Dunleer is a town in the centre of County Louth. The town is serviced by the R132, R169 and R170 regional roads and to its west, the M1 motorway. From the M1, there are three motorway interchanges (Junctions 12, 13 and 14). This access has played a part in the continued growth of Dunleer. The 2016 Census showed the population of Dunleer to be 2,878, with approximately 10% being of different cultural and ethnic backgrounds. As the population of Dunleer has grown, the town has experienced renewed prosperity. Shops, pubs, restaurants and cafes have been established in the thriving town centre. Dunleer's proximity to Dundalk, Ardee and Drogheda and its location as a crossroads on the main north-south economic corridor, between Dublin and Belfast, positions the town for more growth and success.
Dunleer has been a centre of industry from the 17th Century, and at one time it had three powered water mills. Dunleer has also been a centre of domestic appliance manufacturing since the late 1930s, and more recently has become a location for cutting edge technologies and engineering.
Some core capabilities of the town and its people are:
- Entrepreneurship: Strong ethos of establishing and building successful business, examples of Glen Dimplex, Suretank, Mcor, Neacy Mechanical, all major employers in the town.
- Collaboration: Strong history and awareness of the need to collaborate and work together to achieve common objectives. Example is the Dunleer Community Development Board which is an umbrella organisation representing the needs of 24 community groups.
- Resilience: The people and business in Dunleer has shown significant resilience when faced with adversity, whether this was recession challenges, adapting business to global changes or social challenges of drug abuse and subversive activity which is a challenge presently.
- Influencing: Partnering with Local Government and other state agencies by provided inputs to influence local, County and national policy. Community actions are based on solid feedback, quality data, supporting policies and collaborative planning.
Through collaboration and driving change, over the last 10 years the local community has attracted inward investment of €2.6 million from funds such as:
- Home Energy Retrofits which reduce energy costs and install renewable Technology.
- Town and Village Renewal funding through the Local Authority.
- Leader.
- Private funding.
Always having a strong educational background, the town and surrounding area is serviced by three primary and one-post primary school.