Skibbereen Irish:An Sciobairín | |
|---|---|
Town | |
 New Bridge over theRiver Ilen | |
 Coat of arms | |
| Motto: Quod petis hic est | |
  Skibbereen Location in Ireland | |
| Coordinates:51°32′55″N9°15′49″W / 51.5486°N 9.2636°W /51.5486; -9.2636 | |
| Country | Ireland |
| Province | Munster |
| County | County Cork |
| Population | |
• Total | 2,903 |
| Time zone | UTC±0 (WET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+1 (IST) |
| Eircode routing key | P81 |
| Telephone area code | +353(0)28 |
| Irish Grid Reference | W119334 |
| Website | www |
Skibbereen (/ˌskɪbəˈriːn/;Irish:An Sciobairín)[2] is a town inCounty Cork,Ireland. It is located inWest Cork on theN71national secondary road. TheRiver Ilen runs through the town; it reaches the sea about 12 kilometres away, at the seaside village ofBaltimore. Located in a tourist area,Tragumna beach is nearby.[3]
The town of Skibbereen, sometimes shortened to "Skibb", is in theCork South-WestDáil constituency, which has three seats. As of the2022 census, the population of the town was 2,903.[1]
Skibbereen is located on theRiver Ilen. In his bookThe Origin and History of Irish Names of Places (1869), the historianPatrick Weston Joyce suggests that the Irish place nameSciobairín orScibirín derives from the small boats orskiffs (scibs) that were common on this stretch of the river.[4]
Prior to 1600, most of the land in the area belonged to the nativeMacCarthy Reagh dynasty.[5] The town charter dates back to 1657 and a copy can be seen in the town council chambers. In 1631, Skibbereen received an influx of refugees fleeing from theSack of Baltimore. The "Phoenix Society" was founded in Skibbereen in 1856 and was a precursor to theFenian movement.[6]
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A statue, the 'Maid of Erin' erected in 1904, sits on top of a memorial to commemorate four failed uprisings against British rule, the dates of which are engraved on each side of the plinth: 1798, 1803, 1848, 1867.[7]
Skibbereen was once a stop on the West Cork Railway, which scheduled trains from West Cork to Cork City. The construction of the railways took place between 1851 and 1893 and by 1961, all West Cork railway lines were closed. Skibbereen also had a separate terminus station on the narrow-gaugeSchull and Skibbereen Tramway and Light Railway.[8]Skibbereen Town Hall was erected in around 1862.[9][10]
The region around Skibbereen experienced a significant famine in the years 1845–52, a time referred to asThe Great Hunger or Great Famine (Irish:an Gorta Mór). The Skibbereen Heritage Centre estimates that 8,000 to 10,000 victims of the Famine are buried in the famine burial pits of Abbeystrewery cemetery close to the town.[11] While there is some question on the accuracy of census data from the famine era,[12] records indicate a drop of population from 58,335 in 1841 to 32,412 in 1861.[13]
Skibbereen is also the name of a song about the Famine, and the impact it and theBritish Government had on the people of Ireland. The song, also known asDear Old Skibbereen, takes the form of a conversation between a father and a son, in which the son asks his father why he fled the land he loved so well.[14]
A permanent exhibition to commemorate the memory of the victims of the Great Famine is sited at the Skibbereen Heritage Centre.[15] Skibbereen was also the focal point of Ireland's first National Famine Memorial Day on 17 May 2009. The town was selected as it was in one of the areas worst affected by the Great Famine.[16] The National Famine Commemoration Committee agreed that the centrepiece of the memorial day would rotate between theFour Provinces on an annual basis.[17]
TheSkibbereen Eagle, a newspaper founded in 1857, published both local and international stories. For example, it published an editorial that "toldLord Palmerston that it had 'got its eye both upon him and on the Emperor of Russia'."[18] And a 1914 article said "We give this solemn warning toKaiser Wilhelm: The Skibbereen Eagle has its eye on you."[19] This newspaper was superseded by theSouthern Star, which was founded in Skibbereen in 1889.[20][21]
O'Donovan Rossa GAA is the localGaelic Athletic Association club. The local secondary school St. Fachtna's was a finalist in 1982 and a winner in 1991 of theHogan Cup forGaelic football.
Skibbereen Rowing Club is situated on the outskirts of the town, and is one of the most successful clubs in Ireland.[22] Club membersPaul andGary O'Donovan won silver at the 2016 summer Olympics in themen's lightweight double sculls,[23] the first Olympic medal won by Irish rowers.[24] Paul O'Donovan and fellow club memberFintan McCarthy also won gold at both the2020 Olympics in Tokyo and the2024 Olympics in Paris.
A.F.C.Skibbereen is the local association football (soccer) club, with other sports clubs including Skibbereen Golf Club,[25] Skibbereen Rugby Club, and Skibbereen Athletics Club.[26]
There are four primary schools located in the town, including Abbeystrewry National School (a mixed school), Gaelscoil Dr. Uí Shúilleabháin (a mixed Irish-speaking school), St. Patrick's Primary School (boys), and Scoil Naomh Seosamh (girls)
The town's previous three secondary schools (Rossa College, St Fachtna's De la Salle and Mercy Heights) were amalgamated into a new school, called Skibbereen Community School, which opened in September 2016.[27]
As of the2011 census, there were 2,670 people living in Skibbereen. In terms of religion, the 2011 census recorded this population as being 79% Catholic, 11.5% other stated religion, 7% with no religion, and 1.5% not stated.[28]
By the2016 census the population was 2,778. In 2016, the Skibbereen Urban and Skibbereen Rural electoral divisions were 75.6% white Irish, 18.8% other white ethnicities, 0.6% black, 1.2% Asian, 1% of other ethnicity, and 2.9% with no stated ethnicity.[29][30] As of 2016, 5.4% of Skibbereen's urban population identified with aUK nationality,[31] compared to an average of 2.6% for the county as a whole.[32]
As of the2022 census, Skibbereen had a population of 2,903. The population consisted of 64.1% White Irish, 21.8% other White ethnicities, 0.6% Black or Black Irish, 3.6% Asian or Asian Irish, 1.7% of other ethnicities, 1.2% Irish Traveller, and 7.1% with no stated ethnicity.[1]
Festivals held in Skibbereen include the annual Skibbereen Arts Festival. This typically takes place at the end of July and includes community-based projects as well film screenings, theatre, visual art and music acts.[33]
An agricultural festival, the Carbery Show, also takes place in July.[citation needed] This show includes agricultural, horticultural, livestock, craft, bakery and other competitions, as well as a pet show, and trade exhibition. The first Carbery Show took place in 1836.[34]
Music events are also held locally, with several bars and venues in town hosting musical acts.[citation needed] Skibbereen has also hosted theCork X Southwest Music & Arts Festival over several years. The 2011 festival was held at Liss Ard Estate and featuredPatti Smith,Echo & the Bunnymen,Balkan Beat Box,Fred and others across a two-day lineup.[35]
Medical facilities in the town include Skibbereen Community Hospital[36] and Skibbereen Medical Centre.[37]
Skibbereen in Cork [..] is situated at the mouth of the river Ilen, on a little creek much frequented by small vessels, formerly-and still in some places-called 'scibs' (Eng. skiff); and Scibirín, as the place is called in Irish, means a places frequented by skibs or boats
[...] Paul, who trains with his brother at Skibbereen Rowing Club, agreed [...]
It is the first ever Olympic medal for Irish rowing
Of 2,663 Skib Urban residents, 143 indicated a UK nationality. Or 5.37%
Of 412,826 Cork County residents, 10,774 indicated a UK nationality. Or 2.61%
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