Province of Leinster

County Louth

Known as The Wee County. Because it is the smallest of the thirty-two, at 826 square kilometres. Carlow is next and is seventy square kilometres bigger.

Did you know? Ireland's smallest county is the stage of its greatest epic: the Táin Bó Cúailnge, where the boy-warrior Cúchulainn defended Ulster single-handed at the fords.

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Through the ages — who held Louth

8,000 BC – 4,001 BC Mesolithic hunter-gatherers The First Irish

4,000 BC – 2,501 BC Neolithic farming communities The Tomb Builders

2,500 BC – 501 BC Bronze Age Ireland The Age of Gold & Bronze

500 BC – AD 99 Iron Age Ireland The Iron Age

AD 100 – AD 399 Voluntii (Uluti) Ptolemy's Ireland

AD 400 – AD 431 Ulaid The Five Fifths

AD 432 – 1168 Airgíalla (Oriel) Patrick & the Rise of the Uí Néill Saints & Scholars The Viking Storm Norse Cities & the Rise of Brian Kings with Opposition

1169 – 1333 Anglo-Norman Lordship of Ireland The Norman Invasion High Tide of the Colony

1334 – 1541 The English Pale The Gaelic Resurgence The Kildare Ascendancy

1542 – 1607 Kingdom of Ireland (Tudor crown) The Tudor Conquest

1608 – 1640 Kingdom of Ireland The Plantation of Ulster

1641 – 1652 Confederate Ireland Confederate Ireland & Cromwell

1653 – 1800 Kingdom of Ireland Ascendancy Ireland

1801 – 1915 United Kingdom of Great Britain & Ireland The Act of Union An Gorta Mór — The Great Famine Land & Liberty

1916 – 1921 Irish Republic (declared, contested) The Revolution

1922 – 1936 Irish Free State Partition — Free State & Northern Ireland

1937 – 1948 Ireland (Éire) Éire

1949 – 2026 Republic of Ireland The Republic & the Troubles Peace & the New Ireland

Clans & surnames of Louth

Callan Ó Cathaláin Gaelic sept · “descendant of Cathalán, 'little battle-mighty one'” Carroll Ó Cearbhaill Gaelic sept · “descendant of Cearbhall, 'fierce in battle'” Fleming Pléimeann Norman-Flemish · “'the Fleming' — from Flanders” Halpin Ó hAilpín Gaelic sept · “descendant of Ailpín” O'Hare Ó hÍr / Ó hAichir Gaelic sept · “descendant of Ír, 'long-lasting' — or of Aichear, 'fierce'” Plunkett Pluincéid Norman · “possibly from blanchet, 'little fair one'” Rice Rís Norman-Welsh · “from Welsh Rhys” Taaffe Táth Norman-Welsh · “from Welsh Dafydd (David)” Watters Mac Uaitéir / Ó hUisce / Ó Fuaruisce Gaelic septs & Ulster settlers · “'son of Walter' (Mac Uaitéir) — or, for the Gaelic septs, names built on 'uisce', water: 'descendant of the water' (Ó hUisce), 'cold water' (Ó Fuaruisce)”

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On the ground in Louth

Dromiskin · round tower · incomplete · 15.25 m
Faughart · round tower · incomplete · 0.05 m
Monasterboice · high cross
Monasterboice · round tower · incomplete · 28 m
Muiredach's High Cross · high cross
Proleek Dolmen · dolmen
Townleyhall passage grave · tomb
9 castles · Ardee Castle, Athclare Castle, Barmeath Castle, Castle Roche, Darver Castle and more

Every pin is placed by its documented coordinates. All the monuments of Ireland →

Quick answers

What is the Irish name for County Louth?

Lú. Louth is one of the 12 counties of Leinster (Cúige Laighean).

Who ruled County Louth in the Middle Ages?

Around 1014 it was held by Airgíalla (Oriel); by 1450, The English Pale. The full era-by-era chronology is on this page.

What surnames come from County Louth?

Names historically associated with Louth include Callan, Carroll, Fleming, Halpin, O'Hare, Plunkett, Rice, Taaffe, among others.

Trace your ancestors in Louth

Free, from the holding institutions. How to begin: the six-step guide → · Spotted an error on this page? Suggest a correction.