Julianstown is a small village situated in the barony of Lower Deleek in the East side of Co Meath, just four miles south of Drogheda. The beautiful Nanny Water is the outstanding feature of the village as it meanders to the sea at Laytown.

Julianstown is rich in its associations with many important happenings and events in Irish history, and has also fashioned the industrial life of the neighbourhood.

Over the river is a bridge at which a famous battle took place in 1641 between the English and the Irish..  On October 22nd 1641, the Irish rebels, led by Phelim O’Neill an Irish Nobleman moved south from Ulster hoping to take Dublin City from English rule. An untrained, hastily raised force of British Government soldiers, largely composed of refugees from the fighting in the north, were sent to deal with the rebels.

The two sides met at the bridge at Julianstown. The Irish rebels charged the soldiers, shouting native war cries leading to great confusion. The English soldiers attempted to hold the Irish off but did not quite manage to co-ordinate their defence, plus the passion they were met with far outweighed their own resolve. It is said that many of the British representatives just abandoned their arms and took flight.

The consequences of this battle were far greater symbolically than its military significance. The Irish victory made the Irish army seem a much more formidable force.  The effect of the win by the Irish helped to motivate the fight for freedom throughout all the provinces of Ireland. This indirectly helped to trigger the English Civil War and Confederate Ireland – a short-lived independent Irish state.

Phelim O’Neill as leader of the insurrection was later captured and executed during the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland in 1652.

Nowadays Julianstown the scene of such turmoil is a quiet picturesque spot, favoured for a short refreshment break in a traditional Irish village in peaceful surroundings.

Located 7 minutes drive from CityNorth Hotel