DROGHEDA, a town in the province of Leinster, in Ireland, situated in the middle of a small district called the county of the town of Drogheda, between the counties of Louth and Meath, is built on both sides of the river Boyne, about five miles from its mouth, and thirty miles north of the city of Dublin. The entire extent of the county is 5800 acres, or nine square miles. In the earliest notices of it by ancient writers it is called Inver-Colpa, or the Port of Colpa, and afterwards Tredagh. Drogheda, the name it is at present known by, signifies “the Bridge over the Ford.” The portions on each side of the Boyne were formerly distinct towns, under separate jurisdictions, distinguished by the names of Drogheda on the side of Meath, and Drogheda on the side of Uriel, the ancient appellation given to the county of Louth and some adjoining districts. It is now divided into the parishes of St Peter, St Mary, and part of that of Ballymakenny; and in the year 1813 it contained a population of 16,000 souls, in 1821 of 18,118, and in 1831 of 17,365; being the only place in Ireland whose numbers did not increase in the interval between the two last-mentioned dates. It ranks in amount of inhabitants the eighth of the chief cities and towns in Ireland.

The municipal government of the town is vested in the mayor, two sheriffs, two justices of the peace, and a recorder, who hold under a charter granted under the following singular circumstances: Whilst the town was split into two independent jurisdictions, the inhabitants were incessantly in a state of mutual hostility, in consequence of trading vessels landing their cargoes in the southern town, to avoid the payment of pontage duty levied on all vessels discharging on the northern or Louth side. Much blood was frequently shed on these occasions. At length Philip Bennett, a monk residing in the town, took occasion, on the festival of Corpus Christi, to preach a sermon before the constituted authorities of both sides, in which he inculcated the blessings of union so emphatically, and followed up the subject so effectively at an entertainment to which he invited them in his convent the same day, that they all joined in sending a deputation to Henry IV. to obtain a new charter, by which both parts were embodied into a single corporation. This event took place in the year 1412. The charter was afterwards confirmed with alterations by James I. The mayor was honoured by Edward IV. with a sword of state, and L.20 a year for its maintenance, in reward of the services performed by the townsmen in an engagement at Malpas Bridge, where this magistrate, at the head of 500 archers and 200 pole-axemen, contributed to the defeat of O’Reilly and his confederates. Previously to the union Drogheda returned two members to parliament. The number has since been reduced to one, who is elected by a constituency consisting of 531 freemen and 407 freeholders and leaseholders, the total number of electors being 560.

The town has always been considered by the English as a place of much importance. In the reign of Edward III. it was classed, along with Dublin, Waterford, and Kilkenny, as one of the four staple towns of Ireland. Richard II. received in it the submissions of O’Neal, O’Donnel, and other chieftains of Ulster and Leinster. The right of coining money was granted to it. Parliaments were several times assembled in it, in one of which the value of money was raised, by altering the silver groat or four-penny piece to sixpence. In another parliament, also held here, in the beginning of the reign of Edward IV., the town was granted the right of having a university, with the same privileges as that of Oxford. The plan however failed, owing to the poverty of the town and the unsettled state of the country; and an attempt lately made by the corporation to re-assert the right was also unsuccessful. One of the Earls of Desmond was beheaded here on a charge of high treason, brought against him in parliament by the Earl of Worcester when lord lieutenant. Here also the celebrated statutes known by the name of Poyning’s laws, which made such a change in the political relations between England and Ireland, were enacted. In the civil wars of 1641 the town was besieged by O’Neal and the northern Irish forces; but was gallantly defended by Sir Henry Tichbourne, and after a long blockade relieved by the Marquis of Ormond. The same nobleman relieved it a second time, when invested by the parliamentary army under Colonel Jones. In 1649 Cromwell appeared before it at the head of a numerous and well-appointed army. The town was taken after a short though spirited defence; and every individual in it, without distinction of age or sex, was put to the sword, after promise of quarter given. Thirty only escaped the butchery, who were afterwards transported as slaves to Barbadoes. In 1690 it was garrisoned by King James’s army; but after the decisive battle of the Boyne it surrendered to the conqueror without a struggle, in consequence of a threat that quarter would not be granted if it were taken by storm. Its subsequent history is not marked by any circumstance of striking political notoriety.

Of the ancient fortifications very few relics remain. The only one of its four gates still in existence is that of St Laurence, which forms a very picturesque object. The modern town, built chiefly on the northern bank of the Boyne, is divided into four principal parts or quarters, by the two main streets that intersect each other at the Tholsel. The bridge which connects this portion with the southern is narrow, and by no means well suited to the great and increasing current of passengers and vehicles that take advantage of it. The principal public buildings are, the mayoralty-house, to which a suite of assembly-rooms is attached; the Tholsel, a square building of cut stone, with a cupola; the corn-market, the linen-hall, two parish churches, and several Roman Catholic chapels, the largest of which is that of St Peter. There are also several religious houses, in one of which, the abbey of Dominican nuns, without St Laurence’s gate, is still preserved the head of Oliver Płun-ket, Roman Catholic archbishop of Armagh, who was executed at Tyburn in the year 1681, on an unfounded charge of treason. His body, having been interred in St Giles’, London, was afterwards removed to the Continent. A classical school, under the endowment of Erasmus Smith, is maintained here. There are also several free schools, the principal of which, called the Patrician school, accommodates 150 pupils. Among the charitable institutions is one for the reception of thirty-six clergymen’s widows, who are each provided with a house and an annuity of L.26 during life, arising from bequests made by two archbishops of Armagh. Here is also an alms-house for twenty-four aged widows, an infirmary, and a mendicity association[7:8:200] for the suppression of street-begging, in which the inmates are provided with food and employment, but are not lodged.

The former importance of Drogheda may also be inferred from the numerous remains of its monastic institutions. The principal were, the hospital of St Mary, for the sick and infirm; the priory of St Laurence, which was granted to the corporation on the dissolution of the monasteries; the Dominican friary, of which a tower of stately proportions still exists; the Grey friary and the Augustinian friary; all in the northern part of the town. On the southern side were the hospital of the Knights of St John of Jerusalem, and the Carmelite friary. The archbishops of Armagh had a palace in the town, built by Archbishop Hampton about the year 1620.

Drogheda was until lately the seat of an extensive manufacture of coarse linens, on the decline of which the cotton manufacture supplied its place. Brewing and tanning are carried on largely. Four fairs are held annually on May 12, June 22, August 26, and October 29. It is also a great place of export for grain, hides, and butter. Vessels of two hundred tons can lie at the quay. The communication with the country is facilitated by means of the Boyne navigation, which is carried on for nine miles, chiefly in the bed of the river, to Slane; six miles of still water navigation continue it thence to Navan, and seven more to Trim. The chief articles conveyed by it are coal, slate, timber, iron, and salt upwards; grain, yarn, and linen downwards. The salmon fishery on the Boyne was once very valuable; the fish is highly esteemed for its flavour.

About four miles west of the town is the village of Old Bridgetoun, memorable for the celebrated and decisive victory gained by King William over King James, his unfortunate competitor for the crown of Great Britain. The battle, which marks one of the great epochs in Irish history, is fully detailed in every general account of the country. The precise point where the main body of the British army crossed the Boyne during the action, and where the aged Duke Schomberg was killed whilst leading on his men, is marked by an elegant obelisk 150 feet high, having on each side of its pedestal an appropriate inscription.