Oldbridge () is a townland near

Drogheda Drogheda ( , ; , meaning "bridge at the ford") is an industrial and port town in County Louth on the east coast of Ireland, north of Dublin. It is located on the Dublin–Belfast corridor on the east coast of Ireland, mostly in County Louth ...

County Meath County Meath ( ; or simply , ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. It is bordered by County Dublin to the southeast, County ...

, Ireland. The area is home to the Boyne Navigation, the Battle of the Boyne Interpretive Centre and the southern half of the Mary McAleese Boyne Valley Bridge (which carries the

M1 motorway The M1 motorway connects London to Leeds, where it joins the A1(M) motorway, A1(M) near Aberford, to connect to Newcastle upon Tyne, Newcastle. It was the first inter-urban motorway to be completed in the UK; the first motorway in the count ...

Navigation

The townland represents the furthest tidal reach on the River Boyne at a point called the "Curly Hole". Curly Hole is also a fishing location. Prior to the 12th century, this was the lowest crossing point of the Boyne. The Abbey of Mellifont owned the lands and fisheries here at dissolution in 1539. It was described then as "''Oldebryge. 26 fishermen with 26 boats de Corrio (sc.corachs) paying £13.6.8''". The Irish

coracle A coracle is a small, rounded, lightweight boat of the sort traditionally used in Wales, and also in parts of the west of Ireland and also particularly on the River Boyne, and in Scotland, particularly the River Spey. The word is also used for ...

was used for salmon fishing at this location up to at least the first half of the 20th century. One of the last coracles made locally was made in 1928 by Michael O'Brien of Oldbridge, for Adolf Mahr director of the

National Museum of Ireland The National Museum of Ireland () is Ireland's leading museum institution, with a strong emphasis on national and some international archaeology, Irish history, Irish art, culture, and natural history. It has three branches in Dublin, the arch ...

Battle of the Boyne Site

The site of the Battle of the Boyne extends over an area west of the town of

. In the County Development Plan for 2000, Meath County Council rezoned the land at the eastern edge of Oldbridge, at the site of the main Williamite crossing, to residential status. A subsequent planning application for a development of over 700 houses was granted by Meath County Council and this was appealed by local historians to An Bord Pleanala (The Planning Board). In March 2008 after a long appeal process, An Bord Pleanala approved permission for this development to proceed. The Battle of the Boyne Interpretive Centre is approximately to the west of the main crossing point, on Oldbridge Estate. This facility was redeveloped in 2008 and is open to tourists. In early 2007, the newly elected First Minister of Northern Ireland,

Ian Paisley Ian Richard Kyle Paisley, Baron Bannside, (6 April 1926 – 12 September 2014) was a loyalist politician and Protestant religious leader from Northern Ireland who served as leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) from 1971 to 2008 and ...

, was invited to visit the battle site by the then

Taoiseach The Taoiseach (, ) is the head of government or prime minister of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The office is appointed by the President of Ireland upon nomination by Dáil Éireann (the lower house of the Oireachtas, Ireland's national legisl ...

Bertie Ahern Bartholomew Patrick "Bertie" Ahern (born 12 September 1951) is an Irish former Fianna Fáil politician who served as Taoiseach from 1997 to 2008, and as Leader of Fianna Fáil from 1994 to 2008. A Teachta Dála (TD) from 1977 to 2011, he served ...

. Following the invitation, Paisley commented that "such a visit would help to demonstrate how far we have come when we can celebrate and learn from the past so the next generation more clearly understands". The visit took place in May 2007 and a tree was planted in the grounds of Oldbridge House to mark the occasion.

References

Geography of County Meath Drogheda {{Meath-geo-stub