Louth & Louthiana

Louthiana is the third part of a series of projects which are included on the Ask about Ireland website.

Acknowledgements

Site selection and text; Paul Gosling
Image and text management; Stephen Finnegan
Project co ordination; Ann ward, Isabell Murphy, Dermot Foley.

We would like to acknowledge the continuing support and assistance from An Chomhairle Leabharlanna, and the Department of Environment, Community and Local Government for funding of same.

Louth and Louthiana - An Introduction

Louthiana is a book on the ancient monuments of the County of Louth, first published in 1748. Louth is situated on the east coast of Ireland, it's county town - Dundalk - being equidistant from Dublin and Belfast. Known colloquially as "the wee county", Louth is the smallest county in the island of Ireland, measuring only 44km (30 miles) north to south and averaging 25km (15 miles) in width from east to west.

So what is remarkable about the monumental archaeology of County Louth, and this book called Louthiana? There are numerous reasons why the monuments and the book are important but at their core is essentially the story of a place, its monuments and the effects of time and toil on them. This web project explores a selection of those monuments that are still extant and worthy of visit. In pursuing it, we are greatly assisted by the work of modern archaeologists and a series of articles entitled 'Louthiana: Ancient and Modern', published in the early years of the 20th century. This allows us to compare and contrast the condition of the monuments, and the changing perceptions of them at three or more points in time: in 1748, c.1905 and c.1990.