County Louth
county in Ireland From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
County Louth (Irish: Contae Lú)[2][3] is a county on the east coast of Ireland, on the border with Northern Ireland.
County Louth
Irish: Contae Lú | |
|---|---|
 Coat of arms | |
| Motto(s): | |
 | |
| Coordinates: 53°50′N 6°30′W | |
| Country | Ireland |
| Province | Leinster |
| Dáil Éireann | Louth |
| EU Parliament | East |
| County seat | Dundalk |
| Government | |
| • Type | County Council |
| Area | |
| • Total | 826 km2 (319 sq mi) |
| • Rank | 32nd |
| Population (2011) | 122,808 |
| • Rank | 18th [1] |
| Car plates | LH |
| Website | www |
The county town is Dundalk, which is also the second largest town in Louth. Most people that live in Louth live in the two biggest towns, Dundalk and Drogheda. The 2006 Census[1] showed that Dundalk and Drogheda as not only the largest towns in the Louth, but also the second and third largest towns in Ireland.
Louth is nicknamed "the Wee County" because it is the smallest county[4] in Ireland ("wee" means small).[5]
The old Irish name of the county Lughbhaidh comes from the place where people worshipped the Celtic god Lugh whose festival was celebrated at Lúnasa.
The name is now spelled as An Lú. This is just the modern way of spelling Lughbhaidh. 'Lú' means 'small' in Irish, but this is not where the name comes from.
The history of Louth goes back a long time. Before people wrote down histories and dates, a famous Irish story is supposed to have happened in Louth. It is called the Táin Bó Cúailge. In this story, a famous warrior called Cúchulainn fights a whole army by himself to protect a brown bull from being stolen.
There are some old monasteries in the county including Monasterboice and Mellifont Abbey
In the fourteenth century the Scottish army of Edward Bruce lost the Battle of Faughart near Dundalk. Edward was killed in the battle. Oliver Cromwell attacked Drogheda in 1649 killing the Royalist garrison (Siege of Drogheda).
Towns
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