Drumconrath

History

There is evidence of settlement in the area since before 200 BC in the ancient pathways and ringforts at Corstown and Drumsilagh. Tuath Conraige of the Mugdorna, an Airgíalla tribe mostly in Monaghan, occupied the area in the early Middle Ages and gave their name to the area. During the Late Middle Ages, Drumconrath was literally "Beyond the Pale" being the first Gaelic Settlement you meet leaving the Pale from Ardee. It was a hostile place for the English who left the safety of the Pale and several battles took place in the village. The battle of Ballyhoe (1539 AD) between the O'Neills and the English, took place nearby. Of this battle, local folklore says that a treasure was thrown into the lake during the battle and when a true Irish Gael on a white horse comes, he will swoop into the lake and take it. The remains of a monastery on Church Hill, destroyed because of Henry VIII's Dissolution of the Monastery Act, overlooks Lough Braken lake. Here there are views of the Mourne Mountains in one direction and the Dublin Mountains in the other. During the 1798 rebellion, five parishioners were killed by the Louth Militia for refusing to allow them entry to the Church in the village. The area had strong Ribbonmen support and six men from the area were hanged for their part in the infamous burning of the Wildgoose Lodge Murders nearby. A number of local men fought in the Anglo-Irish War and the Irish Civil War with nearby Kingscourt Brigade. It is recorded that this Brigade fired the last shot of the Anglo-Irish War at 11:20 on 11 June 1921, twenty minutes after the truce. A movie, released in October 2016, was filmed in and near Drumconrath. The movie, "The Wilde Goose Lodge", involved a number of local people and actors.