A hill over the Boyne
Millmount is the oldest inhabited spot in Drogheda, and the best place to stand to make sense of the town. It sits on a mound reputed to be around 3,000 years old, which local tradition names as the burial place of Amergin, the poet said to have come with the first Gaels; archaeologists think it may be a Neolithic passage tomb. On top sit a fort and a Martello tower, now run together as the town museum, a set of craft studios and a café, with the whole of the Boyne valley spread out below.
A layered history
The first fortification here was a Norman motte-and-bailey, thrown up by Hugh de Lacy in the 12th century to hold his new lordship. In 1649 the hill was where Drogheda’s garrison made its last stand when Cromwell stormed the town. By the 19th century it had become an army barracks, Richmond Barracks, and the squat circular Martello tower, known ever since as the Cup and Saucer, was added around 1808. The fort took heavy fire from Free State artillery in July 1922 during the Civil War; a long restoration brought it back, and it reopened to the public in 2000. The whole complex is a national monument and now serves as Drogheda’s designated Cultural Quarter.
What to see
The one genuinely rare thing here is the collection of Guild and Trade Banners: hand-painted silk and canvas flags carried by Drogheda’s old trades, and the only surviving set of guild banners in Ireland, recognised as such by the National Museum. Look for the Boyne Fishermen, the Labourers and the Brick-and-Stone Layers.
The rest of the museum rewards a slow walk. The Industrial Exhibition charts the town’s 19th-century boom, the linen trade, the 1832 gasworks and the 1844 railway to Dublin. The Folk Kitchen recreates an 18th-century domestic room, and the Geological Collection runs to more than 300 granite and marble samples gathered from around the world. Keep an eye out for one of only four surviving Boyne coracles, the wicker-and-hide fishing boat once used on the river. There are smaller Post Office and Drogheda Rowing Club exhibitions too.
Beyond the museum, the craft studios are working ones: ceramics, hand-painted silk, Irish knitwear, jewellery, and patchwork and appliqué, with a shop for locally made pieces. The café and artisan food centre make a decent stop before or after.
Getting here and practical details
Millmount is signposted in the town centre, on the south side of the Boyne; Drogheda’s train station is within walking distance downhill, and Bus Éireann routes stop nearby on Mary Street. Contrary to what some listings say, there is onsite parking at the Millmount complex, which saves hunting for a space on the surrounding lanes.
The museum opens Monday to Saturday from 10am to 5.30pm, and Sundays and bank holidays from 2pm to 5pm, with the last tour an hour before closing and the tower shutting at 4.30pm. Admission is €6 for adults, €3 for children, students and OAPs, and €12 for a family. Guided tours are available and can be tailored for schools and groups; they’re ticketed, so ask at the desk or book ahead rather than turning up expecting a set hourly slot.
If step-free access matters, note that the main exhibition rooms are on one level but the tower and upper ramparts are reached by stone stairs; it’s worth ringing ahead on +353 (0)41 983 3097 to check what will work.
Nearby
Downhill from the fort, St Laurence’s Gate is one of the best-preserved medieval town gates in Ireland, and the Magdalene Tower is the surviving bell tower of a 13th-century Dominican friary. Highlanes Gallery shows Irish art nearby, and if you’ve time, Monasterboice to the north has some of the country’s finest early Christian high crosses and a round tower.
Save the Cup and Saucer for last: from the top of the tower the whole town, the river and its bridges lay out at once, which is the quickest way to fit together everything you’ve just walked through.