Civic Honours
The Council under Section 74 of the Local Government Act, 2001 may confer Civic Honours on a distinguished person. This on rare occasion can include allowing the admission of a person to the honorary freedom of its administrative area. The following is the roll of honours previously given.
Freedom of County Louth
| Date Granted | Name |
| 25th June 2016 | Mr. Joe Biden, Vice President of United States of America |
Civic Honours Awarded by Louth County Council
| Year Granted | Name | |
| 1998 | Josie Kiernan | Mountaineer |
| 2000 | Táin Ceili Band | |
| 2000 | Dr Sean McDonagh | Dundalk Institute of Technology (DKIT) |
| 2000 | Thomas Gernon | Winner of Aer Lingus Young Scientist of Year |
| 1957 - 2006 | Dermot O Brien & Louth All Ireland Winners | |
| 2009 | Tallanstown Tidy Town | Tidy Town’s Winners |
| 2022 | Amy Broadhurst | World Boxing Champion (Civic Honours Scroll) |
Freedom of Drogheda
| Date Granted | Name | |
| 1st February 1877 | Isaac Butt Esq | |
| 1st February 1877 | Benjamin Whitworth Esq MP | |
| 1st February 1881 | Charles Stewart Parnell MP | |
| 2nd October 1882 | Sir Garnet Holsey KCB | |
| 7th May 1888 | John Dillon MP | |
| 12th December 1889 | Rt. Hon. G.J. Shaw Lefevre | |
| 27th July 1904 | His Eminence, Cardinal Vincent Vanitelli | Papal Legate to Ireland |
| 19th February 1902 | John Edward Redmond MP | Leader of the Irish Nationalist Parliamentary Party |
| 14th September 1909 | Captain E. O’Meagher Condon | |
| 14th September 1909 | John O’Callaghan Esq | Boston, USA |
| 30th June 1914 | His Grace, The Most Reverend John J. Glennon D.D. |
Archbishop of St. Louis |
| 17th March 1915 | Lance Corporal William Kenny V.C. | Greenhills, Drogheda |
| 17th August 1920 | His Grace, The Most Reverend Daniel Mannix D.D. |
Archbishop of Melbourne |
| 28th June 1932 | His Eminence Cardinal Lorenzo Lauri |
On the occasion of his visit to Drogheda during the 31st International Eucharistic Congress |
| 27th November 1935 | Eamonn De Valera | President, Irish Free State |
| 1st August 1939 | Seán T. O’Reilly T.D. | Minister for Local Government and Public Health |
| 15th February 1953 | His Eminence John Cardinal D’Alton | Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland |
| 16th December 1956 | Right Reverend Monsignor John F. Stokes, P.P. V.G. |
St. Peter’s Drogheda |
| 26th April 1959 | His Eminence Cardinal Cushing | Archbishop of Boston, USA |
| 31st July 1962 | His Eminence Michael Cardinal Browne O.P. | On the occasion of his visit to Drogheda following his elevation to the Sacred College of Cardinals |
| 25th August 1964 | Right Reverend Monsignor Henry Farrell P.P. V.G. | St. John’s Perth, Ontario, Canada |
| 13th May 1965 | His Eminence William Cardinal Conway | On the occasion of his visit to Drogheda following his elevation to the Sacred College of Cardinals |
| 6th June 1966 | Reverend Mother Mary Martin, Mother General |
Medical Missionaries of Mary |
| 29th September 1979 | His Holiness Pope John Paul II | |
| 19th March 1980 | His Eminence Tomás Cardinal Ó Fiaich | On the occasion of his visit to Drogheda following his elevation to the Sacred College of Cardinals |
| 28th July 1980 | Right Reverend Monsignor James Lennon | |
| 28th June 1990 | Dr. Patrick J. Hillery | Uachtarán na hÉireann |
| 5th July 1992 | His Eminence Cahal Cardinal Daly | Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland |
| 3rd April 1993 | Mary Robinson | Uachtarán na hÉireann |
| 14th April 1997 |
Brother Edmund Garvey (*see note at end of Page) |
Congregation Leader of the Christian Brothers |
| 12th December 1999 | Dr. Thomas K. Whitaker | Public Servant |
| 11th May 2001 | John Hume MP MEP | Nobel Peace Laureate |
| 27th June 2002 | Gary Kelly | Professional Footballer |
| 12th May 2010 | Oliver Murphy | Founding Member of the Irish Wheelchair Association |
| 9th May 2013 | Garda Patrick Morrissey | (Posthumous) who gave his life in the service of his country on 27th June 1985 |
| 24th October 2013 | Father Ignatius O’Donovan | Augustinian Prior Drogheda 1993 -1997 and 2007 - 2013 |
| 22nd May 2015 | Michael D. Higgins | A life devoted to public service, creativity and advocacy |
| 8th June 2018 | Séamus Mallon | A life devoted to public service, human dignity and advocacy |
| 10th January 2020 | Ambassador Geraldine Byrne Nason | Dedicated service to public life |
* On Monday the 4th of September 2023 the Elected Members of the Borough District of Drogheda voted “to no longer acknowledge Edmund Garvey as Freeman of Drogheda”