of Cork, Cloyne, Kerry and Ross. There are seven parliamentary divisions, east, mid, north, north-east, south, south-east and west, each returning one member.
History.—Cork is one of the counties which is generally considered to have been instituted by King John. It had not always its present extent, for its existing boundaries include part of the ancient territory of Desmond (q.v.), which, in the later half of the 16th century, ranked as a separate county. In 1598, however, there were two sheriffs in the county Cork, one especially for Desmond, which was then included in Cork, but was afterwards amalgamated with the county Kerry. In the same period wide lands in the county were given to settlers under the crown, and among these were Sir Walter Raleigh and Edmund Spenser the poet, who received 40,000 acres and 3028 acres respectively. In 1602 a large portion of the estates of Sir Walter Raleigh and Fane Beecher were purchased by Richard Boyle, 1st earl of Cork, who had them colonized with English settlers; and by founding or rebuilding the towns of Bandon, Clonakilty, Baltimore, Youghal, and afterwards those of Middleton, Castlemartyr, Charleville and Doneraile, which were incorporated and made parliamentary boroughs, the family of Boyle became possessed of nearly the entire political power of the county.
Antiquities.—The earlier antiquities of the county are rude monuments of the Pagan era. There are two so-called druids’ altars, the most perfect near Cloyne, and certain pillar stones scattered through the county, with straight marks cut on the edges called Ogham inscriptions, the interpretation of which is a subject of much controversy. The remains of the old ecclesiastical buildings are in a very ruinous condition, being used as burial-places by the country people. The principal is Kilcrea, founded by Cormac M’Carthy about 1485, some of the tombs of whose descendants are still in the chancel; the steeple is still nearly perfect, and chapter-house, cloister, dormitory and kitchen can be seen. Timoleague church, situated on a romantic spot on rising ground at the extreme end of Courtmacsherry Bay, contains some tombs of interest, and is still in fair condition. Buttevant Abbey (13th century) contains some tombs of the Barrys and other distinguished families. There is a good crypt here. All these were the property of the Franciscans. There are two round towers in the county, one in a fine state of preservation opposite Cloyne Cathedral, the other at Kinneigh. On the chapter seal at Ross, which is dated 1661, and seems to have been a copy of a much earlier one, there is a good example of a round tower and stone-roofed church, with St Fachnan, to whom the church is dedicated, standing by, with a book in one hand and a cross in the other. The present church dates from 1837, but is on the site of a former cathedral united to Cork in 1583. Of Mourne Abbey, near Mallow, once a preceptory of the Knights Templars, and Tracton Abbey, which once sent a prior to parliament, the very ruins have perished. On an island of Lough Gouganebarra are remains of an oratory of St Finbar.
Of the castles, Lohort, built in the reign of King John, is by far the oldest, and in its architectural features the most interesting; it is still quite perfect and kept in excellent repair by the owner, the Earl of Egmont. Blarney Castle, built by Cormac M‘Carthy about 1449, has a wide reputation (see Blarney). Castles Mahon and Macroom have been incorporated into the residences of the earls of Bandon and Bantry. The walls of Mallow Castle attest its former strength and extent, as also the castle of Kilbolane. The castles of Buttevant, Kilcrea and Dripsy are still in good condition. At Kanturk is a huge Elizabethan castle still known as “M‘Donagh’s Folly,” left unfinished owing to objections raised by a jealous government. At Kilcolman castle near Doneraile the “Faerie Queene” was written by Spenser.
CORK, a city, county of a city, parliamentary and municipal
borough and seaport of Co. Cork, Ireland, at the head of the
magnificent inlet of Cork Harbour, on the river Lee, 165½ m.
S.W. of Dublin by the Great Southern & Western railway. Pop.
(1901) 76,122. Until the middle of the 19th century it ranked
second only to Dublin, but is now surpassed by Belfast in
commercial importance. It is the centre of a considerable
railway system, including the Great Southern & Western, the
Cork, Bandon & South Coast, the Cork & Macroom Direct,
the Cork, Blackrock & Passage railways, and the Cork & Muskerry
light railway; each of which companies possesses a separate
station in the city. The passenger steamers to Great Britain,
mainly under the control of the City of Cork Steam Packet
Company, serve Fishguard, Glasgow, Liverpool, Plymouth and
Southampton, London and other ports, starting from Penrose
Quay on the North Channel.
The nucleus of the city occupies an island formed by the North and South Channels, two arms of the river Lee, and in former times no doubt merited its name, which signifies a swamp. In the beginning of the 18th century, indeed, this island was broken up into many parts connected by drawbridges, by numerous small channels navigable at high tide. It now includes most of the principal thoroughfares, which form a notable contrast to many of the smaller streets and alleys, in which good building and cleanliness are lacking. Three bridges cross the North Channel, a footbridge, North Gate bridge and St Patrick’s bridge, the last a handsome three-arch structure leading to St Patrick’s Street, a wide and pleasant thoroughfare, containing a statue of Father Mathew, the celebrated Capuchin advocate of temperance, born in 1790. It communicates with the Grand Parade and this in turn with Great George’s Street, to the west, and the South Mall to the east, the last containing the principal banks, the County Club house, and good commercial buildings. The Clarks, South Gate, Parliament and Parnell bridges cross the South Channel to the southern parts of the city. Public grounds are few, but on the outskirts of the city are a park and race-course, with the fashionable Marina promenade; while the Mardyke walk, on the west of the island, is pleasantly shaded by a fine avenue, and was the site of the International exhibition held in 1902. Electric tramways connect the city and suburbs and traverse the principal streets and the St Patrick’s and Parnell bridges. Both branches of the Lee are lined with fine quays of cut limestone, extending in total length over 4 m.
The principal church is the Protestant cathedral, founded in 1865, and consecrated on St Andrew’s Day 1870; while the central tower was completed in 1879. It is dedicated to St Fin Barre or Finbar, who founded the original cathedral in the 7th century. The present building is in the south-west part of the city, and replaces a somewhat mean structure erected in 1735 on the site of the ancient cathedral, which suffered during the siege of Cork in September 1689. Money for the erection of the building of 1735 was raised by the curious method of a tax on imported coal. The new cathedral is in the Early French (pointed) style, with an eastern apse and a striking west front. Its design was by William Burges (d. 1881), and its erection was due to the indefatigable exertions and munificence of Dr John Gregg, bishop of Cork, Cloyne and Ross; while the tower and spires were the gift of two merchants of Cork. The other principal Protestant churches are St Luke’s, St Nicholas and St Anne Shandon, with its striking tower of parti-coloured stones; and its peal of bells extolled in Father Prout’s lyric “The Bells of Shandon.” The Roman Catholic cathedral, also dedicated to St Finbar, is conspicuous on the north side of the city; it dates from 1808, but has been since restored. Other fine churches of this faith are St Mary, St Peter and Paul, St Patrick, Holy Trinity and St Vincent de Paul. St Finbar’s cemetery has handsome monuments, and St Joseph’s, founded by Father Mathew in 1830 on the site of the old botanic gardens of the Cork Institution, is beautifully planted. The court house in Great George’s Street has a good Corinthian portico, happily undamaged in a fire which destroyed the rest of the building in 1891. The custom-house commands the river in a fine position at the lower junction of the branches. The usual commercial and public buildings are mainly on the island. The most notable educational establishment is the University College, founded as Queen’s College (1849), with those of the same name at Belfast and Galway, under an Act of 1845. A new charter was granted to it under letters patent pursuant to the Irish Universities Act 1908, when it was given its present name. The building,
