jumped and now stands two feet inside of its foundations. Tradition relates that this phenomenon took place in order to exclude from the church area the grave of an excommunicated person who had been buried within its walls. | |
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16. Monastery |
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Old AbbeyCo. LouthShortly after the Norman invasion, about 1206, a hospital for the sick and infirm was founded here by Ursus de Swemele and his wife Christina, the care of the hospital being put in charge of a religious community. By the end of the 13th century, it was taken over by the Augustinians or Crutched Friars, and the subsequent history of the Abbey was an uneventful one. After a period of decline it was reformed by the Observantines in 1519. At the dissolution of the monasteries, after the Reformation, the Abbey was surrendered in 1543 by the last Prior, Richard Malone. The Corporation subsequently disposed of the monastic property by leases, which accounts for the amount of commercial building in the Abbey precincts, in fact the window of one small house is actually built through one of the walls of the west end. All that remains of this once extensive Abbey is the central belfry tower, surmounting a Gothic archway, with another fragment supported on a similar arch to the east, and a piece of gable wall to the west. | |
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17. Bridges |
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St Mary's BridgeCo. LouthWhile it was scarcely ever possible to ford the river here, it would still have been feasible to span it even with a primitive bridge at an early date. The river, entering the town from the west is almost 600 feet wide, narrowing at this point to only 110 feet, before expanding again to 450 feet in the docks area. The town grew around this crossing, which opened up a transport route north and south, and the Harbour below was developed to accommodate seaborne trade. The early Bronze Age settlers in the Boyne Valley, and the later groups of Celtic peoples who populated the areas surrounding Drogheda around 900 BC probably entered Ireland by this route. Ptolemy, the Egyptian geographer, delineated with fair accuracy the course of the Boyne, which he called Buvinda, in his map of Ireland drawn up around the end of the 2nd century AD. The Vikings who made a settlement here on the south bank had, in 837 AD, according to the Annals of the Four Masters "60 of their ships in the Boyne mouth that year". The maritime trade of the town developed rapidly under Norman occupation, especially in the export of corn and cloth to Britain and the import of wines from the continent. According to Custom Lists of the late 17th century, Drogheda merchants in their own ships were trading as far away as the Canary Islands and the West Indies. The port, whose long and colourful history has yet to be written, while no longer as important in the life of Drogheda as it once was, is nevertheless still quite a busy one. | |
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18. Hills (Historical) |
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Dun DealganCastletown, Co. LouthA mound rising over 60 feet high that is said to be the birthplace of the legendary hero Cuchulain.. On the summit is the ruin of a house built in 1780.. | |
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