- Well-structured exhibition on all aspects of local history.
- Rare exhibits that will delight the enthusiast.
- Attractive use of location.
- Some rate exhibits might be disputed ...
- The Louth County Museum is housed in a converted, historic warehouse in Dundalk.
- Exhibits range from flint shards to Heinkel cars - with some rum and tobacco in-between.
- Floors are "themed", making the exhibition easy and interesting to navigate.
The car built in Dundalk was the Heinkel Kabinenroller, a strange post-war German invention dreamt up by former airplane engineers. While during the "Belfast Blitz" Heinkel bomber engines droned in the skies above Dundalk, in the 1950s a veritable host of Heinkels droned out of the factory onto the Irish roads. Literally aircraft-inspired cabins on three wheels, powered by a scooter engine. You wonder how many of those may still be lying undiscovered in potholes around the country.
But the Heinkels were not all Dundalk produced - the ground floor exhibition will introduce you to milling, twisted tobacco and the local "Old Invalid Rum" (I presume the marketing director was fired).
The second floor is given to "Boundaries and Borders", including segments on local lifestyles through history and local wars. Oliver Cromwell's shaving mirror and King William's leather jerkin (worn at the Battle of the Boyne) make their appearance. Though I tend to have my doubt regarding authenticity here.
The third floor deals with archaeology and natural history and provides interesting, interactive dispays. Again from 300 millennia old flint shards to modern pollution the scope is wide. And it’ll even keep kids interested, always a bonus.
Temporary exhibitions can occupy the top floor - check with the museum what (if anything) is on.
The musum is local, but not parochial - indeed it has won the coveted title "Museum of the Year" in both 1995 and 1999. Go, visit and explore.
