How well do you know Ireland?

[muppet]

But surely part of Carlingford Lough is in Down and part of it is in Louth? The two have to meet somewhere?

Interestingly (at least to me) this is the real map of Ireland (the red line), we're bigger than Germany

Yea, our fish army would kick their fish army's ass!

[armaghniac]

Yea, our fish army would kick their fish army's ass!

I think we should send an expedition to Rockall before Scotland gets a navy organised.

[Sidney]

Down is simply not a border county and is not separated from louth by any river

They are separated by the Newry River. That there is no bridge between them is irrelevant. A border does not depend on a bridge.

If you say Down does not border Louth, the logical follow on is that Tipperary does not border Clare*, and there are several other examples along the Shannon where the entire border between counties is made up of river.

It would also mean that Armagh is a coastal county**.

*Tipperary does border Clare.
**Armagh is not a coastal county.

[Myles Na G.]

I'm a blow in - 5 right.

[muppet]

Donegal borders Sligo and Antrim fwiw.

And Mayo.

Big river.

[Feckitt]

Jesus lads it's very simple, you cannot drive or walk from Louth to Down without going through Armagh.  Therefore Down does not border Louth. 

[Mayo4Sam]

You can swim from down to Louth without going through any other county

[Hardy]

No I can't. I can hardly swim across the pool.

[AZOffaly]

Jesus lads it's very simple, you cannot drive or walk from Louth to Down without going through Armagh.  Therefore Down does not border Louth.

So if they build a bridge from Carlingford over to Down, then it suddenly does border? I think a river is a natural border, almost by definition. That's how borders are drawn a lot down the country. Offaly borders Galway via a river, and Roscommon. Tipp borders Clare. The list goes on. I don't think the fact that there is a bridge there means there's a border. If the bridge in Shannonbridge got knocked down, would we no longer border Roscommon?

[Hardy]

Is it (the Down-Louth divide) a river or an inlet of the sea? Is it salt or fresh water? Where does it become tidal? What defines the point at which we distinguish between a river border and a sea barrier, in the way that Offaly borders Galway but Britain doesn't border France?

[Feckitt]

It is not seperated by a river, it is seperated by Carlingford Lough!  Much the same as that Clare does not border Kerry or Donegal does not border Sligo.

Can anyone tell me where abouts in Down would you live, for you to live on the border?  No you can't!  End of!

[AZOffaly]

Maybe so. But in my opinion, if you can puck a sliotar from one side to the other, you can fairly say it borders Louth. It's fair narrow there just in from Warranpoint.

[Feckitt]

Where it narrows between Warrenpoint and Newry is not the Down/Louth border, it's the Down/Armagh border. 

[Sidney]

It is not seperated by a river, it is seperated by Carlingford Lough!  Much the same as that Clare does not border Kerry or Donegal does not border Sligo.

Can anyone tell me where abouts in Down would you live, for you to live on the border?  No you can't!  End of!

So Armagh has a coastline?

[rodney trotter]

It is not seperated by a river, it is seperated by Carlingford Lough!  Much the same as that Clare does not border Kerry or Donegal does not border Sligo.

Can anyone tell me where abouts in Down would you live, for you to live on the border?  No you can't!  End of!

Kerry and Clare and are not known as border Counties or Donegal and Sligo, but Down and Louth are

http://www.google.ie/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CB8QFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FCounty_Down&ei=54gRVIbsLeOI7AbBw4GICA&usg=AFQjCNG6arH4JN27lEdkvlkvjVkHPE6faw&bvm=bv.74894050,d.ZGU