Ardee

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Ardee
Baile Átha Fhirdhia

Location

WGS-84 (GPS) Coordinates:
53.855362° N 6.537895° W

Irish Grid Reference
N958906

Statistics

Population (2006)
- Town:
- Rural:

4,318 ^[1]
2,599 ^[2]

An October day on Market Street, Ardee

Ardee (Baile Átha Fhirdhia in Irish) is a town in County Louth, Ireland. It is located at the intersection of the N2, N52, and N33 roads. Ardee is on the banks of the River Dee and is approximately 12 miles (20 Kilometres) from Dundalk, Drogheda, Slane and Carrickmacross. It currently has a population of about 4,318.

1 History
2 Recent Developments
3 Sports Facilities
4 See also
5 External links
6 References

[edit] History

Originally called Atherdee, its name is derived Áth Fhirdia (the Ford of the Ferdia), from the mythological four day battle between Cúchulainn and Ferdia, for the defence of Ulster from Queen Maeve of Connacht. Ferdia fell after 4 days of battle and is buried on the southern banks of the river alongside the Riverside Walk. Ardee is a town of great historical interest, Ardee Castle (St. Leger's) is the largest fortified medieval tower house in Ireland and perhaps in Europe.

From 1378 until 1800 the borough corporation (its Town Council) elected two members to sit in the Irish House of Commons for the Ardee constituency. The borough was disenfranchised by the Act of Union 1800 and from 1801 the area was represented as part of the county constituency of Louth.

The river Dee was the northern border of the Pale in medieval times.

[edit] Recent Developments

Ardee has grown much in the last ten years, mainly as a result of easy access to new roads including the M1 motorway which links Dublin to Belfast. The development of the town has resulted in a dramatic rise in house prices in the area. 2007 has been set by the NRA for work to begin on the Ardee by-pass.

[edit] Sports Facilities

Ardee has an 18-hole golf course whose clubhouse has recently been rebuilt.

Recently developed at Townparks, just outside Ardee are the new home grounds of Ardee Celtic Football Club. The ground features 2 full size sand-based pitches and a 7-aside underage pitch, dressing rooms and covered spectator area. The club has 18 underage teams and 3 senior sides.

Ardee is home to St. Marys GAA club. The club competes in the senior level of Louth GAA competition. Clubs such as Hunterstown Rovers and John Mitchells are also in very close proximity to Ardee. Hunterstown Rovers has 2 adult and several juvenile teams.The senior team competes in the Intermediate Championship.Hunterstown's floodlit Pitch is located just south of Ardee on on the N2.

Ardee & District Athletic Club currently has 70 members both male and female ,all ages are represented from U-7 up to several Veteran athletes.Athletes compete in the various athletic disciplines (Track & Field ,Cross Country, Indoors and Road Racing) at local ,national and international levels.