Dundalk

Dundalk ( dun-DAW(L)K; Irish: Dún Dealgan) is the county town of County Louth in the province of Leinster, Ireland. The town is situated on the Castletown River, which flows into Dundalk Bay on the east coast of Ireland, and is halfway between Dublin and Belfast, 7 km (4.3 mi) south of the border between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. It is surrounded by several townlands and villages that form the wider Dundalk Municipal District. It is the seventh largest urban area in the Republic of Ireland, with a population of 43,112 as of the 2022 census, and the twelfth largest settlement on the island of Ireland, by population. Dundalk has been inhabited since the Neolithic period. It was established as a Norman stronghold in the 12th century following the Norman invasion of Ireland, and became the northernmost outpost of The Pale in the Late Middle Ages. Located where the northernmost point of the province of Leinster meets the province of Ulster, the town came to be known as the "Gap of the North". The modern street layout dates from the early 18th century and owes its form to James Hamilton (later 1st Earl of Clanbrassil). The legends of the mythical warrior hero Cú Chulainn are set in this district, and the motto on the town's coat of arms is Irish: Mé do rug Cú Chulainn cróga ("I gave birth to brave Cú Chulainn"). The town developed brewing, distilling, tobacco, textile, and engineering industries during the 19th century. It became prosperous and its population grew as it became an important manufacturing and trading centre, both as a hub on the Great Northern Railway (Ireland) network and with its maritime link to Liverpool from the Port of Dundalk. It suffered from high unemployment and urban decay after these industries closed...