County Cork Guide (Corcaigh)
“The Rebel County” - in the province of Munster. County town: Cork.
Ireland’s largest county - Blarney Castle, Kinsale and the “real capital”.
Ireland’s largest county and proudly its “real capital”, Cork has a character all its own. The vibrant city straddles the River Lee; beyond it lie Blarney Castle, the harbour town of Cobh (the Titanic’s last port), the foodie haven of Kinsale and a rugged, beautiful west Cork coastline of islands and inlets.
Ireland's largest county sprawls from rich dairy pasture in the north to the wild, fuchsia-hedged peninsulas of West Cork, where the land splinters into Mizen Head, Sheep's Head and Beara. At its heart sits Cork city, built on islands in the River Lee, a proudly independent merchant city whose people only half-jokingly call it the real capital. The county's coastline shaped its fortunes: Cork Harbour is one of the largest natural harbours in the world, and for generations Cobh was the last sight of Ireland for emigrants boarding ships for America, including passengers of the Titanic.
Cork earned its Rebel County nickname in the 15th century for backing the pretender Perkin Warbeck, and it lived up to the name during the War of Independence, when Michael Collins of Clonakilty led the fight and two of the city's Lord Mayors died for the cause. Today the county is as famous for food as for rebellion: the English Market has traded since 1788, Kinsale styles itself Ireland's gourmet capital, and Midleton distils some of the world's best-known whiskeys. Add a fierce hurling tradition, a thriving pharmaceutical and tech economy, and festivals from jazz to film, and Cork's confidence is easy to understand.
Cities, towns and villages in Cork
- Cork - Ireland's second city, built on the River Lee, known for the English Market, Shandon's bells, University College Cork and a famously proud identity.
- Cobh - The great emigration port on Cork Harbour, the Titanic's final port of call in 1912 and the departure point of Annie Moore, the first emigrant processed at Ellis Island.
- Kinsale - A colourful harbour town regarded as Ireland's gourmet capital, and the site of the pivotal Battle of Kinsale in 1601.
- Clonakilty - A lively West Cork town famous for its black pudding and as the heartland of Michael Collins, who was born nearby at Woodfield.
- Bantry - A market town at the head of Bantry Bay, remembered for the failed French invasion fleet of 1796 and home to the elegant Bantry House.
- Skibbereen - A West Cork town whose Famine story is among the most harrowing in Ireland, movingly told at its heritage centre.
- Youghal - A walled medieval port at the mouth of the Blackwater once governed by Sir Walter Raleigh, and the filming location for the 1954 film Moby Dick.
- Midleton - An east Cork town synonymous with whiskey, home to the distillery where Jameson and Midleton Very Rare are produced.
- Blarney - A village just north of the city whose castle draws visitors from around the world to kiss the Blarney Stone for the gift of eloquence.
- Baltimore - A sailing village in West Cork infamously sacked by Barbary pirates in 1631, now the gateway to Sherkin and Cape Clear islands.
Famous people from Cork
- Michael Collins - Revolutionary leader and Commander-in-Chief of the Free State army, born at Woodfield near Clonakilty in 1890.
- Roy Keane - One of football's greatest midfielders and Manchester United's long-serving captain, from Mayfield in Cork city.
- Sonia O'Sullivan - Olympic silver medallist and world champion runner from Cobh, one of Ireland's greatest ever athletes.
- Cillian Murphy - Oscar-winning star of Oppenheimer and Peaky Blinders, born and raised in Cork city.
- Rory Gallagher - Blues-rock guitar legend who grew up in Cork city, where a bronze statue and an annual festival honour him.
- Jack Lynch - Twice Taoiseach and a Cork sporting icon who won six consecutive All-Ireland medals in hurling and football in the 1940s.
- Mother Jones - Mary Harris Jones, the fearless American labour organiser once branded the most dangerous woman in America, was born in Cork city around 1837.
- Christy Ring - Cloyne-born hurler widely regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of the game, winner of eight All-Ireland titles.
- Terence MacSwiney - Lord Mayor of Cork whose 74-day hunger strike and death in 1920 drew worldwide attention to Ireland's independence struggle.
- Graham Norton - The BBC's celebrated chat show host, who grew up in Bandon in West Cork.
Did you know?
- Cork is Ireland's largest county, and Cork Harbour is often described as one of the largest natural harbours in the world.
- Annie Moore from Cork, the first immigrant ever processed at Ellis Island in 1892, sailed from Cobh, where her statue now stands on the quayside.
- The Fastnet Rock off West Cork, Ireland's most southerly point, was nicknamed Ireland's Teardrop because it was the last piece of home emigrants saw.
- Cork's English Market has been trading continuously since 1788 and was famously visited by Queen Elizabeth II in 2011.
- The Rebel County nickname dates to 1491, when Cork backed Perkin Warbeck's claim to the English throne.
- In 1631 pirates from the Barbary Coast sacked the village of Baltimore and carried off more than 100 inhabitants into slavery.
- Henry Ford's father emigrated from Ballinascarthy near Clonakilty, and in 1917 Ford chose Cork city for its first purpose-built factory outside North America.
- Cobh was called Queenstown when the Titanic made it her final port of call on 11 April 1912.
Places to visit in Cork
- Blarney Castle - Kiss the Blarney Stone for the gift of the gab.
- Cobh - The Titanic’s last port of call and a great emigration story.
Surnames from Cork: Murphy · O'Sullivan · McCarthy · Daly · Collins · Flynn · Healy · Casey · Hayes · Barry · Roche · Sheehan