The landscape of Co Louth is steeped in Irish history, with the many fortifications and ruins paying tribute to its rich heritage. Notably, the preservation of heritage is an important soil function and this is particularly obvious in Co Louth, which is home to monastic sites such as Monasterboice.

In the north of the county, the Cooley peninsula, situated between Dundalk Bay and Carlingford Lough, was the site of the legendary cattle raid of Cooley. This peninsula is mostly covered in mountains, but does have a narrow coastline.

The landscape to the south of Dundalk is mostly comprised of lowlands that are made up of limestone glacial till, predominantly associated with luvisols (movement of clay down the soil profile).

The area to the south of Ardee and west of Drogheda is better described as well-drained shale hills, with sedimentary stones in the lowland areas. This gives rise to brown earths (free-draining) on bedrock and surface-water gleys (slowly permeable sub-surface layer) on lower slopes.

The soils of the Cooley Mountains are predominantly histic lithosols. These are shallow, peaty soils less than 40cm deep, typically overlying hard rock or coarse gravelly materials. Hence, these are generally stony soils and are often associated with exposed rock.

The most prevalent soil type overall in Co Louth is the brown earth and these soils dominate the landscape to the south of the Cooley Mountains. They are found extensively across the county and the majority are classified as the ‘Ballylanders’ series (found in association 1100e led by subgroup 1100).

Brown earths are typically well-draining soils with reasonable nutrient retention and are considered a farmer’s friend. These were originally classified in Co Limerick during the 1966 in-depth soil survey by An Foras Talúntais.

Given that the majority of the county is relatively flat with good-quality soil means that Louth enjoys good agricultural potential. In general, the brown earth soils that dominate the landscape of the county are broken only with the presence of alluvial soils.

These soils are formed in the deposits of river, lake, estuarine or marine alluvium. Thus, these soils can be found bordering the main waterways of the county, such as along the Boyne and the Castletown Rivers.

In general, the use-range of these soils can be limited due to the high potential of regular flooding – the high water table.