Collon (Irish: Collann)[3] is a village and townland in the south west corner of County Louth, Ireland, on the N2 national primary road.

The Foster family, who came to Ireland from Cumberland in the seventeenth century, were for several generations the dominant influence in Dunleer, which they represented in the Irish House of Commons.

[8] John Foster was both a politician and businessman who encouraged the growth of the linen industry in Collon by facilitating the construction of mills which employed Protestant weavers who settled in the area.

[7] The freestanding red brick chimney that remains standing today, dates back to the 1860 linen mill located on the west side of School Lane, Collon (Coordinates – 300184, 281694).

[12] The Foster family brought in huge amounts of workers to the mills and linen factories in Collon, but most especially Protestant dwellers due to their English descent.

They developed three corn mills alongside the River Mattock which were a big enough success to export oatmeal across the channel to England.

The chimney is a square plan with red brick English bond shaft, located on the west side of the main road.

[16] John Foster had reliable tenants who would vote due to the convenience of the Collin market house, which put him at an advantage over other political candidates.

[17] It is rumoured that the British spies Philby, Burgess and Maclean visited the school as part of their Russian language training.

In 2015 Mattock, amalgamated with Hunterstown Rovers and Glen Emmets, won the under-21 county championship by defeating Noaimh Finbarrs/O'Connells on a scoreline of 0–15 to 0-06.