Navvy Bank Walk

🌊 The Navvy Bank – A Hidden Treasure Revealed

For decades, the Navvy Bank has been one of Dundalk's best-kept secrets – a peaceful, scenic walk along Dundalk Bay, rich in history and wildlife. But over the past two years, that has begun to change.

Thanks to funding, partnership, and volunteer effort, the Navvy Bank is finally getting the attention it deserves.

Dundalk Tidy Towns – Caring for the Navvy Bank

Dundalk Tidy Towns has provided:

An outdoor exercise area
Bird watching facilities
Regular maintenance and planting along the walk

🌊 A Brief History

The Navvy Bank is an artificial embankment constructed between Soldiers' Point and the quays in Dundalk. The plans were prepared by local engineer John Macneill, and legislation to build it was passed in August 1840.

At a total length of 7,006 feet (1.3 miles) , its construction provided considerable employment during the Great Hunger (Irish Famine) of the 1840s.

The name 'navvy' comes from the word 'navigator' – the men who dug canals and railway lines in the 1800s. A good navvy could shift 20 tonnes of earth a day. Of the 250,000 navvies operating in Britain at the height of the Victorian railway expansion, roughly 1 in 3 was an Irishman.

Land was gifted from Lord Roden to the Harbour Commissioners for the benefit of the 'People of Dundalk' – a gift we are still benefiting from today.

Information courtesy of Jean Reinhardt

🌊 2024 – A New Vision for the Navvy Bank

In 2024, Dundalk Tidy Towns began developing plans to restore and enhance the Navvy Bank, recognising its historical significance and its potential as a recreational amenity.

26th October 2024 – New Visual Identity Launched

A new visual identity for the Navvy Bank was launched, designed by Pauraic Horgan (PH7 Design) .

"For many people, the Navvy Bank is very much an unknown part of the town – but one that holds significant importance both historically, as well as a location to be enjoyed for its scenery. By giving this historical embankment its own identity, it allows for it to be positioned as its own entity – a stunning location for walks, photography, wildlife and recreation."

This project was kindly funded by Louth County Council and forms the first steps in a plan for the promotion and enhancement of the Navvy Bank.