Thesaurus

Louth is a county in the province of Leinster in the northeast of the Republic of Ireland. Measuring 317 square miles in area, it is the smallest county in the republic. Physically it consists of glacial drifts and large areas of unimproved land. In 1185 Prince John, regent of England, annexed the barony of Louth to the English crown. In the late 14th century it was part of the English Pale, an enclave within Ireland where English rule and settlement were most secure. In the 16th century, the towns of Dundalk and Drogheda were marshalling stations for invading armies marching north into Ulster. It antiquities include the ruined Celtic monasteries of Mellifont and Monasterboice, and many Anglo-Norman castles. The agriculture varies between small farms and larger livestock pastureland farms. The 2003 estimated population was 103,500.