Dundalk

County town of County Louth, Republic of Ireland; population (2002) 27,400. It is situated on the River Castletown, near the entrance of Dundalk Bay, 19 km/12 mi southwest of Newry. Dundalk is the marketing and distribution centre of north Leinster. Its main industries are engineering, electrical goods, computer hardware, distilling, shoes, clothing, pharmaceuticals, and food processing. The Anglo-Normans built a castle at Dundalk around 1200.

King John (ruled 1199-1216) made Dundalk a royal borough; the associated settlement became a walled town, of which little remains. From the 14th to the 16th century Dundalk was subject to frequent battles as a frontier town of the English Pale, and was burnt on numerous occasions.

Seatown Castle in the town is the 15th-century tower of a Franciscan friary founded in 1244.

Dundalk

Town in Baltimore County, north-central Maryland; population (1990) 65,800. It is situated on the Patapsco River and Bear Creek, to the southeast of Baltimore. Dundalk is a largely residential suburb, but also home to a large marine terminal. It is home to Dundalk Community College (1970).