125-521: The Atlantic Steam Navigation Company was founded in 1934 with the original object of providing a no-frills transatlantic passenger service. A combination of difficult economic conditions and then World War II frustrated these early ambitions. In 1946 the opportunity was taken to lease war-surplus LSTs from the Admiralty and start the world's first roll-on roll-off ferry service. Starting with military charters returning materiel from Europe to England
250-637: A Neutrality Pact in April 1941, and Japan adopted the doctrine of Nanshin-ron , promoted by the Navy, which took its focus southward and eventually led to war with the United States and the Western Allies. In Europe, Germany and Italy were becoming more aggressive. In March 1938, Germany annexed Austria , again provoking little response from other European powers. Encouraged, Hitler began pressing German claims on
375-513: A UEFA Cup place twice, in 2006 and 2007 . Since their formation, the club have won 11 major honours. In 2011, Drogheda became the sister club of Turkish club Trabzonspor due to their matching colours, and the town's history of Ottoman assistance during the Great Famine . In rugby union , the local Boyne RFC team was formed in 1997 from the amalgamation of Delvin RFC and Drogheda RFC. As of 2010 ,
500-564: A cautious French probe into the Saarland . The Western Allies also began a naval blockade of Germany , which aimed to damage the country's economy and war effort. Germany responded by ordering U-boat warfare against Allied merchant and warships, which would later escalate into the Battle of the Atlantic . On 8 September, German troops reached the suburbs of Warsaw . The Polish counter-offensive to
625-648: A county corporate , styled as "the County of the Town of Drogheda". Drogheda continued as a county borough until the establishment of county councils under the Local Government (Ireland) Act 1898 , which saw all of Drogheda, including a large area south of the Boyne, become part of an extended County Louth. With the passing of the County of Louth and Borough of Drogheda (Boundaries) Provisional Order 1976, County Louth again grew larger at
750-503: A massacre of the Royalist defenders. In his own words after the siege of Drogheda, "When they submitted, their officers were knocked on the head, and every tenth man of the soldiers killed and the rest shipped to Barbados ." The Earldom of Drogheda was created in the Peerage of Ireland in 1661. The Battle of the Boyne , 1690, occurred some 6 km (3.7 mi) west of the town, on
875-642: A 24-hour emergency department for the populations of County Louth, County Meath and the North-East of Ireland. The hospital provides 340 beds, of which 30 are reserved for acute day cases. There are seven secondary schools situated in Drogheda. St. Joseph's secondary school in Newfoundwell is an all-boys school, as is St. Marys Diocesan School on Beamore Rd. The Sacred Heart School, situated in Sunnyside Drogheda,
1000-575: A Jameson Whiskey brand; Cairnes Beer, founded locally and sold to Guinness; and Coca-Cola concentrate. Drogheda in recent years has seen growth in construction of apartments, commercial property and houses. Drogheda in 2024 is expected to receive over 1000 newly constructed homes varying between housing types and prices. Drogheda is located close to the M1 (E1 Euro Route 1) (main Dublin – Belfast motorway). The Mary McAleese Boyne Valley Bridge carries traffic from
1125-642: A circus. This was the first commercial roll-on roll-off ferry service in the world. It proved so successful that in 1950 the Empire Gaelic was acquired to operate a new service between Preston and Belfast . In 1952, ASN were chosen to manage a fleet of 12 LSTs for the War Department, operating in the Middle & Far East. They were deployed to Japan during the Korean War . This arrangement continued until 1961 when
1250-481: A combination of expensive car-parking and high commercial rates had a push-pull effect on the town's centre. Shops were forced to close and at the same time shoppers brought their business to retail parks such as the Boyne Shopping Centre on Bolton Street. A substantial root-and-branch approach to renewal of the locality was proposed in "Westgate Vision: A Townscape Recovery Guide". The Westgate area of Drogheda
1375-753: A letter displayed at the office of the European Commission, confirms that Turkey came to the aid of the Irish during the Famine. In 1921, the preserved severed head of Saint Oliver Plunkett , who was executed in London in 1681, was put on display in St. Peter's (Catholic) Church , where it remains today. The church is located on West Street, which is the main street in the town. In 1979, Pope John Paul II visited Drogheda as part of his five-stop tour of Ireland . He arrived less than
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#17328526665921500-722: A map by William Farriland. Drogheda was an important walled town in the English Pale in the medieval period. It frequently hosted meetings of the Irish Parliament at that time. According to R.J. Mitchell in John Tiptoft, Earl of Worcester , in a spill-over from the War of the Roses the Earl of Desmond and his two youngest sons (still children) were executed there on Valentine's Day 1468 on orders of
1625-668: A month after the IRA assassination of Lord Mountbatten , Queen Elizabeth 's cousin, in Mullaghmore . On 29 September 1979, he arrived in Dublin, where he gave his first mass. He then addressed 300,000 people in Drogheda, where he appealed "on his knees" to paramilitaries to end the violence in Ireland : "Now I wish to speak to all men and women engaged in violence. I appeal to you, in language of passionate pleading. On my knees I beg you to turn away from
1750-520: A number of archaeological monuments dating from the Neolithic period onwards, of which the large passage tombs of Newgrange , Knowth , and Dowth are probably the best known. The density of archaeological sites of the prehistoric and early Christian periods uncovered in the course of ongoing developments, (including during construction of the Northern Motorway or 'Drogheda Bypass'), have shown that
1875-514: A pretext to initiate the invasion. The first German attack of the war came against the Polish defences at Westerplatte . The United Kingdom responded with an ultimatum for Germany to cease military operations, and on 3 September, after the ultimatum was ignored, Britain and France declared war on Germany. During the Phoney War period, the alliance provided no direct military support to Poland, outside of
2000-765: A pretext to worsen relations. On 29 August, Hitler demanded that a Polish plenipotentiary immediately travel to Berlin to negotiate the handover of Danzig , and to allow a plebiscite in the Polish Corridor in which the German minority would vote on secession. The Poles refused to comply with the German demands, and on the night of 30–31 August in a confrontational meeting with the British ambassador Nevile Henderson , Ribbentrop declared that Germany considered its claims rejected. On 1 September 1939, Germany invaded Poland after having staged several false flag border incidents as
2125-469: A secret protocol that defined German and Soviet "spheres of influence" (western Poland and Lithuania for Germany; eastern Poland , Finland, Estonia , Latvia and Bessarabia for the Soviet Union), and raised the question of continuing Polish independence. The pact neutralised the possibility of Soviet opposition to a campaign against Poland and assured that Germany would not have to face the prospect of
2250-743: A similar pact and rejected ceding part of its territory to the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union invaded Finland in November 1939, and was subsequently expelled from the League of Nations for this crime of aggression. Despite overwhelming numerical superiority, Soviet military success during the Winter War was modest, and the Finno-Soviet war ended in March 1940 with some Finnish concessions of territory . In June 1940,
2375-463: A speech delivered during an official visit to Turkey, stated that the star and crescent had been added in the aftermath of the Great Famine as gratitude for food supplies donated by the Ottoman Sultan , which had arrived at Drogheda by ship. Irish press quickly pointed out the story was a myth, with a local historian calling it 'nothing short of sheer nonsense'. However, later evidence, including
2500-519: A two-front war, as it had in World War I. Immediately afterwards, Hitler ordered the attack to proceed on 26 August, but upon hearing that the United Kingdom had concluded a formal mutual assistance pact with Poland and that Italy would maintain neutrality, he decided to delay it. In response to British requests for direct negotiations to avoid war, Germany made demands on Poland, which served as
2625-611: Is an all-girls school. The Drogheda Grammar school, located on Mornington Road, St. Oliver's Community College , on Rathmullen Road, and Ballymakenny College, on the Ballymakenny Road, are mixed schools. Our Lady's College, in Greenhills is an all-girls school. There is also Drogheda Institute for Further Education (DIFE), a third-level college situated in Moneymore townland. The town's association football team, Drogheda United ,
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#17328526665922750-497: Is at 9 Shop Street and The Drogheda Leader' s offices are at 13/14 West Street. The local radio station is LMFM , broadcasting on 95.8 FM. The headquarters of LMFM is on Marley's Lane on the south side of the town. Drogheda is a regional centre for medical care. Its main hospital is Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital , a public hospital located in the town. and is part of the Louth Meath Hospital Group . Facilities include
2875-579: Is located on the Dublin–Belfast corridor on the east coast of Ireland, mostly in County Louth but with the south fringes of the town in County Meath , 40 km (25 mi) north of Dublin city centre. Drogheda had a population of 44,135 inhabitants in 2022, making it the eleventh largest settlement by population in all of Ireland , and the largest town in Ireland, by both population and area. It
3000-590: Is planned to be extended to Drogheda in the late 2020s or 30s as part of the DART+ program. Drogheda's bus station is located on Donore Road. Past Bus Éireann routes included the 184 to Garristown and 185 to Bellewstown . Currently there are buses to Monaghan and Dublin Drogheda was one of ten boroughs retained under the Municipal Corporations (Ireland) Act 1840 . Under the Local Government (Ireland) Act 1898 ,
3125-613: Is the second largest in County Louth with 35,990 and sixth largest in County Meath with 8,145. It is the last bridging point on the River Boyne before it enters the Irish Sea . The UNESCO World Heritage Site of Newgrange is located 8 km (5.0 mi) west of the town. Drogheda was founded as two separately administered towns in two different territories: Drogheda-in- Meath (i.e.
3250-402: Is to be subject to a 10-year regeneration by Louth County Council. Drogheda has a hinterland of 70,000+ within a 15 km (9.3 mi) radius. According to the 2022 census , there were 44,135 people living in Drogheda town at that time. As of the 2011 census , non-Irish nationals accounted for 16.1% of the population, compared with a national average of 12%. Polish nationals (1,127) were
3375-588: The Anglo-German Naval Agreement and the German–Polish declaration of non-aggression . The situation became a crisis in late August as German troops continued to mobilise against the Polish border. On 23 August the Soviet Union signed a non-aggression pact with Germany, after tripartite negotiations for a military alliance between France, the United Kingdom, and Soviet Union had stalled. This pact had
3500-515: The Earl of Worcester , the Lord Deputy of Ireland . It later came to light (for example in Robert Fabyan's The New Chronicles of England and France ), that Elizabeth Woodville, the queen consort , was implicated in the orders given. The parliament was moved to the town in 1494 and passed Poynings' Law , the most significant legislation in Irish history, a year later. This effectively subordinated
3625-566: The German Revolution of 1918–1919 , and a democratic government, later known as the Weimar Republic , was created. The interwar period saw strife between supporters of the new republic and hardline opponents on both the political right and left. Italy, as an Entente ally, had made some post-war territorial gains; however, Italian nationalists were angered that the promises made by the United Kingdom and France to secure Italian entrance into
3750-683: The Italian invasion of Abyssinia on 3 October 1935. The British historian Antony Beevor views the beginning of World War II as the Battles of Khalkhin Gol fought between Japan and the forces of Mongolia and the Soviet Union from May to September 1939. Others view the Spanish Civil War as the start or prelude to World War II. The exact date of the war's end also is not universally agreed upon. It
3875-682: The League of Nations as a force to preserve peace. Both Italy and Ethiopia were member nations, but the League did little when the former clearly violated Article X of the League's Covenant . The United Kingdom and France supported imposing sanctions on Italy for the invasion, but the sanctions were not fully enforced and failed to end the Italian invasion. Italy subsequently dropped its objections to Germany's goal of absorbing Austria . When civil war broke out in Spain, Hitler and Mussolini lent military support to
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4000-530: The Lordship and Liberty of Meath , from which a charter was granted in 1194) and Drogheda-in-Oriel (or ' Uriel ', as County Louth was then known). The division came from the twelfth-century boundary between two Irish kingdoms, colonised by different Norman interests, just as the River Boyne continues to divide the town between the dioceses of Armagh and Meath . In 1412 , these two towns were united, and Drogheda became
4125-693: The Nationalist rebels , led by General Francisco Franco . Italy supported the Nationalists to a greater extent than the Nazis: Mussolini sent more than 70,000 ground troops, 6,000 aviation personnel, and 720 aircraft to Spain. The Soviet Union supported the existing government of the Spanish Republic . More than 30,000 foreign volunteers, known as the International Brigades , also fought against
4250-574: The Paris Peace Conference . The organisation's primary goals were to prevent armed conflict through collective security, military, and naval disarmament , as well as settling international disputes through peaceful negotiations and arbitration. Despite strong pacifist sentiment after World War I , irredentist and revanchist nationalism had emerged in several European states. These sentiments were especially marked in Germany because of
4375-677: The Rome–Berlin Axis . A month later, Germany and Japan signed the Anti-Comintern Pact , which Italy joined the following year. The Kuomintang (KMT) party in China launched a unification campaign against regional warlords and nominally unified China in the mid-1920s, but was soon embroiled in a civil war against its former Chinese Communist Party (CCP) allies and new regional warlords . In 1931, an increasingly militaristic Empire of Japan , which had long sought influence in China as
4500-409: The Soviet–Japanese Neutrality Pact in April 1941. By contrast, the Germans were steadily making preparations for an attack on the Soviet Union, massing forces on the Soviet border. Hitler believed that the United Kingdom's refusal to end the war was based on the hope that the United States and the Soviet Union would enter the war against Germany sooner or later. On 31 July 1940, Hitler decided that
4625-421: The Stresa Front in April 1935 in order to contain Germany, a key step towards military globalisation ; however, that June, the United Kingdom made an independent naval agreement with Germany, easing prior restrictions. The Soviet Union, concerned by Germany's goals of capturing vast areas of Eastern Europe , drafted a treaty of mutual assistance with France. Before taking effect, though, the Franco-Soviet pact
4750-523: The Sudetenland , an area of Czechoslovakia with a predominantly ethnic German population. Soon the United Kingdom and France followed the appeasement policy of British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain and conceded this territory to Germany in the Munich Agreement , which was made against the wishes of the Czechoslovak government, in exchange for a promise of no further territorial demands. Soon afterwards, Germany and Italy forced Czechoslovakia to cede additional territory to Hungary, and Poland annexed
4875-428: The Tanggu Truce was signed in 1933. Thereafter, Chinese volunteer forces continued the resistance to Japanese aggression in Manchuria , and Chahar and Suiyuan . After the 1936 Xi'an Incident , the Kuomintang and CCP forces agreed on a ceasefire to present a united front to oppose Japan. The Second Italo-Ethiopian War was a brief colonial war that began in October 1935 and ended in May 1936. The war began with
5000-466: The Trans-Olza region of Czechoslovakia. Although all of Germany's stated demands had been satisfied by the agreement, privately Hitler was furious that British interference had prevented him from seizing all of Czechoslovakia in one operation. In subsequent speeches Hitler attacked British and Jewish "war-mongers" and in January 1939 secretly ordered a major build-up of the German navy to challenge British naval supremacy. In March 1939, Germany invaded
5125-506: The Treaty of Craiova . The loss of one-third of Romania's 1939 territory caused a coup against King Carol II, turning Romania into a fascist dictatorship under Marshal Ion Antonescu , with a course set towards the Axis in the hopes of a German guarantee. Meanwhile, German-Soviet political relations and economic co-operation gradually stalled, and both states began preparations for war. In April 1940, Germany invaded Denmark and Norway to protect shipments of iron ore from Sweden , which
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5250-524: The United Kingdom House of Commons , until its abolition under the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 . It was thereafter represented by the South Louth from 1885 to 1918, by County Louth from 1918 to 1922, by Louth–Meath from 1921 to 1923, and by the Dáil constituency of Louth from 1923 to the present. The local newspapers are the Drogheda Leader and the Drogheda Independent and known locally as The Leader and D.I. . Both newspapers are published weekly. The office of The Drogheda Independent
5375-426: The Wehrmacht rapidly advanced to the Channel and cut off the Allied forces in Belgium, trapping the bulk of the Allied armies in a cauldron on the Franco-Belgian border near Lille. The United Kingdom was able to evacuate a significant number of Allied troops from the continent by early June, although they had to abandon almost all their equipment. On 10 June, Italy invaded France , declaring war on both France and
5500-441: The 17th century. Drogheda is an ancient town that has a growing tourism industry. It has a UNESCO World Heritage site, Newgrange , located 8 km (5.0 mi) to the west of the town centre. Other tourist sites in the area include: There are several international companies based in the Drogheda area. Local employers include Coca-Cola International Services, State Street International Services, Natures Best, Yapstone Inc,
5625-419: The 1917 Bolshevik seizure of power in Russia , which led to the founding of the Soviet Union. Meanwhile, the victorious Allies of World War I , such as France, Belgium, Italy, Romania, and Greece, gained territory, and new nation-states were created out of the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian, Ottoman, and Russian Empires. To prevent a future world war, the League of Nations was established in 1920 by
5750-409: The Allies were attempting to cut off . Denmark capitulated after six hours , and despite Allied support , Norway was conquered within two months. British discontent over the Norwegian campaign led to the resignation of Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain , who was replaced by Winston Churchill on 10 May 1940. On the same day, Germany launched an offensive against France . To circumvent
5875-426: The Army Reserve and his plans went into abeyance. During the war he was present at trials of landing craft loading and unloading vehicles on the sands of New Brighton . After demobilisation, Bustard tried again to implement his transatlantic plans but there were no suitable ships available and no chance of raising finance for a new build. Instead he turned his thoughts to the use of surplus LSTs as vehicle ferries on
6000-410: The Asia-Pacific , and by 1937 was at war with the Republic of China . In December 1941, Japan attacked American and British territories in Southeast Asia and the Central Pacific , including Pearl Harbor in Hawaii , which resulted in the US and the UK declaring war against Japan, and the European Axis declaring war on the US. Japan conquered much of coastal China and Southeast Asia , but its advances in
6125-412: The Augustinian Church, is the oldest stone structure in Drogheda. It was completed in 1234 as the west wall of the first castle guarding access to the northern crossing point of the Boyne. A later castle, circa 1600, called Laundy's Castle stood at the junction of West Street and Peter's Street. On Meathside, the Castle of Drogheda or The Castle of Comfort was a tower house castle on the south side of
6250-400: The Axis war against the Soviet Union, in Romania's case partially to recapture territory ceded to the Soviet Union . In early June 1940, the Italian Regia Aeronautica attacked and besieged Malta , a British possession. From late summer to early autumn, Italy conquered British Somaliland and made an incursion into British-held Egypt . In October, Italy attacked Greece , but the attack
6375-421: The Blitz , but largely ended in May 1941 after failing to significantly disrupt the British war effort. Using newly captured French ports, the German Navy enjoyed success against an over-extended Royal Navy , using U-boats against British shipping in the Atlantic . The British Home Fleet scored a significant victory on 27 May 1941 by sinking the German battleship Bismarck . In November 1939,
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#17328526665926500-406: The Bull Ring. It served as a prison, and as a sitting of the Irish parliament in 1494. The earliest known town charter is that granted to Drogheda-in-Meath by Walter de Lacy in 1194. In the 1600s, the name of the town was also spelled "Tredagh" in keeping with the common pronunciation, as documented by Gerard Boate in his work Irelands' Natural History . In c. 1655 it was spelled "Droghedagh" on
6625-494: The Drogheda Port Company, Glanbia and Flogas (only Flogas Terminals since 2025) Drogheda also has a history of brewing and distilling, with companies Jameson Whiskey , Coca-Cola , Guinness , Jack Daniel's all having previously produced (or still producing) their products in or near the town. These include the Boann distillery and brewery, Slane Whiskey (a Jack Daniel's-owned company), Listoke House, Dan Kellys (cider), and Jack Codys. The town formerly distilled Prestons whiskey,
6750-484: The Dutch Army for delivery in Rotterdam . The company continued to ferry thousands of military vehicles across the North Sea via Hamburg . In 1955 the terminal was transferred from Hamburg to Antwerp . In 1948 ASN acquired another LST which became the Empire Doric and was used to inaugurate a commercial service between Preston, Lancashire and Larne . Early cargoes included a contract to carry 200 prefabricated houses, lorries loaded with glass from Pilkington's, and
6875-410: The French possessions of Syria and Lebanon , assisted by the Free French . With the situation in Europe and Asia relatively stable, Germany, Japan, and the Soviet Union made preparations for war. With the Soviets wary of mounting tensions with Germany, and the Japanese planning to take advantage of the European War by seizing resource-rich European possessions in Southeast Asia , the two powers signed
7000-525: The Gate", a community-run event led by uilleann piper Darragh Ó Heiligh, next to Saint Laurence's Gate in the centre of Drogheda. Drogheda Arts Festival, a mix of music, live performance and street entertainment, is held over the May Bank Holiday weekend. October 2006 saw the opening of the Highlanes Gallery , the town's first dedicated municipal art gallery. It is located in the former Franciscan Church and Friary on St. Laurence Street. The gallery houses Drogheda's municipal art collection, which dates from
7125-426: The Germans, and the last large operational unit of the Polish Army surrendered on 6 October . Despite the military defeat, Poland never surrendered; instead, it formed the Polish government-in-exile and a clandestine state apparatus remained in occupied Poland. A significant part of Polish military personnel evacuated to Romania and Latvia; many of them later fought against the Axis in other theatres of
7250-445: The Holocaust of European Jews, as well as from massacres, starvation, and disease. Following the Allied powers' victory, Germany , Austria , Japan , and Korea were occupied, and war crimes tribunals were conducted against German and Japanese leaders . The causes of World War II included unresolved tensions in the aftermath of World War I and the rise of fascism in Europe and militarism in Japan . Key events leading up to
7375-400: The Irish Parliament's legislative powers to the King and his English Council . The town was besieged twice during the Irish Confederate Wars . In the second siege of Drogheda , an assault was made on the town from the south, the tall walls breached, and the town was taken by Oliver Cromwell on 11 September 1649, as part of the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland and it was the site of
7500-466: The M1, across the River Boyne , three km (1.9 mi) west of the town. It was opened on 9 June 2003 and is the longest cable-stayed bridge in Ireland. The town's postcode, or eircode , is A92. Drogheda acquired rail links to Dublin in 1844, Navan in 1850 and Belfast in 1852. Passenger services between Drogheda and Navan were ended in 1958, however the line remains open for freight (Tara Mines/Platin Cement) traffic. In 1966 Drogheda station
7625-450: The Nationalists. Both Germany and the Soviet Union used this proxy war as an opportunity to test in combat their most advanced weapons and tactics. The Nationalists won the civil war in April 1939; Franco, now dictator, remained officially neutral during World War II but generally favoured the Axis . His greatest collaboration with Germany was the sending of volunteers to fight on the Eastern Front . In July 1937, Japan captured
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#17328526665927750-444: The Pacific were halted in mid-1942 after its defeat in the naval Battle of Midway ; Germany and Italy were defeated in North Africa and at Stalingrad in the Soviet Union. Key setbacks in 1943—including German defeats on the Eastern Front, the Allied invasions of Sicily and the Italian mainland , and Allied offensives in the Pacific—cost the Axis powers their initiative and forced them into strategic retreat on all fronts. In 1944,
7875-452: The Royal Navy putting three Italian battleships out of commission after a carrier attack at Taranto , and neutralising several more warships at the Battle of Cape Matapan . Italian defeats prompted Germany to deploy an expeditionary force to North Africa; at the end of March 1941, Rommel 's Afrika Korps launched an offensive which drove back Commonwealth forces. In less than a month, Axis forces advanced to western Egypt and besieged
8000-423: The Soviet Union occupied the entire territories of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, as well as the Romanian regions of Bessarabia, Northern Bukovina, and the Hertsa region . In August 1940, Hitler imposed the Second Vienna Award on Romania which led to the transfer of Northern Transylvania to Hungary. In September 1940, Bulgaria demanded Southern Dobruja from Romania with German and Italian support, leading to
8125-418: The Soviet Union and Mongolia . The Japanese doctrine of Hokushin-ron , which emphasised Japan's expansion northward, was favoured by the Imperial Army during this time. This policy would prove difficult to maintain in light of the Japanese defeat at Khalkin Gol in 1939, the ongoing Second Sino-Japanese War and ally Nazi Germany pursuing neutrality with the Soviets. Japan and the Soviet Union eventually signed
8250-575: The Soviet Union should be eliminated and aimed for the conquest of Ukraine , the Baltic states and Byelorussia . However, other senior German officials like Ribbentrop saw an opportunity to create a Euro-Asian bloc against the British Empire by inviting the Soviet Union into the Tripartite Pact. In November 1940, negotiations took place to determine if the Soviet Union would join the pact. The Soviets showed some interest but asked for concessions from Finland, Bulgaria, Turkey, and Japan that Germany considered unacceptable. On 18 December 1940, Hitler issued
8375-400: The Soviet Union was ever signed, although the state of war between the two countries was terminated by the Soviet–Japanese Joint Declaration of 1956 , which also restored full diplomatic relations between them. World War I had radically altered the political European map with the defeat of the Central Powers —including Austria-Hungary , Germany , Bulgaria , and the Ottoman Empire —and
8500-424: The United Kingdom and France guaranteed their support for Polish independence ; when Italy conquered Albania in April 1939, the same guarantee was extended to the Kingdoms of Romania and Greece . Shortly after the Franco - British pledge to Poland, Germany and Italy formalised their own alliance with the Pact of Steel . Hitler accused the United Kingdom and Poland of trying to "encircle" Germany and renounced
8625-489: The United Kingdom attacked on 3 July in an attempt to prevent its seizure by Germany. The air Battle of Britain began in early July with Luftwaffe attacks on shipping and harbours . The German campaign for air superiority started in August but its failure to defeat RAF Fighter Command forced the indefinite postponement of the proposed German invasion of Britain . The German strategic bombing offensive intensified with night attacks on London and other cities in
8750-401: The United Kingdom. The Germans turned south against the weakened French army, and Paris fell to them on 14 June. Eight days later France signed an armistice with Germany ; it was divided into German and Italian occupation zones , and an unoccupied rump state under the Vichy Regime , which, though officially neutral, was generally aligned with Germany. France kept its fleet, which
8875-473: The United States was assisting China and the Western Allies, and had amended the Neutrality Act to allow "cash and carry" purchases by the Allies. In 1940, following the German capture of Paris, the size of the United States Navy was significantly increased . In September the United States further agreed to a trade of American destroyers for British bases . Still, a large majority of the American public continued to oppose any direct military intervention in
9000-637: The United States. He first attempted to purchase a number of surplus vessels from the Red Star Line but was unsuccessful. He then approached Vickers Armstrong with designs for two new ships. However the government of the day was not keen on a new company operating on the North Atlantic in competition with Cunard White Star and Bustard was not able to raise a loan from the Bank of England to finance construction. The onset of World War II saw Bustard called up to
9125-617: The Western Allies and the Soviet Union, culminating in the fall of Berlin to Soviet troops; Hitler's suicide ; and the German unconditional surrender on 8 May 1945 . Following the refusal of Japan to surrender on the terms of the Potsdam Declaration , the US dropped the first atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki on 6 and 9 August. Faced with an imminent invasion of the Japanese archipelago ,
9250-566: The Western Allies invaded German-occupied France at Normandy , while the Soviet Union regained its territorial losses and pushed Germany and its allies westward. At the same time, Japan suffered reversals in mainland Asia, while the Allies crippled the Japanese Navy and captured key islands . The war in Europe concluded with the liberation of German-occupied territories ; the invasion of Germany by
9375-590: The Yellow River ; this manoeuvre bought time for the Chinese to prepare their defences at Wuhan , but the city was taken by October. Japanese military victories did not bring about the collapse of Chinese resistance that Japan had hoped to achieve; instead, the Chinese government relocated inland to Chongqing and continued the war. In the mid-to-late 1930s, Japanese forces in Manchukuo had sporadic border clashes with
9500-658: The aerial Battle of Britain and the Blitz , and naval Battle of the Atlantic . Through a series of campaigns and treaties, Germany took control of much of continental Europe and formed the Axis alliance with Italy , Japan , and other countries. In June 1941, Germany led the European Axis in an invasion of the Soviet Union , opening the Eastern Front and initially making large territorial gains. Japan aimed to dominate East Asia and
9625-510: The area became an urban district , while retaining the style of a borough corporation. Drogheda Borough Corporation became a borough council in 2002. On 1 June 2014, the borough council was dissolved and the administration of the town was amalgamated with Louth County Council . It retains the right to be described as a borough. The chair of the borough district uses the title of mayor, rather than Cathaoirleach. The mayor, elected in June 2019 for
9750-496: The area of the medieval town appear to confirm this statement. One of the earliest structures in the town is the motte-and-bailey castle , now known as Millmount Fort , which overlooks the town from a bluff on the south bank of the Boyne and which was probably erected by the Norman Lord of Meath, Hugh de Lacy , sometime before 1186. The wall on the east side of Rosemary Lane, a back-lane which runs from St. Laurence Street towards
9875-609: The banks of the River Boyne , at Oldbridge. The Tholsel in West Street was completed in 1770. In 1790, Drogheda Harbour Commissioners were established. They remained in place until 1997 when the Drogheda Port Company a commercial enterprise replaced them. In 1825, the Drogheda Steam Packet Company was formed in the town, providing shipping services to Liverpool . In 1837, the population of Drogheda area
10000-616: The beginning of the Pacific War include the start of the Second Sino-Japanese War on 7 July 1937, or the earlier Japanese invasion of Manchuria , on 19 September 1931. Others follow the British historian A. J. P. Taylor , who stated that the Sino-Japanese War and war in Europe and its colonies occurred simultaneously, and the two wars became World War II in 1941. Other proposed starting dates for World War II include
10125-412: The buildings have been derelict for some years and are in danger of collapse. There was a 2006 traffic plan for pedestrianisation of West Street. It was rejected at a vote of the elected councillors. They had come under pressure from traders in the area concerned about a potential further decline in customer footfall. But the issue has come up for debate again. When asked, Drogheda residents point out that
10250-502: The capital Nanking in December 1937. After the fall of Nanking, tens or hundreds of thousands of Chinese civilians and disarmed combatants were murdered by the Japanese . In March 1938, Nationalist Chinese forces won their first major victory at Taierzhuang , but then the city of Xuzhou was taken by the Japanese in May. In June 1938, Chinese forces stalled the Japanese advance by flooding
10375-663: The company progressed to providing commercial services across the Irish Sea and then across the North Sea . In 1971 the company was acquired by European Ferries . The company was founded in 1934 by Frank Bustard, the Passenger Traffic Manager for the White Star Line when the latter was merged with the Cunard Line the same year. The original idea was to set up a low cost line providing cheap passages between Europe and
10500-403: The conflict well into 1941. In December 1940, Roosevelt accused Hitler of planning world conquest and ruled out any negotiations as useless, calling for the United States to become an " arsenal of democracy " and promoting Lend-Lease programmes of military and humanitarian aid to support the British war effort; Lend-Lease was later extended to the other Allies, including the Soviet Union after it
10625-515: The creation of a " New Roman Empire ". Adolf Hitler , after an unsuccessful attempt to overthrow the German government in 1923, eventually became the Chancellor of Germany in 1933 when Paul von Hindenburg and the Reichstag appointed him. Following Hindenburg's death in 1934, Hitler proclaimed himself Führer of Germany and abolished democracy, espousing a radical, racially motivated revision of
10750-409: The directive to prepare for an invasion of the Soviet Union. Drogheda Drogheda ( / ˈ d r ɒ h ə d ə , ˈ d r ɔː d ə / DRO -həd-ə , DRAW -də ; Irish : Droichead Átha [ˈd̪ˠɾˠɛhəd̪ˠ ˈaːhə] , meaning "bridge at the ford") is an industrial and port town in County Louth on the east coast of Ireland, 43 km (27 mi) north of Dublin city centre. It
10875-402: The distinction between military and civilian resources. Tanks and aircraft played major roles , with the latter enabling the strategic bombing of population centres and delivery of the only two nuclear weapons ever used in war. World War II was the deadliest conflict in history, resulting in 70 to 85 million deaths , more than half being civilians. Millions died in genocides , including
11000-460: The duration of the war. These were known as the Seabird class. In 1957 ASN ordered their first new ships, Bardic Ferry and Ionic Ferry in a rolling programme to replace the original fleet of LSTs. The ships were designed to carry both vehicles and container traffic, being equipped with their own electric cranes to handle the latter. In addition the main car deck was strengthened to take tanks in
11125-683: The end of May completed the German conquest of the Balkans. Partisan warfare subsequently broke out against the Axis occupation of Yugoslavia , which continued until the end of the war. In the Middle East in May, Commonwealth forces quashed an uprising in Iraq which had been supported by German aircraft from bases within Vichy-controlled Syria . Between June and July, British-led forces invaded and occupied
11250-473: The entire fleet was sent to Mediterranean during the Suez Crisis . ASN had to charter in a number of ships to maintain the freight services from Preston. Initially three British coasters were acquired to be replaced by four German ships for the rest of the war. Vehicle services were not resumed until January 1957. At the same time ASN were responsible for the operation of 12 LSTS that had been recommissioned for
11375-752: The event of the vessels being required for military service. The first of the LSTs to be withdrawn was the Empire Cedric in 1959. The last was the Empire Nordic which survived until 1966. The rest having gone by 1963. In 1961 ASN started offering container services from Preston to various ports across the Irish Sea using a number of chartered vessels. Starting with parallel services to Larne and Belfast they expanded to serve Drogheda , Dublin and, briefly, Waterford . In 1965 ASN moved its North Sea base from Tilbury to
11500-457: The expanding port of Felixstowe which reduced the crossing time by half. In 1969 the founder of the company, Lt-Colonel Frank Bustard was made a Freeman of Larne. The ships names commemorated White Star Liners. 1952-1961, named after distinguished RASC officers. Mobilised for the Suez Crisis in late 1956. The ships names again reflected ASN's White Star Line heritage. The following ships were chartered from Townsend Thoreson to cover
11625-526: The expense of County Meath. The boundary was further altered in 1994 by the Local Government (Boundaries) (Town Elections) Regulations 1994. The 2007–2013 Meath County Development Plan recognises the Meath environs of Drogheda as a primary growth centre on a par with Navan . The town was selected to host Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann for two years in 2018 and 2019. The town is situated in an area which contains
11750-566: The first step of what its government saw as the country's right to rule Asia , staged the Mukden incident as a pretext to invade Manchuria and establish the puppet state of Manchukuo . China appealed to the League of Nations to stop the Japanese invasion of Manchuria. Japan withdrew from the League of Nations after being condemned for its incursion into Manchuria. The two nations then fought several battles, in Shanghai , Rehe and Hebei , until
11875-843: The former Chinese imperial capital of Peking after instigating the Marco Polo Bridge incident , which culminated in the Japanese campaign to invade all of China. The Soviets quickly signed a non-aggression pact with China to lend materiel support, effectively ending China's prior cooperation with Germany . From September to November, the Japanese attacked Taiyuan , engaged the Kuomintang Army around Xinkou , and fought Communist forces in Pingxingguan . Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek deployed his best army to defend Shanghai , but after three months of fighting, Shanghai fell. The Japanese continued to push Chinese forces back, capturing
12000-552: The hinterland of Drogheda has been a settled landscape for millennia. Despite local tradition linking Millmount to Amergin Glúingel , in his 1978 study of the history and archaeology of the town, John Bradley stated that "neither the documentary nor the archaeological evidence indicates that there was any settlement at the town prior to the coming of the Normans". The results of a number of often large-scale excavations carried out within
12125-512: The invasion of the Ethiopian Empire (also known as Abyssinia ) by the armed forces of the Kingdom of Italy ( Regno d'Italia ), which was launched from Italian Somaliland and Eritrea . The war resulted in the military occupation of Ethiopia and its annexation into the newly created colony of Italian East Africa ( Africa Orientale Italiana , or AOI); in addition it exposed the weakness of
12250-616: The largest group, followed by Lithuanian nationals (1,044 people). As of the 2016 census , 17.4% of the population were non-Irish nationals, with 676 people from the UK, 1,324 Polish nationals, 1,014 Lithuanians, 1,798 people from elsewhere in the EU, and 1,400 with other (non-EU) nationalities. As of the 2022 census, the ethnic makeup of the town was 80.65% white total, including 67.81% white Irish and 12.57% other white people, 7.48% not stated, 5.7% Asian, 2.44% other and 3.73% black . Drogheda has hosted
12375-1041: The national traditional music festival, Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann , in 2018 and again in 2019. Drogheda is home to two brass bands: Drogheda Brass Band and Lourdes Brass Band. In 2014, the town hosted the international summer Samba festival in which samba bands from around the world came to the town for three days of drumming and parades. The composer and member of Aosdána , Michael Holohan , has lived in Drogheda since 1983. His compositions have been performed and broadcast both at home and internationally. Career highlights in Drogheda include Cromwell 1994, 'Drogheda 800' (RTECO, Lourdes Church); The Mass of Fire 1995, 'Augustinian 700' (RTÉ TV live broadcast); No Sanctuary 1997 with Nobel Laureate and poet Seamus Heaney (Augustinian Church); Remembrance Sunday Service and Drogheda Unification 600 (RTE TV live broadcast, St Peter's Church of Ireland) and two major concerts with The Boyne Valley Chamber Orchestra at Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann in 2018 and 2019. Drogheda regularly hosts "Music at
12500-749: The operation transferred to the British-India Steam Navigation Company . In April 1954 ASN was nationalised and came under the auspices of the British Transport Commission . With the dissolution of the BTC in 1962 the company was transferred to the Transport Holding Company . In 1968 it became part of the National Freight Corporation , subsequently being sold to European Ferries in 1971. In late 1956
12625-622: The overhaul period of ASN's ships. World War II Asia-Pacific Mediterranean and Middle East Other campaigns Coups World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies and the Axis powers . Nearly all the world's countries —including all the great powers —participated, with many investing all available economic, industrial, and scientific capabilities in pursuit of total war , blurring
12750-451: The paths of violence and to return to the ways of peace. You may claim to seek justice. I too believe in justice and seek justice. But violence only delays the day of justice. Violence destroys the work of justice. Further violence in Ireland will only drag down to ruin the land you claim to love and the values you claim to cherish." Two decades into the 21st century some of the historic core of Drogheda town has suffered urban decline. Some of
12875-533: The period 2019–2020, was Paul Bell (Labour). As of the 2019 Louth County Council election , the borough district of Drogheda contains the local electoral areas of Drogheda Urban (6 seats) and Drogheda Rural (4 seats), electing 10 seats to the council. The parliamentary borough of Drogheda returned two MPs to the Irish House of Commons until 1801. Under the Act of Union , the parliamentary borough returned one MP to
13000-583: The port of Tobruk . By late March 1941, Bulgaria and Yugoslavia signed the Tripartite Pact ; however, the Yugoslav government was overthrown two days later by pro-British nationalists. Germany and Italy responded with simultaneous invasions of both Yugoslavia and Greece , commencing on 6 April 1941; both nations were forced to surrender within the month. The airborne invasion of the Greek island of Crete at
13125-463: The possibility of further atomic bombings, and the Soviet declaration of war against Japan and its invasion of Manchuria , Japan announced its unconditional surrender on 15 August and signed a surrender document on 2 September 1945 , marking the end of the war. World War II changed the political alignment and social structure of the world, and it set the foundation of international relations for
13250-693: The remainder of Czechoslovakia and subsequently split it into the German Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia and a pro-German client state , the Slovak Republic . Hitler also delivered an ultimatum to Lithuania on 20 March 1939, forcing the concession of the Klaipėda Region , formerly the German Memelland . Greatly alarmed and with Hitler making further demands on the Free City of Danzig ,
13375-512: The rest of the 20th century and into the 21st century. The United Nations was established to foster international cooperation and prevent conflicts, with the victorious great powers—China, France, the Soviet Union, the UK, and the US—becoming the permanent members of its security council . The Soviet Union and the United States emerged as rival superpowers , setting the stage for the Cold War . In
13500-457: The short sea routes across the North Sea . After lengthy negotiations with the Admiralty he succeeded in chartering 3 LSTs, 3519, 3534 and 3512. The ships needed modifications to engines, boilers and navigational aids as well as improved accommodation. The maiden voyage of ASN took place on 11 September 1946 when LST3519, now renamed Empire Baltic , sailed from Tilbury with 64 new vehicles for
13625-458: The significant territorial, colonial, and financial losses imposed by the Treaty of Versailles . Under the treaty, Germany lost around 13 percent of its home territory and all its overseas possessions , while German annexation of other states was prohibited, reparations were imposed, and limits were placed on the size and capability of the country's armed forces . The German Empire was dissolved in
13750-575: The strong Maginot Line fortifications on the Franco-German border, Germany directed its attack at the neutral nations of Belgium , the Netherlands , and Luxembourg . The Germans carried out a flanking manoeuvre through the Ardennes region, which was mistakenly perceived by the Allies as an impenetrable natural barrier against armoured vehicles. By successfully implementing new Blitzkrieg tactics,
13875-489: The wake of European devastation, the influence of its great powers waned, triggering the decolonisation of Africa and Asia . Most countries whose industries had been damaged moved towards economic recovery and expansion . World War II began in Europe on 1 September 1939 with the German invasion of Poland and the United Kingdom and France 's declaration of war on Germany two days later on 3 September 1939. Dates for
14000-455: The war included Japan's invasion of Manchuria , the Spanish Civil War , the outbreak of the Second Sino-Japanese War , and Germany's annexations of Austria and the Sudetenland . World War II is generally considered to have begun on 1 September 1939, when Nazi Germany , under Adolf Hitler , invaded Poland , prompting the United Kingdom and France to declare war on Germany. Poland
14125-504: The war were not fulfilled in the peace settlement. From 1922 to 1925, the Fascist movement led by Benito Mussolini seized power in Italy with a nationalist, totalitarian , and class collaborationist agenda that abolished representative democracy, repressed socialist, left-wing, and liberal forces, and pursued an aggressive expansionist foreign policy aimed at making Italy a world power, promising
14250-475: The war. Germany annexed western Poland and occupied central Poland ; the Soviet Union annexed eastern Poland ; small shares of Polish territory were transferred to Lithuania and Slovakia . On 6 October, Hitler made a public peace overture to the United Kingdom and France but said that the future of Poland was to be determined exclusively by Germany and the Soviet Union. The proposal was rejected and Hitler ordered an immediate offensive against France, which
14375-503: The west halted the German advance for several days, but it was outflanked and encircled by the Wehrmacht . Remnants of the Polish army broke through to besieged Warsaw . On 17 September 1939, two days after signing a cease-fire with Japan , the Soviet Union invaded Poland under the supposed pretext that the Polish state had ceased to exist. On 27 September, the Warsaw garrison surrendered to
14500-687: The world order , and soon began a massive rearmament campaign . France, seeking to secure its alliance with Italy, allowed Italy a free hand in Ethiopia , which Italy desired as a colonial possession. The situation was aggravated in early 1935 when the Territory of the Saar Basin was legally reunited with Germany, and Hitler repudiated the Treaty of Versailles, accelerated his rearmament programme, and introduced conscription. The United Kingdom, France and Italy formed
14625-614: Was invaded by Germany. The United States started strategic planning to prepare for a full-scale offensive against Germany. At the end of September 1940, the Tripartite Pact formally united Japan, Italy, and Germany as the Axis powers . The Tripartite Pact stipulated that any country—with the exception of the Soviet Union—that attacked any Axis Power would be forced to go to war against all three. The Axis expanded in November 1940 when Hungary , Slovakia , and Romania joined. Romania and Hungary later made major contributions to
14750-464: Was 17,365 people, of whom 15,138 lived in the town. Drogheda's coat of arms features St. Laurence's Gate with three lions, and a ship emerging from either side of the barbican . The town's motto Deus praesidium, mercatura decus translates as "God our strength, merchandise our glory". The star and crescent emblem in the crest of the coat of arms is mentioned as part of the mayor's seal by D'Alton (1844). In 2010, Irish president Mary McAleese, in
14875-746: Was divided between Germany and the Soviet Union under the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact , in which they had agreed on " spheres of influence " in Eastern Europe. In 1940, the Soviets annexed the Baltic states and parts of Finland and Romania . After the fall of France in June 1940, the war continued mainly between Germany and the British Empire , with fighting in the Balkans , Mediterranean, and Middle East ,
15000-568: Was formed in 1919, and their home matches are played at Head In The Game Park . Nicknamed "The Drogs", they currently compete in the League of Ireland Premier Division , which they won for the first time in 2007 . The club achieved success by winning the FAI Cup in 2005 , and back to back Setanta Sports Cup successes in 2006 and 2007 , along with the 2012 EA Sports Cup . The Drogs came close to UEFA Champions League qualification on 2 occasions, in 2008 and 2013 . They also narrowly missed out on
15125-485: Was generally accepted at the time that the war ended with the armistice of 15 August 1945 ( V-J Day ), rather than with the formal surrender of Japan on 2 September 1945, which officially ended the war in Asia . A peace treaty between Japan and the Allies was signed in 1951. A 1990 treaty regarding Germany's future allowed the reunification of East and West Germany to take place and resolved most post–World War II issues. No formal peace treaty between Japan and
15250-403: Was postponed until the spring of 1940 due to bad weather. After the outbreak of war in Poland, Stalin threatened Estonia , Latvia , and Lithuania with military invasion, forcing the three Baltic countries to sign pacts allowing the creation of Soviet military bases in these countries; in October 1939, significant Soviet military contingents were moved there. Finland refused to sign
15375-526: Was renamed "MacBride". Drogheda railway station opened on 26 May 1844. The station has direct trains on the Enterprise northbound to Dundalk , Newry , Portadown and Belfast Grand Central , and southbound to Dublin Connolly . 1 Train a day to Belfast skips Drogheda A wide variety of Iarnród Éireann commuter services connect southbound to Balbriggan , Malahide , Howth Junction , Dublin Connolly , Tara Street , Dublin Pearse , Dún Laoghaire , Bray , Greystones , Wicklow , and Wexford . The DART
15500-657: Was repulsed with heavy Italian casualties; the campaign ended within months with minor territorial changes. To assist Italy and prevent Britain from gaining a foothold, Germany prepared to invade the Balkans, which would threaten Romanian oil fields and strike against British dominance of the Mediterranean. In December 1940, British Empire forces began counter-offensives against Italian forces in Egypt and Italian East Africa . The offensives were successful; by early February 1941, Italy had lost control of eastern Libya, and large numbers of Italian troops had been taken prisoner. The Italian Navy also suffered significant defeats, with
15625-441: Was required to go through the bureaucracy of the League of Nations, which rendered it essentially toothless. The United States, concerned with events in Europe and Asia, passed the Neutrality Act in August of the same year. Hitler defied the Versailles and Locarno Treaties by remilitarising the Rhineland in March 1936, encountering little opposition due to the policy of appeasement . In October 1936, Germany and Italy formed
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