Descriptive Gazetteer Entry for Louth

Louth.-- a maritime co. in NE. of Leinster province, and the smallest co. in Ireland; bounded N. by co. Armagh, NE. by co. Down, E. by the Irish Sea, S. by co. Meath, and W. by cos. Meath and Monaghan; greatest length, N. and S., 30 miles; greatest breadth, 15 miles; average breadth, 10 miles; coastline about 49 miles; area 202,123 ac. (653 water), or less than 1 per cent, of the total area of Ireland; pop. 77,684, of whom 9176 per cent, are Roman Catholics, 677 Protestant Episcopalians, 173 Presbyterians, and 073 Methodists. Along the coast, which is low and sandy, are Carlingford Lough, between Louth and Down, Dundalk Bay, and the estuary of the Boyne. The Carlingford peninsula in the NE. is almost wholly occupied by a range of mountains, whose summits have alts, from 1000 to upwards of 1900 ft. The rest of the surface, with the exception of a small hilly district in the SW., is level or slightly undulating. The principal streams are Flurry, Creaghan, Fane, Glyde, Dee, and Boyne. The soil is generally fertile, the country having a fine appearance with rich woods and verdant fields. Granite is the pre-vailing rock among the mountains; clay slate and lime-stone underlie the surface of the other districts. (For agricultural statistics, see Appendix.) Coarse linens are manufactured. The fisheries are valuable and extensive, and include an oyster fishery in Carlingford Lough. The co. comprises 6 bars.- Ardee, Drogheda, Dundalk (Lower and Upper), Ferrard, and Louth; 61 pars., and several parts of pars.; the co. of the town of Drogheda; and the towns of Drogheda, Dundalk, and Ardee. For parliamentary purposes the county is divided into 2 divisions - viz., North Lough and South Lough, each returning 1 member.


(John Bartholomew, Gazetteer of the British Isles (1887))

Linked entities:
Feature Description: "a maritime county"   (ADL Feature Type: "countries, 2nd order divisions")
Administrative units: Louth IrlC
Place: County Louth

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