Louth - 50 Attractions You Must Visit

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About Louth

County Louth is located in the north-east corner of the Republic of Ireland. Louth is Ireland's smallest county but contains a diverse landscape from the mountainous Cooley peninsula in the east to the gently rolling drumlin hills.

Types of Attractions in Louth

Activities Around

List of Attractions in Louth

Ardee Castle

Ardee Castle

Iconic Buildings

Old Ruins

Ardee Castle is significant for being the largest fortified medieval Tower House in Ireland.The Castle was built in the 15th century by John St. Leger and served as a stronghold for the defence of the Pale. Ardee Castle is the largest fortified medieval Tower House in Ireland or Britain. The castle was originally built by Roger de Peppard in 1207, but not much is left from the original walls.

Athclare Castle

Athclare Castle

Iconic Buildings

Old Ruins

Athclare Castle is typical of defensive residential architecture of the period. This sixteenth-century tower house was built by the Barnewell family and later extended in the seventeenth century, the plain extension is distinguished by the stocky tower to the east. Athclare has been extended and adapted in the centuries since its construction and is classified as a site of National social historical importance by the Irish National Inventory of Architectural Heritage.

Barnavave

Barnavave

Outdoors- Other

Possibly one of the most intriguing sites in Carlingford and Cooley Peninsula. Often referred to as the Famine Village. It is a Deserted Village located on the South Commons, People often wonder how old it is and was it a famine village. These were the arable plots: the families probably really lived off the 450 acres of commonly held grazing that surrounded them.

Battle of the Boyne Visitor Centre

The Visitor Centre is housed in the restored 18th century Oldbridge House on the banks of the River Boyne. It gives an in-depth insight into the battle between King William III and his father-in-law King James II in 1690. Explore the colourful tale of the Battle of the Boyne through detailed displays and historical reenactments.

Beaulieu House and Garden. Closed.

Beaulieu House and Garden. Closed.

Iconic Buildings

Old Ruins

A majestic house which was built by Sir Henry Titchbourne, Marshal of the Army in Ireland, and Governor of Drogheda. It is believed to be the finest example of Irish domestic architecture to survive from the Restoration. Inside the impressive house the walls are adorned with excellent family portraits, as well as a superior collection of the works of many famous Irish artists of the early part of the 20th-century. It is one of the earliest unfortified major houses built in Ireland.

Blackrock, Co. Louth

Blackrock is a beautiful seaside village just to the south of Dundalk, County Louth, Ireland. Blackrock beach and its promenade is still a focal point of the village and the site of Christmas Day fundraising events, an annual raft race, annual movie festival, pumpkin festival as well as several other events throughout the year. Kitesurfing has become popular in the area.

Boyne Viaduct

Boyne Viaduct

Man-made Structures- Other

Old Ruins

The Boyne Viaduct, a 30-metre-high railway bridge, or viaduct, that crosses the River Boyne in Drogheda, carrying the main Dublin–Belfast railway line. During World War II, the viaduct was identified by the British as being of great strategic importance as part of the British plans for a counter-attack following a German invasion of Ireland.

Brú na Bóinne

Brú na Bóinne

Outdoors- Other

Old Ruins

Brú na Bóinne is one of the most important prehistoric megalithic sites in Europe drawing thousands of visitors daily. Each of the tombs has their own myths to explore against the beautiful backdrop of the gently meandering River Boyne. The archaeological landscape within Brú na Bóinne is dominated by the three well-known large passage tombs, Knowth, Newgrange and Dowth, built some 5,000 years ago in the Neolithic or Late Stone Age.

Carlingford Heritage Centre

Carlingford Heritage Centre

Iconic Buildings

Old Ruins

Carlingford Heritage Centre is located in a beautifully restored Medieval Church which has been a vital part of Carlingford's historical landscape since the 13th century. Discover Carlingford’s heritage and experience the history of the region. Visitors can learn about the village from its foundation to its prosperous years and right through to modern day. The historical exhibition is embellished with maps, drawings, illustrations and so more.

Clermont Carn

Clermont Carn

1 Day Treks

Mountain Peaks

Clermont Carn is a 510m high peak in the Cooley Mountains in County Louth, Ireland, which is also home to a main 2RN transmission site. It is a chambered cairn and National Monument located in the Cooley Mountains, County Louth, Republic of Ireland.

Clochafarmore Standing Stone (Chúchalainn's Stone)

Clochafarmore is a menhir and National Monument in County Louth, Ireland. It is located 1.4 km east-northeast of Knockbridge, Dundalk on the left bank of the River Fane. This standing stone is traditionally associated with the death of the legendary hero Cúchulainn. Lugaid mac Con Roí has three magical spears made, and it is prophesied that a king will fall by each of them.

Cooley-Halbinsel

Cooley-Halbinsel

1 Day Treks

Mountain Peaks

The Cooley Peninsula is a hilly promontory in the Irish County Louth , which is formed in the northwest of Carlingford Lough, who is also the border with County Down in Northern Ireland forms. To the south is Dundalk Bay. The highest point is Slieve Foy, which at 588 m is also the highest peak in County Louth. The most important settlements on the peninsula are Carlingford , a founding of the Vikings , Greenore and Omeath .

County Museum Dundalk

This museum is located in a beautifully restored late 18th century warehouse in the Carroll Centre at Roden Place in Jocelyn Street. The collections document the history of County Louth, from the Stone Age to the present, in three permanent exhibition galleries. Some of the objects on display are examples of Irish rock art, and objects relating to Oliver Cromwell. The museum is designated by the National Museum of Ireland to collect archaeological finds.

Cú Chulainn's Castle

Cú Chulainn's Castle

Iconic Buildings

Old Ruins

Dún Dealgan Motte is a motte and National Monument in Dundalk, Ireland. Some legends claim the site as the birthplace of Cú Chulainn, and it is here that he bases himself in the Táin Bó Cúailgne. The Annals of the Four Masters places a battle here in 500 AD. The house was rebuilt in 1850 by Thomas Vesey Dawson as a country retreat, but fell into disrepair and was bought by the County Louth Archaeological and Historical Society to be used for a museum.

Dowth Passage Tomb

Dowth Passage Tomb

Tombs

Old Ruins

A 5,500-year-old passage tomb uncovered at Dowth Hall in the heart of the Brú na Bóinne World Heritage site in Co Meath is “the most significant megalithic find in Ireland in the last 50 years”, archaeologists believe. It is less developed as a tourist attraction than its neighbours, partly because the chamber is much lower, and partly because the decoration is less visible.

Dunmahon Castle

Dunmahon Castle

Iconic Buildings

Dunmahon Castle is a four storey tower house with a vaulted ceiling over the ground floor. The stairs are in the north eastern corner, with the garderobes in the north west of the tower. It is situated on farmland near Gibston. It can be seen from the M1 motorway and from the Dublin to Belfast railway line.

Highlanes Gallery

Highlanes Gallery

Art Galleries

Highlanes Gallery is a public art gallery and visual arts exhibition centre in Drogheda, Ireland.It promotes and exhibits modern and contemporary art in the north-east region through a dynamic and diverse programme of exhibitions and access initiatives. The Collection dates from the middle of the eighteenth century and is housed at the former Franciscan Friary Church in St. Laurence Street in Drogheda.

Ice House Hill Park

A beautiful 20 acre public park established in 1995, which includes mature trees, possibly relics of the demesne. The parkland itself dates from the 17th century and contains a double-vaulted ice chamber. The restoration works included the integration of the parkland edge with the surrounding neighbourhood, the undergrounding of overhead cables and the construction of an ornamental boundary railing.

Irish Military War Museum

A fascinating Museum offers a fascinating insight into Irish participants’ involvement in both World War One and World War Two, as well as other military conflicts in world history. It offers a fascinating insight into Irish participants’ involvement in both World War One and World War Two, as well as other military conflicts in world history. It also houses one of the finest collections of WW2 Allied and Axis vehicles and deactivated weapons ever assembled in Ireland.

Jumping Church

Jumping Church

Churches

Old Ruins

The Kildemock Jumping Church ruin is a popular attraction and is more famously known as the 'Jumping Church'. The west gable wall of the church has jumped inward to a few feet from its foundations. This is believed to have happened in February 1715 during a storm. However, according to legend, the west gable of the building jumped two feet inside the wall of the original foundation to exclude an excommunicated church member who had been buried in the church.

Map of attractions in Louth

Comments

For more information about Louth, visit: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/County_Louth