Dundalk (/ˌdʌnˈdɔːlk/, from Irish: Dún Dealgan meaning "Dalgan's stronghold") is the county town of County Louth in Ireland. It is situated where the Castletown River flows into Dundalk Bay. The town is close to the border with Northern Ireland and equidistant from Dublin and Belfast. The town's name, which was historically written as Dundalgan, has associations with the mythical warrior Cú Chulainn. The town's crest reads Mé do rug Cú Chulainn Cróga, meaning "I gave birth to brave Cú Chulainn". It was granted its charter in 1189. Within legally defined boundaries it is the largest town in Ireland (pop. 31,073). It is also the largest by area. Dundalk's rural population is 25,581 giving a combined statistical area of 56,654.
In 2003 Dundalk was amongst nine cities and towns to be designated Gateway status in the Irish Government's National Spatial Strategy.

The Dundalk area has been inhabited since at least 3500 BC, when Neolithic farmers first came to Ireland. A tangible reminder of their presence can still be seen in the form of the Proleek Dolmen, the eroded remains of a megalithic tomb located at Ballymascanlon a few miles to the north of Dundalk. Celtic culture arrived in Ireland around 500 BC. According to the legendary historical accounts, the group settled in North Louth were known as the Conaille Muirtheimhne and took their name from Conaill Carnagh, legendary chief of the Red Branch Knights of Ulster. Their land now forms upper and lower Dundalk.

Des Wilson is a New Zealand born British campaigner, political activist, businessman, sports administrator, author and Poker player. He was instrumental in the 1960s as a founder of the pivotal British homelessness charity Shelter and was for a while an activist in, and President of, the British Liberal Party. He is now most well known for his writing on Poker.

From a working-class family in New Zealand, Wilson attended Waitaki Boys' High School, leaving at 15 to become a reporter on the local newspaper. After spells working for the Otago Daily Times and the Evening Star in Dunedin, and the Melbourne Star in Melbourne, Australia, Wilson moved to the United Kingdom in 1960, aged 19.

He spent a few years taking a range of jobs before becoming a journalist. Following the 1966 BBC Wednesday Play, "Cathy Come Home", he became the founding director of the housing charity Shelter, and then became a columnist for The Observer newspaper. He also spent two years as director of public affairs for the Royal Shakespeare Company. He edited the magazine Social Work Today for the British Association of Social Workers. He then returned to campaigning, running Friends of the Earth and the campaigns for freedom of information and lead-free petrol.