County Museum Dundalk

About the museum

County Museum Dundalk tells the story of County Louth from the Stone Age to the present day. It is run by Louth County Council and opened in 1994 in the Carroll Centre on Jocelyn Street.

The building is an eighteenth-century warehouse that was originally the grain store of a distillery founded in 1780. Distilling stopped in 1926, and the tobacco company P. J. Carroll & Co. later used the store as a bonded warehouse. In 1989 the company handed the building over to the local council on condition that it became an interpretive centre, and the restored warehouse became the museum.

The collection numbers more than 70,000 objects and is shown in three permanent galleries, using original artefacts together with computer interactives. A short film about the county is shown in a small theatre. The museum is also recognised by the National Museum of Ireland as a place to receive archaeological finds from the county, and it has won several awards, including two Gulbenkian Museum of the Year awards in the 1990s.

Highlights

• Three permanent galleries on County Louth from the Stone Age to the present
• Three-wheeled Heinkel car built in Dundalk in the late 1950s
• Bronze medal won in archery at the 1908 London Olympics by Beatrice Hill-Lowe of Ardee
• Industrial and engineering history of Louth in the exhibition From Farm to Factory
• Objects linked to Oliver Cromwell and the Battle of the Boyne
• Short film about the county in the museum theatre

Permanent exhibitions

• From Farm to Factory – The ground-floor gallery follows the industrial and engineering history of Louth, from farming and shoemaking to distilling, brewing, tobacco, rail and printing.
• County Louth from prehistory to modern times – The upper galleries trace the history of the county from the first hunter-gatherers through the Viking and medieval periods to the modern era, with a section on war and conflict.

Founded

1994

Operated by

Louth County Council

Admission & discounts

Admission is free.

Admission is free.

Accessibility

• Wheelchair accessible
• Elevator
• Accessible restroom: no information
• Accessible parking: no information
• Service dogs welcome: no information
• Tactile models & exhibits: no information
• Sign language tours: no information
• Easy-to-read materials: no information
• Audio description: no information

The museum has a lift to its galleries.

Kids & families

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Getting there & parking

The museum is in the Carroll Centre at Roden Place, off Jocelyn Street, in the centre of Dundalk.

Amenities & dining

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Plan your visit