Origins The derby has existed since the 1960s, when Drogheda United were inducted into the League of Ireland for the first time. A rivalry was born through several factors, including the close proximity of the clubs; Dundalk's
Oriel Park lies 31 km from Drogheda's
Weavers Park. Outside of football, as the two largest towns in County Louth, the towns have also had something of a "sibling rivalry" over the years. Despite the rivalry, there is also a healthy respect between the two clubs, and a number of players have played for both teams over the years. Overall, the Louth Derby is one of the most longstanding rivalries in Irish football, along with that of
Bohemians and Shamrock Rovers.
Derby history The first ever Louth Derby was played when Drogheda United were known as "Drogheda FC" back in 1963, in the first round of the now defunct
Dublin City Cup, at
Oriel Park on 16 August 1963. The game finished 4-3 to the home team, although Drogheda looked the more likely to pull off a shock result in their maiden outing before a goal from Dermot Cross in the 87th minute saw Dundalk through to the next round. Three months later, Dundalk hammered Drogheda 6-1 at Lourdes Stadium in the first league meeting between the neighbouring clubs, but around a year onwards, on 22 November 1964, Drogheda sought revenge and recorded their first ever win against Dundalk with a 3-1 victory at Oriel Park. In 1966, Drogheda United and Dundalk organised the first of a series of annual
friendly matches, known as the Donegan Cup. The first of these was a two-legged encounter which Dundalk won 5-2 on aggregate. The fixture became an on-and-off event until 1984, when the teams began struggling to choose a date due to hectic fixture lists. During the
1971/72 season, Drogheda United made it to the final of the
League of Ireland Shield, where they faced their county rivals but lost 5-0. To date, this remains the only time that Dundalk and Drogheda have competed in the final of a major competition. Dundalk had periods of success in the mid-to-late 1970s, winning the league in both
1975/76 and
1978/79, but Drogheda adjusted well to life in the
League of Ireland, recording a number of wins against them, including a 1-0 away win against the reigning champions
in 1977. In fact, Drogheda went unbeaten in Louth derbies in the league for three years, and on 4 February 1979, Drogheda won the last Louth derby at Lourdes Stadium 1-0, before moving to
United Park later that year. Dundalk ended this run by winning 2-0 in the first derby held at United Park. The longest unbeaten period in the fixture was enjoyed by Dundalk, when they failed to lose in 23 in all competitions for over 9 years between 4 December 1983 and 5 August 1993, a period in which they won five major trophies, including two league titles and an
FAI Cup. The streak was ended by Drogheda who won 1-0 at Oriel Park on 26 August 1993. At the end of the
1993/94 season, Drogheda were relegated to the
First Division, meaning the derby was not contested until
1995/96, when they came back up again as runners up and beat reigning champions Dundalk twice; a 3-2 on 20 October 1995, and a 2-1 on 14 April 1996, as well as drawing 2-2 at Oriel Park on 21 January 1996. Despite this, they were relegated again, but were promoted straight after the
1996/97 season to beat Dundalk home and away on 23 January and 16 April 1998. Drogheda finished last and went down for a third time, but won the
1998/99 First Division. This time, Dundalk had been relegated, and the derby wasn't played again until
2000/01, when Drogheda found themselves back in the First Division, this time accompanied by their Louth rivals, who beat them four times and were promoted as champions. Drogheda were back in the Premier Division a year later, and that is where they stayed for the next 14 years, but Dundalk slumped back down, meaning the Louth Derby was not played as a league fixture until Dundalk were promoted at the end of
2008. In 1997, the annual pre season friendly between the clubs was revived in honour of Dundalk stalwart Jim Malone, who died in 1996. On 5 October that year, Drogheda won the inaugural match, beating Dundalk 4-2 on penalties after a 2-2 draw at Oriel Park. Dundalk got their first Malone Cup victory three years later, on 5 July 2000, with a 3-0 away win. Drogheda played against Dundalk a number of times throughout the 2000s in domestic cups. On 30 July 2004, they defeated them 3-2 in an
2004 FAI Cup round 2 replay, when a late Dundalk flurry of goals from Simon Kelly and Steven Napier wasn't enough to cancel out a brace from
John Lester and a goal from
Declan O'Brien. A year later, they won 2-0 in round 3 at Oriel Park,
Mark Leech and
Damian Lynch scoring for Drogheda, who went on to beat
Cork City 2-0 in the
2005 final and lift the FAI Cup for the first time, the first of 4 trophies during Drogheda's "golden era". In the pre-season of 2009, Declan O'Brien moved between the clubs on a free transfer, and was met with a hostile reception by the home supporters at United Park when he lined out for Dundalk in the Jim Malone Cup match on 24 February. He was branded a traitor, subjected to banners reading "
Judas", and a pigs head was thrown onto the pitch, inspired by the infamous incident involving
Luís Figo at the
Camp Nou in 2002. Drogheda went on to win the game 4-3 on penalties after a scoreless draw, with O'Brien missing his spot kick. He went on to rejoin Drogheda ahead of the
2012 season and helped them win the
2012 League Cup. The first league meeting for almost eight years was on 20 March in the
2009 season, when Dundalk won 3-0 at Oriel Park courtesy of a brace of penalties from
Chris Turner and a goal from
Darren Mansaram. Drogheda, who were suffering from financial difficulties, fell to a 4-2 defeat later that year when
Alex Williams scored twice in between goals from Ger Rowe and Chris Turner. Drogheda failed to win another league derby until 10 June 2011 when Dinny Corcoran and Philip Hand helped them to a 2-1 win despite
Daniel Kearns striking back in the 86th minute. That same year, Dundalk found their first cup win against Drogheda since 2003, when a goal from
Keith Ward and another from
Mark Quigley five minutes later secured their place in the fifth round of the
2011 FAI Cup. In the
2012 League of Ireland Premier Division, Drogheda produced a significant comeback at United Park on 31 August 2012. Dundalk looked on course for a surprise victory, going 2-0 up inside 31 minutes thanks to Mark Griffin, but their lead slipped away when
Peter Hynes scored after half an hour, and grabbed the equaliser in the 87th minute. Drogheda ultimately grabbed all three points in injury time when
John Sullivan scored the winner. On 6 October 2013, they made it to the
2013 FAI Cup Final once again when they controversially beat Dundalk 1-0 in front of 2,000 people at United Park, a game dubbed "The biggest Louth Derby in history" by the Dundalk Democrat. Their biggest ever derby victory came on opening day of the
2014 campaign, Declan O'Brien netting a brace after goals from Eric Foley and
Gavin Brennan proved enough to stifle Dundalk, who struck through
Patrick Hoban, and win 4-1 on 7 March. The game also saw three red cards, for
Philip Hughes, Gavin Brennan, and Simon Kelly. Despite opening day defeat, Dundalk went on to beat Drogheda 7-0 at Oriel on 20 May, their largest victory over them, and win the league title for the first time in 19 years. Dundalk saw their most successful period under
Stephen Kenny between
2013 and
2018, and didn't taste derby defeat at all between
2014 and
2021, a period in which they won eleven major trophies. On 18 September 2015, they comfortable beat Drogheda 6-0 at Oriel Park, four goals from
Richie Towell and strikes from
Daryl Horgan and
David McMillan all but condemning them to relegation whilst Dundalk retained the title. They repeated this two years later, on 16 June 2017, after Drogheda had been promoted through the playoffs in
2016. Braces from David McMillan and
Ciarán Kilduff, alongside goals from
Patrick McEleney and
Michael Duffy, were met with no response from the home team who saw Thomas Byrne sent off during the game. Drogheda United were relegated at the end of the
2017 season, and remained in the First Division until they won it in
2020. In this time, Dundalk had won two league titles, two FAI Cups, one League Cup and played in the
Europa League group stages. In 2021, the first competitive Louth derby in four years, and the first ever behind closed doors due to the
COVID-19 pandemic, was played at Oriel Park, a 2-1 victory for the hosts in which
David McMillan,
Han Jeong-Woo and Chris Lyons were on the scoresheet. On 20 August, Drogheda recorded a significant win at Oriel Park when a brace from
Mark Doyle helped them to a 2-1 victory, their first away win in Dundalk for just under a decade and ending Dundalk's unbeaten record in the fixture dating back to 2014. The result was a blow for Dundalk, who were already suffering their worst season in 9 years, and it looked possible that newly promoted Drogheda would finish above them in the league, something that had not occurred since 2012. With Dundalk in seventh place and Drogheda in sixth place, the sides faced off on 4 November at United Park. The game looked headed towards a 0-0 draw, until
Daniel Cleary bundled the ball over the line to win the game in the 86th minute and secure Dundalk's safety from relegation. On 11 February 2022, goals from James Clarke and Chris Lyons saw Drogheda win the Jim Malone Cup with a 2-1 victory at Oriel Park, ending a seven year streak of Dundalk dominance. On 18 March, they repeated the feat in the first competitive derby of the season, when a Dean Williams penalty led them to a 1-0 win at United Park, their first home victory against Dundalk in 8 years. This result condemned Dundalk to their first loss of the season. Despite suffering a heavy 4-1 loss at Oriel Park in April, courtesy of a brace from
Darragh Leahy, and goals from Patrick Hoban and John Martin, Drogheda recorded another win against Dundalk on 8 July when Dean Williams was the hero again. He scored just 52 seconds into the game, making it one of the quickest goals in League of Ireland history. Dundalk's win at Oriel in the last derby of 2022 thanks to a
Runar Hauge penalty and a Dane Massey own goal meant both sides recorded two derby wins each over the course of the season. In 2023, Dundalk managed a clean sweep over Drogheda, the first time in history that either team had won four derbies in a single league season. On 16 March,
Connor Malley's goal proved to decisive in a 1-0 win at United Park, with Drogheda being denied a late equaliser when
Freddie Draper's penalty was saved by Nathan Shepperd. On 29 April, the sides faced again at Oriel Park in a 3-2 win for Dundalk. The visitors trailed by two goals from Ryan O'Kane and Patrick Hoban at half time, but despite losing captain
Gary Deegan to a second yellow card just after the interval, they were able to fight back to level the game through
Dayle Rooney and
Freddie Draper. However, Drogheda had a valuable point stolen at the death when John Martin snatched the winner in the 95th minute. On 23 June, Dundalk beat Drogheda 2-1 at United Park. Adam Foley opened the scoring for Drogheda before Patrick Hoban scored his 143rd goal for Dundalk to equalise, becoming the club's all-time record goal scorer, breaking Jimmy Hasty's long-standing record of 142. The away team were then given a penalty in the 81st minute, and Hoban stepped up to make sure they took home all the points. On 29 September,
Kyle Robinson opened the scoring at Oriel Park for Drogheda, before goals from Paul Doyle, Daniel Kelly and Patrick Hoban confirmed a 3-1 win, and a fourth consecutive derby victory for the Dundalk. 2024 saw six competitive derbies take place, the most on record in a single year. On 3 February, Drogheda United came back from 1-0 down to secure a 2-1 away victory which sent them to the knockout stages of the
Leinster Senior Cup. Teenager
Warren Davis scored the decisive goals off the bench, including a last minute winner from the penalty spot. On 1 April, the sides drew 0-0 in the first league meeting in Oriel Park. On 6 May, the sides found themselves occupying the bottom two spots on the table, leading to a relegation crunch match at Weavers Park.
Frantz Pierrot struck first for the hosts before
Jamie Gullan equalised from a free kick. Defender
Hayden Cann then found himself free inside the box to steal all three points for the ten-man Drogs in the 93rd minute and cut Dundalk five points adrift at the bottom. Cann controversially signed for Dundalk less than two months later. On 12 July, Dundalk were 4-2 victors in an important derby which saw them move five points ahead of their rivals at Oriel Park. Drogheda missed the opportunity to drag themselves off the bottom of the table, with goals from
Jad Hakiki, Ryan O'Kane and a brace from
Daryl Horgan outweighing a brace from
Walsall loanee
Douglas James-Taylor. Seven days later, the Louth rivals met once again, this time at Weavers Park in the FAI Cup second round.
Successes Dundalk are one of the most historically successful teams in Irish football history. They were the first team from Ireland to win an away game in Europe, and to date have won 49 major trophies, including fourteen
league titles and twelve
FAI Cups. Their most successful period came in the mid-2010s, under manager
Stephen Kenny, when they won five league titles in six years, and made it to the FAI Cup final six consecutive seasons. Dundalk made history in 2016 and 2020 when they qualified for the group stages of the
UEFA Europa League, becoming the first Irish team to compete in the competition on two occasions. Dundalk's successful period came whilst Drogheda were competing in the
First Division, or struggling at the bottom of the Premier Division. In comparison, Drogheda United's most successful period came in the mid-2000s, when Dundalk were in the First Division. They won the FAI Cup in 2005, two
Setanta Sports Cups in 2006 and 2007, and their first League of Ireland title in 2007. They came close to European qualification four times; the
UEFA Cup in 2006 and 2007, and the
UEFA Champions League in 2008 and 2013. The gulf in success between the two teams fuels the rivalry between the two teams. Drogheda only returned to the top flight ahead of the
2021 season, after a four-year stint in the First Division.
Club structures Both teams have recovered from financial difficulties in the wake of the
post-2008 Irish economic downturn. Dundalk were close to extinction in 2012, but were saved when a local consortium stabilised and took over the club. Drogheda survived examinership after a court ruling in 2008, on the basis that they remain a semi-professional outfit until in a financially comfortable position to switch to a full time set up. This has contributed to the gap between the teams, as Dundalk became a fully professional team in 2017. Dundalk's ownership history has also contributed to the gulf between the sides in recent years. Dundalk have received financial backing from their owners since 2012, whereas Drogheda United were supporter-owned between 2008 and 2023, and funded on a much smaller scale by their fans. However, in 2023, American consortium Trivela Group finalised their plans to purchase Drogheda United which means the club is set to receive a larger playing budget heading into the next few seasons.
Supporters The matches between Drogheda and Dundalk are known for their atmosphere and support from both sets of fans. The fanbases of both clubs are somewhat evenly spread across County Louth. Dundalk gain most of their following from the north of County Louth, as well as regions such as
Armagh,
Monaghan and
Newry, whereas Drogheda's support comes from the south of the county, also stretching into parts of
County Meath and north
Dublin. The fixture itself has historically provided a "fiery" atmosphere. The home sections usually sell out, and away fans travel in large numbers. The fixture has seen many red cards over the years, and occasionally has seen conflict between sets of spectators. Both teams have singing sections; Dundalk's "Shedside Army" and Drogheda's "Famous 45 Ultras". They direct derogatory chants at each other, poking fun at the other for living in an inferior town. In early 2026, both clubs condemned the behaviour of fans, when several flares were thrown by Drogheda fans at a game in derby February 2026. A 12-year-old child was struck by one flare and sustained burns to his face. The artificial surface of the pitch was also damaged. ==Notable games==