Oriel Trail

County Louth (Contae Lú in Irish) is a county on the east coast of Ireland in the province of Leinster. Before 1596, it was considered part of the province of Ulster. The county takes its name from the village of Louth (Lughbhadh in Irish, referring to the Celtic god Lugh). The county town of Louth is Drogheda. The majority of the county’s population live either in Dundalk or in the town of Drogheda.

County Louth is the smallest County in Ireland, also known as “the Wee County”. At present it is on the border with Northern Ireland so is heavily influenced by the present political situation with regard to that. This is a county steeped in myth, legend and history, going back to the pre-historical days of the Táin Bó Cúailnge (The Cattle Raid ofCooley see Cúchulainn). Later it saw the influence of the Vikings as seen in the name of Carlingford Lough.

The kingdom of Airgelia or Oriel in English, established in the 4th century and comprising Louth, Monaghan, and Armagh, was conquered by Anglo-Norman invaders, and in 1185 Prince John annexed the barony of Louth to the English crown. Under Richard II, late in the 14th century, Louth was included in the English Pale. The towns of Drogheda and Dundalk became important, and parliaments were sometimes held in them. In Tudor times (16th century) Dundalk was often a marshalling place for armies that advanced north into Ulster through the Gap of the North.

Notable relics of the monastic period of the Celtic Church are in Mellifont and Monasterboice; castles of the Anglo-Norman era are relatively numerous.

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.