Louth County Council Commemorative Programme 2026
Louth County Council has been awarded €15,000 by the Department of Culture, Communications and Sport to deliver its 2026 Commemorative Programme.
This funding is intended to continue to assist Local Authorities in developing and supporting community-led commemorative initiatives to mark the centenaries of locally significant historical events that took place in 1926 and other key historical events and themes.
Conservation and Digitisation of Louth Archives
The project aims to support local research and scholarship through the preservation of local archives and the provision of free access to local archival sources. Local archive collections will be assessed and those in poor condition will receive conservation treatment by an external professional conservator. A quantity of local archive sources will be digitised and will be made available on the County Archives website for users to access. The preservation of local archives for the benefit of the community and future generations; an increase in the quantity of local archives available for research or general enjoyment; access to archival sources that helps users with research and study; and the broadening of awareness and knowledge on local events and experiences during the commemoration period.
Unique Postcard collection of County Louth
Louth Library Service purchased part of a personal postcard collection of Noel Ross who was a noted County Louth Historian. Over 2,300 postcards are included in the collection which is a valuable addition to the local history and reference collection. Noel served as secretary of the County Louth Archaeological and Historical Society for thirty-four years and was editor of forty-five of its journals. The collection covers all of County Louth’s towns and villages. The subject matter is diverse with military interest, barracks, local shows and events, street markets, railways and other transports, sporting events etc. Highlights of the collection include Convention Day, 1906, Dundalk Show, 1908, Cuchulainn Pageant, 1921. A selection of the postcard collection will be displayed as an exhibition that can be displayed in each branch of Louth Library Service.
Unique Postcard collection of County Louth - Photography workshops
Celebrating the Noel Ross postcard collection and exhibition, photography workshops for secondary school students or young adult groups will take place. This project will explore the theme of a changing society and reflect local life then and now. The workshops will reflect on the historical nature of the postcards while examining a changing society during the early years of the state examining themes such as popular social, cultural and civic movements, social class and gender, family life and children, land and rural life, sport in communities and innovations and developments in the fields of industry, transport in County Louth.
Reprint of Historian in Residence Titles
Reprint of historian in residence titles ‘War and Peace in the Wee County’ and ‘Louth and the Irish Revolution: a research guide’.
These titles explore a changing society during the early years of the state, while recognising specific historical events that took place in County Louth during the revolutionary period. These guides will support local research and be distributed to secondary school history departments within County Louth to assist as research guides to support student research including classroom-based assessments.
