Historic Dundalk Democrat sign restored to former glory
A piece of Dundalk history was revived last week when the old Dundalk Democrat sign above 3 Earl Street was restored to its former glory.
The work was carried out by Mack Signs as part of the SEEK festival and is the latest historical sign to be revamped as part of an ongoing project led by Dundalk BIDS.
The sign was restored to its original gold lettering using gold leaf with the outline based off a trace of the original which was designated to be specially preserved by Dundalk Town Council over a decade ago.
As well as the main sign a smaller sign over the doorway to the left has also been refurbished.
The historic building housed the offices of the Democrat for much of the paper's 174 year history until it moved to Crowe Street over twenty years ago.
Following the papers departure, the first and second floors housed ‘The Office and ‘Amber’ nightclubs with the Riva Brasserie occupying the ground floor.
“We took on with the full restoration of the signage because it is highly important[to the town],” Martin McElligot, Town Centre Manager with BIDS told the Democrat.
“We’ve done a lot of gold signs around the town and it’s incredibly important to preserve Dundalk’s commercial history.
“We’re trying to protect the footprint that was before us while leaving a footprint of our own, so signs like the Dundalk Democrat one which are highly protected need to be restored.
“We’ve been working with Connell and Co with their restoration on Church Street
“I‘m very excited about it because it’s going back to its original gold leaf form.
“Gold leaf was the very first application on it from when the town was a wealthy and strong industrial town
“When we were looking at it…whoever was doing the work changed it ever so slightly, but the original was still there and we were able to get a really strong trace on what’s there with the guys who are restoring the sign for us.
“I love the fact that BIDS has the power to work with the local authority and the business owner to make that happen, it’s an incredible gift.”
In a further nod to the building's history, plans are also afoot to rename the six apartments which occupy the upper floors:
“The Dundalk Democrat apartments.”
First published almost 174 years ago, on Saturday 20th October, 1849 the first edition of the paper was printed on a relatively small printing press in a house in Upper Clanbrassil Street by the paper’s founder Joseph Cartan.
Cartan was a nationalist and great supporter of Daniel O'Connell and at least two lavish banquets were held in a hotel he owned in the early 1840s when O'Connell was in Dundalk to speak at his famous 'Mass Rallies' in favour of the Repeal of the Act of Union.
As former Democrat Editor Peter Kavanagh recalled in his Trip Through Time column a few years ago:
“O'Connell died suddenly during the height of the Great Famine and, although there is no record of it, I suspect that Cartan decided to start the Dundalk Democrat in memory of his great hero and so began a tradition that has lasted to the present day!”