Drogheda
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Template:Infobox Irish Place Drogheda (Droichead Átha in Irish, meaning "Bridge of the Ford") is an industrial and port town in County Louth (on the border with County Meath) on the east coast of Ireland, 56 km north of Dublin. The town is increasingly populated by commuters working in Dublin. In 2002 the population stood at 31,020 making Drogheda Ireland's largest borough that is not a County Borough.
In recent years Drogheda has been shedding its industrial image, as an inceasing number of people employed in the retail, services and technology sectors have been looking to the local economy instead of Dublin for employment.
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Pronunciation
Some Droghedans pronounce it in a unique way ignoring most of the actual letters in it; "Drogheda" becomes "Draw-da".
History
The town is located close to the site of Newgrange, a burial mound constructed around 3200 BC. A trading post and settlement existed on the site of the town from Roman times and was known as Inver Colpa. The town itself was founded in 911 by the Danes and officially chartered as a town in 1194. The Irish Parliament moved to the town in 1494 and passed Poyning's Law a year later. The town was besieged twice during the Irish Confederate Wars (see the siege of Drogheda). On the second occasion it was taken by Oliver Cromwell in September 1649, as part of the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland. Drogheda was the site of an infamous massacre of the Royalist defenders. The Battle of the Boyne, 1690 occurred near the town at the River Boyne.
During the Great Famine, in 1847 the Ottoman Empire wished to donate Ireland 10,000 pounds on behalf of humanity, but Queen Victoria would let only 1000 English pounds to be given as a healing. So, the Ottoman padishah of the time, Abdülmecid (abdeulmedgid), sent 5 freighter ships (filled with bulk for the Irish) to Britain from Istanbul. In response to Queen Victoria's preventing the ships to dock in English ports, the five ships disembarked their loads in the first Irish port possible, Drogheda.
Like Portsmouth, Drogheda's coat of arms bears the star and crescent, but this is not (as misinformed local hearsay unfortunately has it) anything to do with the aforementioned Turkish freighters. As with Portsmouth, this device has its origin with King Richard I (the Lionheart), in whose reign Drogheda was granted its charter in 1194 by Hugh de Lacy (after whom de Lacy bridge in Drogheda is named). It represents Christ (the morning star)triumphant over Islam (the crescent). Another Norman element on Drogheda's coat of arms is its centrepiece, St. Lawrence's Gate. On the coat of arms the three lions which flank the Norman barbican are also taken from King Richard's coat of arms. On the other side of the barbican is a ship denoting Drogheda's status as an important port. The town's motto "Deus praesidium, mercatura decus" translates "God our strength, merchandise our glory"
Arts
Drogheda has a thriving arts scene, it hosts the annual Samba festival every summer, where Samba bands from around the world converge on the town for a week of drumming, parades and general colourful madness. It is also home to Calipo theatre company which specialises in multi-media productions and has achieved considerable success in Ireland and abroad. The town also supports one of the largest and most successful Youth theatres in Ireland (Droichead Youth Theatre or DYT) which has toured to Belfast, London, Italy, and Sweden. The addition of the Little Duke Theatre company in Duke street, in the old Julian Blinds building, adds to this scene. The Municipal Centre in Stockwell Street acts as a base for most of the town's artists, under the umbrella of the Droichead Arts company featuring a gallery space and a theatre.
The former Garda (Police) station in West Street is now a satellite site of the Droichead Arts company.
The original Drogheda bypass bridge over the river Boyne, also know as the Bridge of Peace is regionally famous for its aerosol art murals. Under the bridge, there are two large concrete supports that measure approximately 8 meters high, and 20 meters long. Starting in the 1980's with the Breakdance craze, these supports were painted and sprayed with murals by aerosol artists. This activity at the time was technically illegal and frowned upon by the local authorities.
However, since then corporate sponsorship was awarded in the 1990's and now a weekend festival takes place each summer. Artists, DJ's, and hangers-on descend on the bridge and firstly blank the existing mureal with a base coat of plain paint, and then paint new murals. There is a theme to each mural i.e. drug abuse, genetic engineering, globalisation etc. The original artists have evolved into the mainstay of the festival under the banner of the TDA crew. In recent years the popularity of the murals and the subsequent festival has wavered, due to poor publicity of the festival by the organisers, and mainly due to the content of the mureals becoming increasingly complex and difficult to decipher. Aerosol artists use a highly stylized form of writing when using words in their work, and these are impossible for the passer by to understand. This has lead to a preconception among the pubic that the mureals are eliteist and only for those involved in the scene. Also a large proportion of the surface area of the mureals are used by artists to write their names, commentators have seen this as a waste of space and a manifestation of the vanity and clique nature of the scene.
Drogheda's larger bars feature live music, notable venues are The Pheasant on Duleek Street , Solas off West Street, McPhails in Laurence Street, and McHughs on Cord Road. For traditional Irish music, Carberry's (in Irish 'Teach Uí Cairbre') pub near the North Quay has regular sessions by amateur and professional musicians alike. This pub is regionally known as it has remained unchanged for decades. Tourists seeking a slice of old Ireland should visit Carberry's.
Drogheda today
According to the census conducted in 2002, Drogheda is the largest town in Ireland, with a population of 30,000. With the expansion of the Irish economy in the 1990s, during the so-called "Celtic Tiger" years, Drogheda has become one of the primary locations for people who work in Dublin to buy a house. Property prices in the capital are prohibitive for first time home buyers. With the expansion of transport infrastructure in the area around Drogheda i.e. the Swords and Balbriggan bypasses, the Boyne cable bridge and the increased number of commuter trains serving the town, Drogheda is now an attractive location for Dubliners to buy their first house and commute to work. The Boyne cable bridge in particular has dramatically increased the profile of the region as a location for out-of-town shopping centres.
Within the town there are currently major construction projects underway. The renovation of the former Grammar School in Laurence Street as a shopping centre is unusual as the original fascia of the building has been restored to its former Georgian architectural specifications. This centre extends to Palace Street, all along William Street, and down Peter Street on the site of the former Parochial Hall. A massive underground carpark is also present.
On the south quay in the space of the former Lakeland Daries premises, the Scotch Hall centre was completed in November 2005. A new pedestrian bridge extends from the north quay, at Mayoralty Street, into the complex.
In December 2005 the towns soccer team, Drogheda United, won the national FAI Carlsberg Cup for the first time in its history by beating Cork City 2-0 in the final at Lansdowne Road.
Local economy
The local economy of Drogheda like many other towns in Ireland is changing rapidly. The old industrial industries based around linen and textiles, brewing, shipping, and manufacturing have now disappeared or are in decline.
There are still a number of large employers in the town including Boyne Valley Foods, Irish Cement (Ireland's largest cement works), Drogheda Concentrates (Coca Cola), International Flavours & Fragrances (IFF) and Becton Dickenson.
Drogheda offers many advantages over other towns in the region including:
- Location close to M1 (main Dublin - Belfast motorway) necessary for international trading
- Road and Rail Infrastructure
- Availability of broadband and telecommunications services
- Access to key markets of Dublin & Belfast
- Fast growing young, skilled population
- Services offered by Ireland's largest town with excellent selection of banking, retail, restaurant, hotel, sporting, conference and entertainment
- High quality of living with access to beaches and countryside
Recently additions to the local ecomony include:
- IDA Business & Technology Park: a 25 hectare (63 acre) with direct access onto the Dublin / Belfast motorway developed and landscaped for the needs of both the IT & Financial and Internationally Traded Services Sectors.
- International Fund Services (IFS), a leading provider of fund accounting and administration services to the Hedge Fund industry globally, is to establish a Hedge Fund administration operation in Drogheda, Co. Louth with the creation of up to 235 jobs.
- 8 Enterprise Incubation units for high tech startup companies are now provided in the Milmount complex.
Points of interest
- Boyne Viaduct
- Millmount Fort
- St Peter's Roman Catholic Church - housing the head of St. Oliver Plunkett, this is what many tourists remember Drogheda for.
- Laurence's Gate
Noted natives and residents
- Nick Colgan, Goalkeeper for Republic of Ireland soccer team
- Ian Harte, Levante and Republic of Ireland full-back. Nephew of Gary Kelly.
- Gary Kelly, charity campaigner and former international footballer
- Sean Thornton, Doncaster midfielder and former Republic Of Ireland under 21 soccer player.