Louth is located just south of the border from Northern Ireland on the east coast of the country.
It is the smallest county in Ireland with an area of just 820 square kilometres, but with a population of 111,000 it is actually Ireland's fourth most populated county despite having no cities within the county.
However, the county's two main towns of Dundalk and Drogheda are classified as Ireland's second and third largest towns.
Dundalk lies just 5km from the now invisible border with Northern Ireland, part of the UK, and is situated where the Castletown River enters Dundalk Bay.
With a population of around 30,000 it is officially the largest town located entirely within Louth.
There is some argument as to the correctness of this statement because Drogheda's population is growing faster than Dundalk's, and repeated recent county boundary changes make the former's current claim to superiority hard to defend.
Drogheda is centred on the River Boyne which used to be the boundary between Louth and Meath, thereby splitting the administration of a growing town.
Southern areas of the town centre have been transferred to Louth's sole control quite recently.
If some Drogheda suburbs which still lie within neighbouring County Meath are included in the statistical debate, then Drogheda is clearly the more popular residency of recent years.
This has happened due to the completion of the M1 motorway within the Republic which will eventually link Dublin and Belfast.
High speed rail and road links to Dublin, just 35 miles away, make Drogheda an ideal commuter town for those preferring to live outside of the city.
If you enter Louth from the south via the spectacular River Boyne cable-stayed bridge on the M1, you will then be able to explore the county's other towns which include Ardee, Baltray, Carlingford (on the banks of the scenic Carlingford Lough inlet), Castlebellingham, Kilsaran, Clogherhead, Collon, Dromiskin, Dunleer, Jenkinstown, Knockbridge, Louth, Omeath (again by Carlingford Lough), Tallanstown, Termonfeckin, Tinure Cross Roads and Tullyallen.
It is the smallest county in Ireland with an area of just 820 square kilometres, but with a population of 111,000 it is actually Ireland's fourth most populated county despite having no cities within the county.
However, the county's two main towns of Dundalk and Drogheda are classified as Ireland's second and third largest towns.
Dundalk lies just 5km from the now invisible border with Northern Ireland, part of the UK, and is situated where the Castletown River enters Dundalk Bay.
With a population of around 30,000 it is officially the largest town located entirely within Louth.
There is some argument as to the correctness of this statement because Drogheda's population is growing faster than Dundalk's, and repeated recent county boundary changes make the former's current claim to superiority hard to defend.
Drogheda is centred on the River Boyne which used to be the boundary between Louth and Meath, thereby splitting the administration of a growing town.
Southern areas of the town centre have been transferred to Louth's sole control quite recently.
If some Drogheda suburbs which still lie within neighbouring County Meath are included in the statistical debate, then Drogheda is clearly the more popular residency of recent years.
This has happened due to the completion of the M1 motorway within the Republic which will eventually link Dublin and Belfast.
High speed rail and road links to Dublin, just 35 miles away, make Drogheda an ideal commuter town for those preferring to live outside of the city.
If you enter Louth from the south via the spectacular River Boyne cable-stayed bridge on the M1, you will then be able to explore the county's other towns which include Ardee, Baltray, Carlingford (on the banks of the scenic Carlingford Lough inlet), Castlebellingham, Kilsaran, Clogherhead, Collon, Dromiskin, Dunleer, Jenkinstown, Knockbridge, Louth, Omeath (again by Carlingford Lough), Tallanstown, Termonfeckin, Tinure Cross Roads and Tullyallen.
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