About Us

‘Everyone has a history    and we have got    a bit of yours’.[1]

Louth County Archives was established in 2000 and is the official repository for the public and private archives of County Louth, as provided by the Local Government Acts, 1994 and 2001. The public archives include those of Louth County Council and its predecessor bodies, while private or local archives may be from individuals, local organisations, clubs, societies, national schools or businesses such as solicitor or architectural firms. Together, the public and private archives illustrate the historical development of County Louth. Archives record decisions, actions and memories: the stories of communities. 

Our collection stored in the Old Gaol contains approximately 260,000 individual items in a variety of formats dating back to 1628. It is an important heritage asset contributing to our heritage and genealogy tourism. Our archives contain a wealth of information about Louth’s places, people and events that is not found elsewhere. A Department of the Environment report in 1996 stated that the local authority archives in Co Louth are ‘of high quality’, that Drogheda has ‘one of the largest and best collections seen’ and that 'those of Ardee are one of the oldest in the country’.

Universal Declaration on Archives adopted by UNESCO

 ‘The Declaration is an important step in improving understanding and awareness of archives among the general public and key decision-makers.  It is a powerful, succinct statement of the relevance of archives in modern society’ as stated by the International Council on Archives.  For more information, see http://www.ica.org/en/universal-declaration-archives

Text of the Universal Declaration on Archives (1 page)(size 203.2 KB)

Records management:

Louth County Archivist provides advice on the management and retention of non-archival records to local authority staff in compliance with legislation and as set out in the duties of the County Archivist. The National Retention Policy for Local Authority Records is the records schedule used by Louth County Council in common with other Irish local authorities. Louth County Archivist is a member of the LGMA Working Group for revising the Policy. The Policy Schedule states how long records should be retained and whether they should become archival or be destroyed.

You can help to preserve our heritage by:

• Donating documents or records to the County Archive
• Telling us about any archives at risk in the county

 [1] ARA’s Archive Awareness Month campaign slogan, 2003