Cork (city)
Cork, with a population of 173,694 (1986), is the second largest city in Ireland and seat of County Cork in southwestern Ireland. Located at the mouth of the Lee River at the head of Cork Harbor, the city is in a marshy valley area where the Lee splits to form an island that is the heart of the city. Heavy industries include car assembly and tire plants; there are also several breweries.
Tradition holds that the city was founded in the late 6th or early 7th century by St. Finbarr, who went there to kill the last dragon in Ireland and who built a monastery on the current south side of the city. Cork was taken by Henry II in 1172 and by Oliver Cromwell in 1649. The city is often called "Rebel Cork" because it was a center of the 19th-century Fenian movement and played an active part in the Irish struggle for independence. A famous landmark is the Shandon Steeple of St. Anne's Church, which contains the Bells of Shandon. Cork is the seat of University College (founded 1845; since 1908 part of the National University of Ireland). The Cork Film Festival is held each summer. The famous Blarney Castle is 8 km (5 mi) north of the city.
Map Location[s]
Finn, Sligo, Dundalk, Drogheda, Dublin, Athlone, Galway, Limerick, Kilkenny, Wexford, Waterford, Cork, Tipperary, Tralee, Shannon, Blackwater, Lee, Suir, Barrow, Lough Derg, Boyne, Lough Ree, L. Corrib, Lough Mask, Erne, Saint Georges Channel, North Atlantic Ocean, Irish Sea.
Cork (county)
Cork (Irish: Corcaigh) is a county in Munster province in southwestern Ireland, on the Atlantic coast. It is Ireland's largest county, covering 7,459 sq km (2,880 sq mi). Its population is 402,288 (1981). The city of Cork is the county seat. Inland hills slope from a maximum height of 682 m (2,237 ft) to a heavily indented coastline with numerous harbors. Livestock raising, farming (grains and sugar beets), tourism, and fishing are the principal economic activities. Most industries are concentrated around the city of Cork, and a large oil refinery is at Whitegate. Blarney Castle, home of the Blarney Stone, is in Cork.
Cork was the center of the kingdom of Desmond until the 12th century, when it was invaded by Anglo-Normans.
