Kinsale
Kinsale Cionn tSáile | |
|---|---|
Town | |
 | |
  Kinsale Location in Ireland | |
| Coordinates: 51°42′20″N 8°31′20″W / 51.70556°N 8.52222°W / 51.70556; -8.52222Coordinates: 51°42′20″N 8°31′20″W / 51.70556°N 8.52222°W / 51.70556; -8.52222 | |
| Country | Ireland |
| Province | Munster |
| County | County Cork |
| Elevation | 10 m (30 ft) |
| Population (2016)[1] | |
| • Total | 5,281 |
| Irish Grid Reference | W637506 |
Kinsale (/kɪnˈseɪl/; Irish: Cionn tSáile, meaning "Tide Head") is a historic port and fishing town in County Cork, Ireland, which also has significant military history. Located approximately 25 km south of Cork City on the southeast coast near the Old Head of Kinsale, it is located at the mouth of the River Bandon. Its population was 5,281 at the 2016 census.[1] Its population increases during the summer months, when the tourist season is at its peak and the boating fraternity and other tourist visitors arrive in numbers. Kinsale is in the Cork South-West (Dáil Éireann) constituency, which has three seats.
Kinsale is a holiday destination for both Irish and overseas tourists.[2]
Leisure activities include yachting, sea angling, and golf. The town also has several art galleries and a school of English. There is a large yachting marina close to the town centre.
The town is known for its restaurants, and holds an annual "Gourmet Festival". Chef Keith Floyd was previously a resident of Kinsale.[3]
The town's Community School has been awarded the "Best School in the Republic of Ireland" twice, including at the BT Young Scientist Exhibition in 2014.[4]
Prominent historical buildings in the town include St. Multose's church (Church of Ireland) of 1190, St. John the Baptist (Catholic) of 1839, the Market House of c. 1600, and the so-called French Prison (or Desmond Castle, associated with the Earls of Desmond) of c. 1500. Charles Fort, a partly restored star fort of 1677, is in nearby Summercove.[5]
Contents
1 History
2 Transport
3 Sports and community groups
4 Entertainment and culture
5 Government and politics
5.1 Twin towns – Sister cities
6 Development
7 Demographics
8 People from or associated with Kinsale
9 Gallery
10 See also
11 References
12 External links
History
Kinsale is known for its historic streetscape and brightly coloured shops.
| Historical population | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
| 1821 | 7,068 | — |
| 1831 | 7,312 | +3.5% |
| 1841 | 6,918 | −5.4% |
| 1851 | 5,501 | −20.5% |
| 1861 | 4,850 | −11.8% |
| 1871 | 6,404 | +32.0% |
| 1881 | 5,386 | −15.9% |
| 1891 | 4,605 | −14.5% |
| 1901 | 4,250 | −7.7% |
| 1911 | 4,020 | −5.4% |
| 1926 | 2,747 | −31.7% |
| 1936 | 2,422 | −11.8% |
| 1946 | 2,087 | −13.8% |
| 1951 | 1,930 | −7.5% |
| 1956 | 1,808 | −6.3% |
| 1961 | 1,763 | −2.5% |
| 1966 | 1,848 | +4.8% |
| 1971 | 1,989 | +7.6% |
| 1981 | 2,401 | +20.7% |
| 1986 | 2,581 | +7.5% |
| 1991 | 2,751 | +6.6% |
| 1996 | 3,064 | +11.4% |
| 2002 | 3,554 | +16.0% |
| 2006 | 4,099 | +15.3% |
| 2011 | 4,893 | +19.4% |
| 2016 | 5,281 | +7.9% |
[6][7][8][9][1] | ||
In 1333, under a charter granted by King Edward III of England, the Corporation of Kinsale was established to undertake local government in the town.[10] The corporation existed for over 500 years until the passing of the Municipal Corporations (Ireland) Act 1840, when local government in Kinsale was transferred to the Town Commissioners who had been elected in the town since 1828. These Town Commissioners became the Kinsale Council under the Local Government (Ireland) Act 1898 and the Kinsale Town Council existed until 2014 when this layer of local government was abolished in Ireland as part of measures to reduce Ireland's budget deficit following the financial crisis of 2008–2010 (see Post-2008 Irish economic downturn). It returned two members to the Irish House of Commons prior to its abolition in 1800.
In its history, Kinsale has also important occasional links with Spain. In 1518 Archduke Ferdinand, later Emperor Ferdinand I, paid an unscheduled visit to the town, during which one of his staff wrote a remarkable account of its inhabitants.[11][12] In 1601 a Spanish military expedition – the last of the Armadas launched against England – landed in Kinsale in order to link with Irish rebel forces and attack England through Ireland. As a result, the battle of Kinsale took place at the end of the Nine Years War in which English forces led by Charles Blount, 8th Baron Mountjoy defeated the rebel Irish force, led by the princes Hugh Roe O'Donnell and Hugh O'Neill, which was allied with forces of the Spanish empire of Philip III of Spain and Portugal.[13] Following this battle the Flight of the Earls occurred in which a number of the native Irish aristocrats, including the Earls of Tyrone and Tir Conaill, abandoned their lands and fled to mainland Europe. Shortly after the battle, James's Fort was built to protect the harbour.
In 1649 Prince Rupert of the Rhine declared Charles II king of England, Scotland and Ireland at St Multose Church in Kinsale upon hearing of the execution of Charles I in London by Parliamentarian forces during the English Civil War.[14]
Charles Fort, located at Summer Cove and dating from 1677 in the reign of Charles II, is a bastion-fort that guards the entrance to Kinsale harbour. It was built to protect the area and specifically the harbour from use by the French and Spanish in the event of a landing in Ireland. James's Fort, which dates from the reign of James I, is located on the other side of the cove, on the Castlepark peninsula. An underwater chain used to be strung between the two forts across the harbour mouth during times of war to scuttle enemy shipping by ripping the bottoms out of incoming vessels.
King James II of England and Ireland (James VII of Scotland) landed at Kinsale in March 1689 with a force of 2,500 men,[15] raised with the support of King Louis XIV, as part of his campaign to regain power in England, Scotland and Ireland. In 1690, James II of England returned to exile in France from Kinsale, following his defeat at the Battle of the Boyne by William III of England (also Stadtholder William III of the House of Orange-Nassau) after the Glorious Revolution (or Revolution of 1688) in England against the background of wars involving France under King Louis XIV.
From 1694 Kinsale served as a supply base for Royal Navy vessels in southern Ireland, and a number of storehouses were built; it was limited to smaller vessels, however, due to the sandbar at the mouth of the river.[16] English navigator and privateer Captain Woodes Roger mentions Kinsale in the memoir of his 1708 expedition from Cork; in particular he mentions a pair of rocks known as 'the Sovereigne's Bollacks' on which his ship almost ran aground.[17][18] Kinsale's naval significance declined after the Royal Navy moved its victualling centre from Kinsale to Cork harbour in 1805 during the Napoleonic Wars in the period of France's First Empire.
Long Quay, Kinsale, c.1900
When the ocean liner RMS Lusitania was sunk by a U-boat of the German Empire on 7 May 1915 on a voyage from New York City to Liverpool during the First World War, some of the bodies and survivors were brought to Kinsale and the subsequent inquest on the bodies recovered was held in the town's courthouse.[19] A statue in the harbour commemorates the effort. The Lusitania memorial is at Casement Square in Cobh, to the east of Cork city.
Kinsale was linked by a branch line via Farrangalway and Ballymartle to the Irish railway system of the Cork, Bandon and South Coast Railway and its successors from 1863 until 1931, when the branch was closed by the Great Southern Railways during a low point in Kinsale's economic fortunes. The station, inconveniently located for the town and harbour, was on Barrack Hill and the line ran to a junction at Crossbarry on the Cork (Albert Quay) to Bandon line.[20]
In 2005, Kinsale became Ireland's second Fair Trade Town, with Clonakilty being the first.
Transport
Bus Éireann provides Kinsale's primary means of public transport. Buses regularly operate from Kinsale to Cork City, with most of these stopping at Cork Airport on the way. Kinsale and Bandon are linked by public transport with a bus service provided by East Cork Rural Transport.
The Archdeacon Duggan Bridge on the R600 road to the south-west of the town was opened in March 1977, named after Father Tom Duggan MC OBE and latterly a staunch nationalist and a missionary priest in Peru. This bridge replaced an older cast iron structure of the early 1880s which was located approximately 3km upstream on the River Bandon, near Tisaxon More.
Sports and community groups
Kinsale Yacht Club (KYC) began in 1950 and today is a sailing club that runs events for all ages of sailor and social activities throughout the year. Junior sailing includes Optimists, Lasers and 420's. The yacht classes include Squib (keelboat), International Dragon (keelboat) and A-Class Catamaran as well as three Cruiser Classes (Class I, II and III).[21]
Kinsale Rugby Football Club was founded in 1982,[22] and has an underage system,[citation needed] a women's team, and first and second junior men's teams.[citation needed]
The Kinsale GAA club plays in the Carrigdhoun division of Cork GAA.[23] They won the Cork Football Intermediate County Championship in 2011, the first time since 1915.
Kinsale Badminton[24] club which is affiliated with Badminton Ireland is based in St Multose Hall Kinsale. It caters for both adult and juvenile players and enters teams in Cork county Leagues and Cups.
The Kinsale Branch of the Irish Red Cross has been in existence since 1939 and is staffed by volunteers, who are present at local events and activities – including the annual Kinsale Sevens by the Sea rugby event.[25] The Kinsale Red Cross has 2 ambulances which are housed in a purpose built building in Church Lane and crewed by trained volunteers.
Kinsale competes in the Irish Tidy Towns Competition and was the overall winner in 1986.[26][27]
Kinsale is the first 'Transition Town' in Ireland, and the Transition Town community organisation, supported by Kinsale town council, holds meetings locally. It has taken some guidance from the Kinsale Energy Descent Action Plan 2021, which has spawned further Transition Towns worldwide.[28]
Entertainment and culture
Kinsale hosts an annual jazz festival, which takes place during the last weekend of October. Pubs and hotels in the town host concerts by jazz and blues groups throughout the weekend, including on the last Monday of October (which is a bank holiday in Ireland).[29][30]
The monumental steel, originally unpainted, sculpture The Great Wall of Kinsale, by Eilis O'Connell and installed in 1988 to celebrate Kinsale's achievements in the Tidy Towns competition, stands by Pier Road and Town Park.[31]
Government and politics
The town forms part of the Bandon-Kinsale electoral district on Cork County Council and is part of the Cork South-West constituency for Dáil Éireann elections.
Twin towns – Sister cities
Kinsale is twinned with:
Newport, Rhode Island, USA[32]
Mumbles, Wales[33]
Portofino, Italy
Antibes, France
Development
The largest development,[citation needed] of 2.9 ha, near the historic centre is the restarted Convent Garden scheme promoted by Cumnor Construction since the early 2000s.[34] This involves a combination of conversion of the former St Josephs Convent of the Sisters of Mercy on Ramparts Lane into 79 apartments and building in the grounds 94 new houses, with 295 car spaces, according to the Bord Pleanala inspector's report of 2005. After several years of inactivity,[35] construction recommenced in 2015 and sales of the initial phase commenced in 2016.[citation needed] Sales of subsequent phases of the new build houses are continuing.[citation needed]
For a period in 2007 to 2009, a circa 18,000 sqm hotel, apartment and retail development was proposed for a site near the tourist office between Pier Road and Long Quay.[36] This vacant site was once the location of a Henry Good warehouse (and up to 1922 an RIC barracks). Scott Tallon Walker Architects undertook a design study for the development,[37] but by 2011 the site had reverted to its use as a surface car park,[citation needed] and in 2018 the Bus Eireann bus stop was moved from Pier Road into part of the site.[citation needed]
Abbey Fort is a residential development of 260 units by Dunboy Construction[38] at the north end of Kinsale, in which initial phases were completed in 2007–12. Part of the 22 acres of the site at Abbey Fort was sold by the National Asset Management Agency in December 2015.[39]
Another development is Kinsale Manor by Gannon Homes, located by the R605 continuation of New Road near the Cork County Council site and Community Hospital to the north of the town, where construction of the first houses commenced in early 2017.[needs update] A 2017 report stated that 40 new social housing units would be constructed for Cork County Council at Commogue to the south-west of the town.[40]
Demographics
As of the 2011 census, ethnically Kinsale was 76.5% White Irish, 18.5% other white, 0.5% black, 1% Asian, 1% 'other', with 2.5% not stated.[41] In terms of religion, the 2011 census captured a population that was 76% Catholic, 10% other stated religions (mainly Protestant), 11% with no religion, and 3% not stated.[41]
People from or associated with Kinsale
Achilles Daunt (1832–1878), Church of Ireland clergyman; born in Kinsale
Aidan Higgins (1927–2015), poet and novelist; lived in Kinsale
Aisling Judge (1991–present), Scientist; Winner of the Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition. Born in Kinsale
Anne Bonny (1702–1782), female pirate; born near Kinsale
Arthur O'Connor (1763–1852), President of the Society of United Irishmen and a General in Napoleon's armies; lived near Kinsale
Ciara Judge (1998–present), Scientist; The 2014 Grand Prize Winners of the Google Science Fair. Born in Kinsale
Derek Mahon (1941–present), Northern Irish poet; lives in Kinsale
Desmond O'Grady (1935–2014), poet; lived in Kinsale
Eamonn O'Neill (1882–1954) Kinsale businessman and politician
Edward Bowen (1780–1866), Canadian judge and lawyer; born in Kinsale
Eileen Desmond (1932–2005), TD, Senator, MEP, and Government Minister; born in Kinsale
Finbar Wright (1957–present), tenor; born near Kinsale
Gervais Parker (1695–1750), British Army officer; Governor of Kinsale
Jack Barrett (1910–1979), All-Ireland winning hurler; born in Kinsale
James Dennis, 1st Baron Tracton (1721–1782), Irish judge and politician; born near Kinsale
John Duncan Craig (1830–1909), poet and Church of Ireland clergyman; lived in Kinsale
John Edward Kelly (1840–1884), Protestant Nationalist and Fenian; born in Kinsale
John Fergus O'Hea (c. 1838–1922); political cartoonist AKA "Spex"; born in Kinsale
John Folliot (1691–1762), British Army officer; Lieutenant-Governor of Kinsale
John Handcock (1755–1786), British Army officer; Lieutenant-Governor of Kinsale
John Sullivan (1830–1884), recipient of the Victoria Cross
John William Fenton (1828–1890), musician; born in Kinsale
Joseph Ward (1832–1872), British soldier and recipient of the Victoria Cross; born in Kinsale
Keith Floyd (1943–2009), Chef; lived near Kinsale
Lennox Robinson (1886–1958), poet and dramatist; lived in Kinsale
Moira Deady (1922–2010), actress; lived in Kinsale
Mortimer (c. 1878–1967) and Timothy McCarthy (1888–1917), Antarctic explorers on Scott's 1911 expedition; born in Kinsale
Paddy Collins (1903–1995), All-Ireland winning Hurler; born in Kinsale
Padraic Fallon (1905–1974), poet; lived in Kinsale
Patrick Cotter O'Brien (1760–1806), first man verified to have reached over 8 feet in height; born in Kinsale
Peter McDermott (1918–2011), All-Ireland winning footballer for County Meath; born near Kinsale
Ray Cummins (1948–present), All-Ireland winning Hurler; lives in Kinsale
Rev. Patrick MacSwiney (1885–1940), Catholic curate in Kinsale 1927–1940, founder of the Kinsale Museum, Vocational School, Development Association, Fisheries Association, National Monuments Committee, Kinsale Historical Society
Robert Gibbings (1889–1958), artist and author; lived in Kinsale
Ron Holland (1947–present), yacht designer; lives in Kinsale
SEARLS, (1991–present) Songwriter and West End leading male; born in Kinsale
Sir Robert Southwell (1635–1702), diplomat, Secretary of State for Ireland and President of the Royal Society; born near Kinsale
Sister Mary Francis (Joanna Bridgeman) (1813–1888), nun and nursing pioneer; lived in Kinsale
Thomas Johnson (1872–1963), first leader of the Irish Labour Party in Dáil Éireann; lived in Kinsale
Timothy O'Keeffe (1926–1994), publisher who worked with Flann O'Brien; born in Kinsale
William Penn (1644–1718), founder of the State of Pennsylvania; was Clerk of the Admiralty Court in Kinsale
Gallery
On the quayside
Harbour
Market House (circa 1600)
See also
- List of towns and villages in Ireland
- List of RNLI stations
- Market Houses in Ireland
- Kinsale (Parliament of Ireland constituency)
- Old Head of Kinsale
References
^ abc "Sapmap Area – Settlements – Kinsale". Census 2016. CSO. 2016. Retrieved 12 January 2018..mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"""""""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration{color:#555}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration span{border-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg/12px-Wikisource-logo.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output code.cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#33aa33;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-right{padding-right:0.2em}
^ "On Census Day, April 23rd 2006". Ireland News: Top Story. Irish Times. 1 July 2008. Retrieved 27 January 2009. Irish Times 1 July 2008
^ Davenport, F.; Charlotte, Beech; Downs, T; Hannigan, D; Parnell, F; Wilson, N (2006). Lonely Planet Ireland. Lonely Planet Publications. ISBN 1-74059-968-3.
^ "School scoops nine science gongs – Independent.ie".
^ "Historical Kinsale – Kinsale Chamber of Tourism & Business".
^ "Online Historical Population Reports Website". University of Essex. 2007. Retrieved 2014-04-28.
^ "NISRA – Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (c) 2013". Nisranew.nisra.gov.uk. 2010-09-27. Archived from the original on 17 February 2012. Retrieved 2014-04-28.
^ Lee, JJ (1981). "Pre-famine". In Goldstrom, J. M.; Clarkson, L. A. Irish Population, Economy, and Society: Essays in Honour of the Late K. H. Connell. Oxford, England: Clarendon Press.
^ Mokyr, Joel; O Grada, Cormac (November 1984). "New Developments in Irish Population History, 1700–1850". The Economic History Review. 37 (4): 473–488. doi:10.1111/j.1468-0289.1984.tb00344.x.
[dead link]
^ Appendix to the First Report ...: Southern, midland, western and south ... – Great Britain. Commissioners on Municipal Corporations in Ireland. Google Books. Retrieved 2014-04-28.
^ Hiram Morgan, Ireland 1518: Archduke Ferdinand's visit to Kinsale and the Dürer Connection (Cork, 2016)
^ "Archduke Ferdinand's visit to Kinsale in Ireland, an extract from Le Premier Voyage de Charles-Quint en Espagne, de 1517 à 1518".
^ "Kinsale Past and Present". West Cork Travel. Archived from the original on 7 February 2009. Retrieved 27 January 2009.
^ "Prince Rupert at Kinsale, 1649".
^ "King James II".
^ Coad, Jonathan (2013). Support for the Fleet: Engineering and architecture of the Royal Navy's bases, 1700–1914. Swindon, UK: English Heritage.
^ "Full text of "The Pirates' Who's Who: Giving Particulars Of The Lives and Deaths Of The Pirates And Buccaneers"".
^ "Privateer: Life aboard a British Privateer In the time of Queen Anne 1708–1711".
^ "Kinsale". Eircom. Retrieved 27 January 2009.
^ See http://www.corkpastandpresent.ie/history/illustratedlondonnews/cork-relatedexcerptsfromtheillustratedlondonnews/1853-1865/cork_kinsale_railwayjunction_p599.pdf for an account in the Illustrated London News of the opening of the Kinsale branch line and https://www.flickr.com/photos/abandonedrailsireland/sets/72157627491842879/comments/ for a recent photographic survey of the remains of the route and stations.
^ "Kinsale Yacht Club". Retrieved 29 October 2013.
^ "Kinsale RFC". Kinsale RFC. 18 January 2009. Retrieved 27 January 2009.
^ "Kinsale GAA Club". Kinsale GAA. Retrieved 27 January 2009.
^ "Kinsale Badminton Club". Retrieved 9 September 2012.
^ "Kinsale Red Cross – About Us". Kinsale Red Cross. Archived from the original on 16 January 2009. Retrieved 27 January 2009.
^ Tidy Towns Competition 2015 Adjudication Report – Kinsale
^ The Tidy Towns of Ireland "Celebrating 50 years"
^ Lawrence, Felicity (7 April 2007). "Article on Transition Towns". London: The Guardian. Retrieved 27 January 2009.
^ "Something For the Weekend – Kinsale". The Independent. 22 October 2003. Retrieved 25 October 2011.
^ "Kinsale Jazz Festival". Archived from the original on 31 October 2011. Retrieved 25 October 2011.
^ https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/modern-ireland-in-100-artworks-1988-the-great-wall-of-kinsale-by-eil%C3%ADs-o-connell-1.2603307
^ "Helpful Links for Visitors: Sister Cities". City of Newport. Retrieved 14 February 2017.
^ "The Mumbles Reporter". Themumblesbook.co.uk. February 2008. Archived from the original on 6 February 2011. Retrieved 27 January 2009.
^ "211819: The Ramparts, Kinsale, Co. Cork (04/53026)".
^ "Kinsale convent scheme reduced to 96 residences". Irish Examiner. 23 April 2015. Retrieved 12 November 2015.
^ "Kinsale Harbour Lodge, Cork – Clowater".
^ http://www.stwarchitects.com/project-information.php?p=04098&t=i
^ http://www.dunboyconstruction.com/docs/abbey-fort.pdf/
^ "75:25 split for Cairn Homes and Loan Start on €503m Project Clear acquisition". 17 December 2015.
^ http://www.carrigdhoun.com/index.php/carrigdhoun/news-feature/plan-to-develop-40-social-housing-units-in-kinsale
^ ab http://airo.maynoothuniversity.ie/external-content/cork-county-0 (Kinsale Urban And Rural)
External links
 | Wikimedia Commons has media related to Kinsale. |
 | Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Kinsale. |
- Kinsale Chamber of Tourism & Business – Official Website
- Kinsale Sports & Community Centre
- Kinsale & District Newsletter
Places in County Cork | ||
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County town: Cork | ||
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