DUNDALK’S FREE NEWSPAPER Chamber President welcomes Shop Local Voucher sales Page2
Frankie Watters appointed to National Credit Union Advisory Committee Page4
Museums tell the story of us says local curator Page10
Wednesday, 7th January, 2026. Vol. 19, Issue 1 • 9A, Crowe Street, Dundalk, Co. Louth Tel: 042 932 0888 | Email: editorial@dundalkleader.com; advertising@dundalkleader.com
LITTER LEAGUE BLUES Dundalk slip down IBAL litter league ladder By Paul Byrne THE latest litter survey by business group Irish Business Against Litter ((IBAL) shows Dundalk has lost its clean status, slipping from 25th to 34th spot in the ranking of 40 towns and cities. The last league table which was released last summer saw Dundalk receive a glowing report as they were certified ‘Clean to European Norms’ but the latest report has deemed the town ‘Moderately Littered’ with just six towns below them in the table. Only three of the sites that were judged were deemed clean with Clanbrassil Street, Market Square and Court House and Marshes Upper all receiving an A Grade. However, the likes of Gray’s Lane and Old Toolfix premises, the Riverbank at Castletown Bridge and Basements at Francis Street brought the av-
erage down for Dundalk with adjudicators stating that those three sites ‘remain stubbornly heavily littered/abused while noting that the presence of three heavily littered sites will push a town towards the bottom of the table. Despite the fantastic work being done locally by a dedicated group of volunteers in Dundalk Tidy Towns it seems that the problem of littering is one that persists in certain areas around Dundalk. It is hoped that a new CCTV system that has been rolled out across Louth in a bid to curb illegal dumping will deter people from dumping and littering. The system currently operating at a number of sites across the county having initially been installed at two blackspots in Dundalk notorious for illegal dumping (the Racecourse Road and Williamsons Place). Continued on page 2
Meet the first baby born in Louth in 2026- Esme úna Lavelle Sharkey was born in Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital at 11.37am on January 1st, New Year’s Day. She’s pictured here with her proud mother, Hannah Lavelle.