Visiting Us
Where is the archive building?
Is car parking available at the County Archives?
Is it possible to get copies of documents?
Can I bring my camera into the Research Room?
Does Louth County Archives provide a research service?
What are the oldest archival documents held?
Do you hold any archives relating to the former gaol at Dundalk which closed in 1931?
Was anyone famous imprisoned in the gaol?
When and where did the escape from the gaol take place?
Were many executions carried out at Dundalk Gaol?
Where is the archive building?
Our archive building is located on the Ardee Road, Dundalk, approximately five minutes walk to the town centre. The pedestrian entrance gate is through the high stone walls on the Ardee Road at the rear of Dundalk Garda Station (please note that there is no public access via the adjacent Machinery Yard).
Is car parking available at the County Archives?
Louth County Archives is currently unable to directly provide customer parking. However, there is some street parking on the adjacent Ardee Road.
What are the opening hours?
Opening hours are by appointment (telephone or email), preferably one week in advance (or more if travelling long-distance): Mon – Thur: 10am – 1pm, 2pm – 4pm, Fri: 10am - 1pm.
We are closed at weekends, bank holidays, Good Friday, and Christmas Eve through to the first working day after New Year's Day.
Is wifi available?
There is no wifi available.
Is it possible to get copies of documents?
We provide a copying service where possible, however, fees apply. Certain items may not be copied due to copyright or if the item is of a fragile or vulnerable condition.
Can I bring my camera into the Research Room?
No, cameras are not permitted in the Research Room without prior permission of the County Archivist. Security cameras are in operation.
Does Louth County Archives provide a research service?
No, Louth County Archives does not provide a research service due to staff resources. However, if you wish to consult a professional researcher, there is a genealogy service in the National Archives where members of the public can consult a professional genealogist, see National Archives of Ireland website.
What are the oldest archival documents held?
The oldest archival documents held in our headquarters at the Old Gaol include a 1628 indenture between John Dowdall, Drogheda and Francis Dillon, Morton, County Meath who let land located in Dublin; Drogheda Corporation minutes dating to 1649; Ardee Corporation minutes dating to 1661; a Symon Garstin survey of Castletown and Dundalk dating to 1655 and a survey of the Commons of Atherdie (Ardee) dating to 1677. The majority of our holdings date to the nineteenth – twentieth centuries while a moderate quantity dates to the seventeenth - eighteenth centuries.
Do you hold any archives relating to the former gaol at Dundalk which closed in 1931?
Louth County Archives holds a very small quantity of archives relating to the former gaol at Dundalk which closed in 1931 and in which we are now located. The most popular item we hold is a microfilm copy of Dundalk Jail Register dating to 1917 – 1931 (no entries for 1923) – the original of this is held by the National Archives of Ireland. We also hold a small quantity of items that were donated by locals such as a small number of photographs, a handwritten letter referring to events during the Civil War in August 1922, an item of jewellery made by a prisoner and a prisoners' autograph book. In the Grand Jury archive collection, a Superintendent's Minute Book (1849 - 1852) exists for the previous gaol that was located in Crowe Street Dundalk (site of the Town Hall). If you have archives relating to the gaol that you would like to donate, please get in touch.
What type of gaol was it?
When originally built in 1853, the gaol was classed as a county borough gaol for imprisonment administered by grand juries. The other class of gaol that existed at the time (up until the General Prisons Act (Ireland) was passed in 1877) was the convict prison or government prison used for penal servitude or transportation. In 1915, the Gaol was taken over by the British military and in 1917 the Governor’s house (now Dundalk Garda station) was adapted as a hospital for British soldiers by a local Voluntary Aid Detachment. The Gaol was later used as a prison for political prisoners during the War of Independence, and again during the Civil War, after which it reverted to civil use before being closed down in 1931.
Was anyone famous imprisoned in the gaol?
The more well-known individuals imprisoned in Dundalk Gaol were confined during the period of Anglo-Irish struggle. These included Frank Aiken who was leader of the Fourth Northern Division of the IRA during the Civil War period and who later became a Government Minister (Defence; Finance; and External Affairs); Austin Stack who led a hunger strike during the Anglo-Irish struggle and later became Minister for Home Affairs; Sean Treacy who was an Officer in the Third Tipperary Brigade and who took part in a hunger strike during the 1917-18 period; and Diarmuid Lynch who is known as an architect of the 1916 Rising was imprisoned in Dundalk gaol in the 1917-18 period.
When and where did the escape from the gaol take place?
During the Civil War on 27th July 1922 a successful attempt was made to release the anti-treaty prisoners including Frank Aiken (who later became a Government Minister) from the Gaol. A mine was placed against the perimeter wall on the Ardee Road, which was followed by a grenade attack on the gaol. Having been previously alerted, over one hundred prisoners escaped. Traces can still be found of this escape next to our entrance gate on the main Ardee Road. For a transcript of escapees from Dundalk Jail Register, see our Dundalk Jail 1916-1923 web-page.
Were many executions carried out at Dundalk Gaol?
It is unknown what the exact figure of executions was; however, the last three executions were carried out on 13th January 1923 when prisoners Thomas McKeown from Cooley, John McNulty from Belleek, and Thomas Murray from Co. Meath were executed by firing squad.