Clonakilty Irish:Cloich na Coillte | |
|---|---|
Town | |
 The Feagle River passes through Clonakilty | |
 Coat of arms | |
  Clonakilty Location in Ireland | |
| Coordinates:51°37′19″N8°53′11″W / 51.62194°N 8.88639°W /51.62194; -8.88639 | |
| Country | Ireland |
| Province | Munster |
| County | County Cork |
| Area | |
• Total | 3.433 km2 (1.325 sq mi) |
| Population | |
• Total | 5,112 |
| • Density | 1,500/km2 (3,900/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC±0 (WET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+1 (IST) |
| Eircode routing key | P85 |
| Telephone area code | +353(0)23 |
| Irish Grid Reference | W381417 |
| Website | clonakilty.ie |
Clonakilty (/ˈklɔːnæˌkɪltiː/;Irish:Cloich na Coillte, meaning 'stone (castle) of the woods'),[2] sometimes shortened toClon,[3][4] is a town inCounty Cork, Ireland. The town is at the head of the tidal Clonakilty Bay. The rural hinterland is used mainly for dairy farming.[5] The town's population was 5,112 at the2022 census.[1] The town is a tourism hub inWest Cork, and was recognised as the "Best Town in Europe" in 2017, and "Best Place of the Year" in 2017 by theRoyal Institute of the Architects of Ireland.[6][7] Clonakilty is in theDáil constituency ofCork South-West, which has three seats.
The Clonakilty area has a number of ancient and pre-Celtic sites, includingLios na gCon ringfort.[8]Norman settlers built castles around Clonakilty, and a number of Norman surnames survive in theWest Cork area to the present day.[9] In 1292, Thomas De Roach received a charter to hold a market every Monday at Kilgarriffe (then called Kyle Cofthy or Cowhig's Wood), close to where the present town now stands.[citation needed] In the 14th century, a ten-mile strip of fallow woodland calledTuath na gCoillte (the land of the woods) divided thebarony of Ibane (Ardfield) and Barryroe and reached the sea at Clonakilty Bay. Here a castle called Coyltes Castell was recorded in a 1378 plea roll. This was subsequently referred to as Cloghnykyltye, one of the many phonetic spellings forCloch na gCoillte (meaning the castle of the woods, fromcloch, the Irish for stone or stone building, andcoillte meaning woods).[2]
The lands around Clonakilty were owned byRichard Boyle, 1st Earl of Cork, and it was Lord Cork ('the Great Earl') who obtained its charter fromJames I in 1613,[10] with the right to return members to theIrish House of Commons. Theborough of Clonakilty returned two members from 1613 to 1801; it was disfranchised when theAct of Union came into force in January 1801. It also had a part-time judge, theRecorder of Clonakilty, who held a weekly court ofPetty session. The estate lands at Clonakilty were later purchased by theEarls of Shannon, another branch of the Boyle dynasty. They remained the main landlords of the town from the eighteenth century until the early twentieth century.[11]
During theIrish Rebellion of 1641,Protestant settlers in Clonakilty fled toBandon, and much of Clonakilty was burned byCatholic rebels.[12][13][14] On October 1642, a Protestant force led by the thenLord Forbes reoccupied the town. Forbes left two companies from the Lord Forbes' Regiment and one company from the Bandon Foot togarrison Clonakilty before leaving the town to relieveRathbarry Castle, which was under siege by rebel forces. However, almost immediately after Lord Forbes left Clonakilty, a large force of Catholic rebels attacked the town; the two Scottish companies refused to retreat and were killed to a man, while the Irish company fought their way out of the town to an abandonedringfort nearRosscarbery, where they were relieved by Lord Forbes who had returned fromRathbarry.[15][failed verification] The reunified force returned to Clonakilty and drove out the rebels, who fled towards the island ofInchydoney, where roughly six hundred of them drowned at high tide. Lord Forbes' men returned to the town and freed a large number of men, women and children imprisoned in Clonakilty's market house.[15][failed verification]
The town was also the site of a battle in 1691 during theWilliamite War in Ireland.[13] During theIrish Rebellion of 1798,Shannonvale near Clonakilty was the site of theBattle of the Big Cross. It was described as "the only place in allMunster where a blow of some sort had been struck during the Rising of '98".[16] There is a commemorative statue celebrating the Battle of the Big Cross in Asna Square in the centre of Clonakilty.
Michael Collins, who was the Director of Intelligence for theIrish Republican Army (IRA) during theIrish War of Independence, lived in Clonakilty and attended the local boys' national school. Collins later served as Chairman of theProvisional Government of Ireland and was instrumental in the founding of theIrish Free State. Collins was killed in an ambush by theAnti-Treaty IRA during theIrish Civil War. He gave several orations from O'Donovan's Hotel on the Main Street of Clonakilty. On Emmet Square, where Collins lived for a period, is a statue of Michael Collins (erected and dedicated in 2002) and a museum (opened in 2016).
In April 1943, aBoeing B-17 Flying Fortress was travelling fromMorocco to England when it was forced to land at a marsh just outside Clonakilty.[17] The crew (who were uninjured) thought they had been flying over German-occupiedNorway.[18] Kennedy Gardens atEmmet Square (formerlyShannon Square) in the centre of town is named afterJohn F. Kennedy. In June 2012, Clonakilty was damaged by flooding.[19] Clonakilty was founded on 5 May 1613, and on 5 May 2013,PresidentMichael D. Higgins and his wife visited the town to commemorate 400 years since it obtained its original charter.[20][4]
Councillors decided to demolish the 200-year old Clonakilty Town Hall in 2019.[21]
Kilgarriffe Church, aChurch of Ireland church, was built in 1818 to replace an older building which dated from 1613.[22][23]
The Church of the Immaculate Conception, a largeCatholic church, was designed byGeorge Ashlin and built in 1880 in the Early French Gothic style.[24][25]
The oldPresbyterian Church was built in 1861 and taken over and used since 1924 as a local Post Office.[26] The localMethodist church is located in the town and became the first church in Ireland to win two Eco Congregation Ireland awards.[27][28]
The nearest airport to the town isCork Airport, andBus Éireann provides coach links from Clonakilty to Cork andSkibbereen.[29] During the summer months, there is a bus link toKillarney via theN71 road through Skibbereen,Bantry,Glengarriff andKenmare.
Clonakilty was one of the destinations on theWest Cork Railway, an Irish mainline railway from Cork city to various parts ofWest Cork, which shut down in 1961.Clonakilty railway station opened on 28 August 1886, but finally closed on 1 April 1961.[30]
Clonakilty has abypass road on theN71, to the south of the town, which routes traffic to Cork,Kinsale,Bandon, Skibbereen andDunmanway via theR599, just west of the town, or vice versa to theR588 viaEnniskean and the town centre.[31]
Clonakilty's bars host live music nights throughout the year, and De Barra's Folk Club,[32] Shanley's Music Bar,[33] and O'Donovans and are among the town's music venues.[34] De Barra's Folk Club has featured acts likeChristy Moore,Sharon Shannon,Roy Harper,John Spillane andFrances Black.[35][36]
A number of notable musicians live in the area. For example,Noel Redding made Clonakilty his home,[37] as has singer-songwriterRoy Harper.[38] English novelistDavid Mitchell also calls Clonakilty home.[39]
The town also hosts several festivals every year, including the Clonakilty International Guitar Festival in mid-September,[32] the Motion Festival and the Waterfront Festival in August.[40]
The town won theIrish Tidy Towns Competition in 1999 and was also named 'Ireland's Tidiest Small Town' in 2012, 2017[41] and 2022.[42] In 2003, Clonakilty became Ireland's first-everFairtrade Town. In 2007, it was awarded the status of 'European Destination of Excellence' by the European Commission at a ceremony in Portugal and is Ireland's first recipient of this title.[citation needed]
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
|---|---|---|
| 1821 | 4,033 | — |
| 1831 | 3,807 | −5.6% |
| 1841 | 3,993 | +4.9% |
| 1851 | 3,297 | −17.4% |
| 1861 | 3,108 | −5.7% |
| 1871 | 3,568 | +14.8% |
| 1881 | 3,676 | +3.0% |
| 1891 | 3,221 | −12.4% |
| 1901 | 3,098 | −3.8% |
| 1911 | 2,961 | −4.4% |
| 1926 | 2,770 | −6.5% |
| 1936 | 2,961 | +6.9% |
| 1946 | 2,825 | −4.6% |
| 1951 | 2,742 | −2.9% |
| 1956 | 2,517 | −8.2% |
| 1961 | 2,417 | −4.0% |
| 1966 | 2,422 | +0.2% |
| 1971 | 2,430 | +0.3% |
| 1981 | 2,698 | +11.0% |
| 1986 | 2,786 | +3.3% |
| 1991 | 2,812 | +0.9% |
| 1996 | 2,970 | +5.6% |
| 2002 | 3,698 | +24.5% |
| 2006 | 4,154 | +12.3% |
| 2011 | 4,721 | +13.6% |
| 2016 | 4,592 | −2.7% |
| 2022 | 5,112 | +11.3% |
| [1][43][44][45][46][47] | ||
At the2011 census, ethnically Clonakilty was 80% white Irish, 14% "other white", 1.5% black, 1.5% Asian, and 2% other or not stated.[48] In terms of religion, the2011 census captured a population that was 80.5% Catholic, 10% other stated religions, 8.5% with no religion, and 0.5% not stated.[48]
As of the2022 census, the town of Clonakilty had a usual resident population of 4,994. Of these, 71.9% were White Irish, 0.6% were White Irish Travellers, 15.7% were Other White ethnicities, 2.0% were Black or Black Irish, 4.0% were Asian or Asian Irish, 2.0% were of other ethnicities, and 3.8% did not state their ethnicity. 72.6% of the usual residents were born in the Republic of Ireland, 6.9% in the United Kingdom, 5.2% in Poland, 0.9% in India, 6.0% in other EU countries excluding Ireland and Poland, and 8.4% in the rest of the world.[1]
The town is known for itsblack pudding. Clonakilty black pudding originated in Edward Twomey's butcher shop in Pearse Street. The secret spice recipe has been handed down through the generations since the 1880s, and is still known only to the Twomey family who continue to manufacture the pudding at the Clonakilty Food Company.[49][50]
The Model Village in Clonakilty is a tourist destination in the area and includes fully scaled models of Clonakilty and nearby towns – built on a miniature of the area's railway line.
Michael Collins House is a museum dedicated to the Irish revolutionary leaderMichael Collins. The museum is set out in a restored Georgian townhouse on Emmet Square, where Collins lived from 1903 to 1905. The museum tells the story of Collins' life and the history of Irish independence through tours, exhibits, interactive displays, and historical artefacts.[51]
A "Random Acts of Kindness Festival" was set up by the local Clonakilty Macra na Feirme Club. The 2012 event ran over a weekend in July.[52]
Clonakilty Street Carnival takes place in June of each year, and involves live music, activities and other events.[53]
Other historical attractions in the town include the Clonakilty Museum, the Georgian houses of Emmet Square and the Michael Collins Centre which is located a few miles east of the town. A Farmers Market takes place at Emmet Square every Friday.
There are two secondary schools located in the town. Clonakilty Community College is a mixed school and the Sacred Heart Secondary School is an all-girls school. There are 4 Primary Schools located in the town. Clonakilty Agricultural College is located 2 miles east of the town. It is known locally as Darrara College and mainly deals with Agricultural Education.
Clonakilty has aGAA club (Clonakilty GAA), two soccer clubs (Clonakilty A.F.C, Clonakilty Town), aRugby union club (Clonakilty R.F.C.) and a Martial Arts club (Warrior Tae Kwon Do).[54] The GAA team won theCork Senior Football Championship in 2009, 1996, and were runners-up in the 2003 competition. Clonakilty GAA won their first adult hurling county title when they won the Cork Minor B Hurling Championship in 2007. Clonakilty R.F.C. also became a senior rugby club in 2001 and spent 12 years in theAll-Ireland League until they were relegated to Division 1 of the Munster Junior League. Clonakilty A.F.C. won the Beamish Cup in 2008 & 1995 and in 2014 featured Australian international, Alex Swift. Students of the Clonakilty "Warrior Tae Kwon Do" club compete inTae Kwon Do,Kickboxing andFreestyle tournaments and the club has produced 4 World Champions in several martial arts disciplines.[55]
The closestBlue Flag beach is atInchydoney Island, immediately to the south of the town.
Approximately 11 kilometres (6.8 mi) from Clonakilty, and looking out over theGalley Head lighthouse, is Long Strand. This sandy beach is a mile and a half long, and bounded by dunes atCastlefreke (aprotected Special Area of Conservation).[56]
Duneen Beach is across the bay from the right-hand side of Inchydoney beach.[57]
Clonakilty has been twinned with:
–Chateaulin,Brittany, France (in 1986)[58][59][60]
–Waldaschaff,Bavaria, Germany (since 1989)[60][61]another Cork name that goes back to the Norman Conquest and the Lord Arundels who built major castles around the Clonakilty area. Descendents[sic] are still there today
R588 [..] between its junction with R586 at Enniskean in the county of Cork and its junction with R880 at Miles in the town of Clonakilty
Clonakilty twinned with Chateaulin, France in 1986 [..] In 1989 Clonakilty twinned with Waldaschaff in Bavaria, Germany
Michael Collins lived on Emmet Sq between 1903 and 1905 we cannot conclusively say exactly which house he lived in
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