Kinsale

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This article is about the town in Ireland. There is also a Kinsale, Montserrat.

Kinsale Cionn tSáile

Map
WGS-84 (GPS) Coordinates: 36.3'_N_8° 31.9'_W_region:IE_type:city 51° 36.3'° N 8° 31.9'° W Irish Grid Reference ∅
Town population:	2,257 (2002)
Rural population:	1,297 (2002)
Elevation:	10m
County:	Cork
Province:	Munster

Coordinates: 36.3'_N_8° 31.9'_W_region:IE_type:city 51° 36.3'° N 8° 31.9'° W

On the quayside at Kinsale

Market Street in Kinsale, one of the town's oldest thoroughfares

Kinsale (Cionn tSáile in Irish) is a town in County Cork, Ireland. It is located some 25 km south of Cork City on the coast near the Old Head of Kinsale, sits at the mouth of the River Bandon and has a population of 2,257.

Kinsale is a popular holiday resort for Irish and foreign tourists which is known for its many gourmet restaurants and excellent leisure activities including yachting, sea angling and golf. The town is also rich in culture with its art galleries and first class school of English.

1 History
2 Fair Trade Town
3 Public Transport
4 See also
5 External links

[edit] History

In 1601, Kinsale was the site of a battle in which English forces defeated an Irish/Spanish force (see Siege of Kinsale), led by the princes Hugh Roe O'Donnell and Hugh O'Neill. Following this battle the Flight of the Earls occurred in which a number of the Irish aristocracy abandoned their lands and fled to mainland Europe.

In 1690, James II of England. following his defeat at the Battle of the Boyne, departed to France.

Charles Fort, located at Summer Cove and dating from 1677, is a fortification 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 landing in Ireland. James's Fort 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 bottom out of incoming vessels.

When the RMS Lusitania was sunk by a German U-boat on May 7, 1915, rescue efforts were coordinated out of Kinsale, which was the nearest harbour. A statue in the harbour commemorates the effort.

[edit] Fair Trade Town

On Saturday October 8th 2005, Kinsale became Ireland's 2^nd Fair Trade Town, with Clonakilty being the first.

[edit] Public Transport

Bus Éireann provides Kinsale's only public transport. Buses regularly operate from Kinsale to Cork City, with most of these going through Cork Airport on the way.