Cork Ireland

Cork (Self Catering Homes, Cork, Ireland) comes from the Irish Corcaigh, i.e. marsh. Ridges of sandstone cut across the country. The Gulf Stream touches Cork therefore Cork gets reasonably warm weather. Cork (Accommodation, Cork, Ireland) is the largest county in Ireland, and its size has had an appreciable effect on the mentality of its inhabitants; they have been known to refer to journeys to other parts of Ireland as “visiting the Republic”. The Battle of Kinsale took place in County Cork (Hotels, Cork, Ireland)
in 1601. Michael Collins is Ireland’s most famous revolutionary.

The city of Cork (Holiday Homes, Cork, Ireland) itself was founded in the sixth century by the establishment of a monastery and school on the site by St. Finbarr. In the early ninth century the Norse Vikings raided and later settled in the town, establishing it as a trading post. In the twelfth century the county was granted to the Norman knights Fitzstephen and De Cogan. They brought over other Anglo-Norman settlers and built near the present city of Cork. Like the Norsemen, the Normans in the county gradually merged with the native Irish and adopted the Irish way of life. The power of Norman and Gaelic families was broken after the unsuccessful revolt of the Earl of Desmond in the late sixteenth century. Many families lost their holdings and their land in 1583 to English adventurers. During what is known as the Plantation of Munster, around 15,000 people were brought over and settled in Cork and nearby counties. Most of them left during Hugh O’Neill’s war with the English in 1598. Some returned again after his defeat but the plantation was largely a failure. Further English settlers came in the 1650’s following the defeat of the 1641 rebellion, and many left and emigrated to Canada, Australia and the Americas.

Some common Cork Surnames include: McCarthy, Callaghan, McAuliffe, Fitzgerald, Sullivan, Murphy, Walsh, Connor and Connell

Cork s major towns are Bandon, Bantry Cohb, Cork, Fermoy, Kanturk Kinsale, Mallow, Mitchelstown Skibbereen, and Youghal.

In the Great famine of 1845-47, County Cork was one of the most severely affected areas. Emigrants went chiefly to the USA, Canada and Australia with large numbers settling in the US State of Oregon. Rural County Cork (Holiday Cottages, Cork, Ireland) was heavily populated at the time of the Great Famine. A large portion of the population lived almost exclusively on potatoes. Mortality was high after the potato crop failed, due to fever and starvation. The population, which peaked at 854,000 in 1841, had fallen to 650,000 in 1851. Almost 150,000 people died between 1845 and 1850 and thousands emigrated.

Mallow Heritage Centre, 27-28 Bank Place, Mallow, County Cork

The Mallow Heritage Centre has computerized records of Catholic and Church of Ireland registers in County Cork, except for the City of Cork and its environs. The Cork City Ancestral Project covers Cork City records, which is located at the Cork County Library. A Research form can be obtained from the Centre. It is advisable to be done in advance by post prior to coming to Ireland. The completed form is returned with a cheque and the centre then researches the family name on the basis of the information provided. Enquiries can take up to six weeks to process. The centre has 46 Parishes of the 120 Parishes in County Cork.

Posted on April 15th, 2008 under Genealogy. Tags: Cork, fitzstephen, Genealogy, gulf stream, norse viking, ridges of sandstone, st. inbarr. RSS 2.0 feed. Leave a response, or trackback.