Dundalk

Dún Dealgan

Town

Clockwise from top: Castle Roche, Clarke Station, St. Patrick's Pro-Cathedral, The Marshes shopping centre, Market Square, Dundalk Institute of Technology

Coat of arms

Motto: Mé do rug Cú Chulainn cróga (Irish)
"I gave birth to brave Cú Chulainn"

Dundalk

Location in Ireland

Coordinates: 54°00′32″N 6°24′18″W / 54.009°N 6.4049°WCoordinates: 54°00′32″N 6°24′18″W / 54.009°N 6.4049°W

Inhabited

3500 BC

Charter

1189 AD

Area

• Urban

25.19 km² (9.73 sq mi)

• Rural

354.04 km² (136.70 sq mi)

Population (Census 2011)

• Town

37,816

• Rank

7th

• Urban

31,149

• Rural

25,613

• Environs

6,667

Time zone

WET (UTC0)

• Summer (DST)

IST (UTC+1)

Eircode

A91

Irish Grid Reference

J048074

Dialing code

042, +353 42

Website

www.dundalk.ie

Dundalk (/dʌnˈdɔːk/, Irish: Dún Dealgan, meaning "Dalgan's fort") is the county town of County Louth, Ireland. It is on the Castletown River, which flows into Dundalk Bay, and is near the border with Northern Ireland, halfway between Dublin and Belfast. It has associations with the mythical warrior hero Cú Chulainn.

The Dundalk area has been inhabited since at least 3500 BC, in the Neolithic period. A tangible reminder of their presence can still be seen in the form of the Proleek Dolmen, the eroded remains of a megalithic tomb located in the Ballymascanlon area to the north of Dundalk. Celtic culture arrived in Ireland around 500 BC. According to the legendary historical accounts, the group settled in North Louth were known as the Conaille Muirtheimne and took their name from Conaill Carnagh, legendary chief of the Red Branch Knights of Ulster. Their land now forms upper and lower Dundalk.

Dundalk had been originally developed as an unwalled Sráid Bhaile (meaning village; translates literally as "Street Townland"). The streets passed along a gravel ridge which runs from the present day Bridge Street in the North, through Church Street to Clanbrassil Street to Earl Street, and finally to Dublin Street.

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Wikipedia