Kinsale

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This article is about the town in Ireland. There is also a Kinsale in Montserrat.
Kinsale
Cionn tSáile
Town
Kinsale
Location in Ireland
Coordinates: 51°42′27″N 8°31′50″W / 51.7075°N 8.5305556°W / 51.7075; -8.5305556Coordinates: 51°42′27″N 8°31′50″W / 51.7075°N 8.5305556°W / 51.7075; -8.5305556
Country Ireland
Province Munster
County County Cork
Elevation 10 m (30 ft)
Population (2011)
 • Urban 2,198
 • Rural 2,695
Irish Grid Reference W637506

Kinsale (Irish: Cionn tSáile) is a fishing village in County Cork, Ireland. Located some 25 km south of Cork City on the coast near the Old Head of Kinsale, it sits at the mouth of the River Bandon and has a population of 2,257 which increases substantially during the summer months when the tourist season is at its peak and when the boating fraternity arrive in large numbers. The April 2006 census recorded that British nationals made up 9% of the town's population.[1]

Kinsale is a popular holiday resort for Irish and foreign tourists. Leisure activities include yachting, sea angling, and golf. The town also has several art galleries and a school of English. The town is compact with a quaint air of antiquity in the narrow streets. 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.[2]

Prominent buildings in the town include St. Multose's church (Church of Ireland), St. John the Baptist (Catholic), the Market House and the so-called French Prison (or Desmond Castle).

On 8 October 2005, Kinsale became Ireland's second Fair Trade Town, with Clonakilty being the first.

History

Kinsale is known for its brightly coloured shops.

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.[7] 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. In 2011, Phil Hogan, the Fine Gael Minister for the Environment and Local Government announced that the Kinsale Town Council would be abolished in 2014, along with all other town councils in Ireland. This will be the first time in nearly 700 years that Kinsale will be left without its own elected local council.

In 1601, Kinsale was the site of a battle in which English forces defeated an Irish/Spanish force, led by the princes Hugh Roe O'Donnell and Hugh O'Neill.[8] 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.

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

Charles Fort, located at Summer Cove and dating from 1677, 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 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.

When the RMS Lusitania was sunk by a German U-boat on 7 May 1915, 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.[9] A statue in the harbour commemorates the effort.

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.

Transition towns

Kinsale is the first Transition Town in Ireland. It is a community-based group, supported by Kinsale town council. It looks for sustainable solutions to the challenges of peak oil and climate change. Public meetings are held on the third Thursday of every month. It has taken much guidance from the Kinsale Energy Descent Action Plan 2021, which has spawned further Transition Towns worldwide.[10]

Sports and community groups

The Saile sports and leisure centre is situated opposite the Kinsale Community School overlooking the Bandon River. The Sáile Sports & Community Centre Project is an initiative by the KRD Community Association, a non profit sporting body made up of local activists committed to better the lives of the residents of Kinsale and its environs.[11]

Phase 1 includes four x 5 a-side all weather pitches, tennis court, basketball court and community garden opened by President Mary McAleese in October 2010.

Phase 2 will be the Sports and Community Centre. This will include an indoor sports/community hall, changing rooms and community meeting rooms with a kitchenette.

Kinsale Yacht Club (KYC) began in 1950 and today has become a lively sailing club with events for all ages of sailor and social activities throughout the year. Junior sailing includes Optimists, Lasers and 420's. There are Squibs, International Dragons and A-Class Catamarans as well as three Cruiser Classes (Class I, II and III).[12]

Kinsale Rugby Football Club recently celebrated its 25th anniversary.[13] It has a strong underage system[citation needed], a women's team and competitive squad of players in both the first and seconds junior men's team.[citation needed]

The Kinsale GAA club plays in the Carrigdhoun division of Cork GAA.[14] They won the Cork Football Intermediate County Championship in 2011, the first time since 1915.

Kinsale Badminton[15] 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 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.[16] The branch has 2 ambulances which are housed in a purpose built building in Church Lane and crewed by trained volunteers.

Kinsale regularly does well in the Irish Tidy Towns Competition and was the overall winner in 1986.

Entertainment

Kinsale hosts an annual jazz festival, which takes place during the last weekend of October. Many pubs and hotels in the town host concerts by jazz and blues groups throughout the weekend, including Monday (which is a bank holiday in Ireland).[17][18]

Government and politics

The town is governed by the nine member Kinsale Town Council. As of the 2009 elections, the council had two members each from Fianna Fáil (centre right), Fine Gael (centre right), and the Labour Party (centre left) and a member from Sinn Féin (left wing), the Green Party (centre left) and an Independent. The current mayor is Billy Lynch (Independent) . The town forms part of the Bandon electoral district on Cork County Council and is part of the Cork South-West constituency for Dail Eireann elections.

Twin towns – Sister cities

Kinsale is twinned with:

People from or associated with Kinsale

  • Jack Barrett (1910–1979), All-Ireland winning hurler; born in Kinsale
  • Margaret Barrington (1896–1982), writer and journalist; lived in Kinsale
  • Anne Bonny (1702–1782), female pirate; born near Kinsale
  • Edward Bowen (1780–1866), Canadian judge and lawyer; born in Kinsale
  • Sister Mary Francis (Joanna Bridgeman) (1813–1888), nun and nursing pioneer; lived in Kinsale
  • Paddy Collins (1903–1995), All-Ireland winning Hurler; born in Kinsale
  • Patrick Cotter O'Brien (1760–1806), first man verified to have reached over 8 feet in height; born in Kinsale
  • John Duncan Craig (1830–1909), poet and Church of Ireland clergyman; lived in Kinsale
  • Ray Cummins (1948–present), All-Ireland winning Hurler; lives in Kinsale
  • Achilles Daunt (1832–1878), Church of Ireland clergyman; born in Kinsale
  • Moira Deady (1922–2010), actress; lived in Kinsale
  • James Dennis, 1st Baron Tracton (1721–1782), Irish judge and politician; born near Kinsale
  • Eileen Desmond (1932–2005), TD, Senator, MEP, and Government Minister; born in Kinsale
  • Conor Fallon (1939–2007), sculptor and son of Padraic; lived in Kinsale
  • Padraic Fallon (1905–1974), poet; lived in Kinsale
  • John William Fenton (1828–1890), musician; born in Kinsale
  • Keith Floyd (1943–2009), Chef; lived near Kinsale
  • John Folliot (1691–1762), British Army officer; Lieutenant-Governor of Kinsale
  • Robert Gibbings (1889–1958), artist and author; lived in Kinsale
  • Sister Mary Scholastica (Geraldine Gibbons) (c. 1817–1901), founder of the Sisters of the Good Samaritan, born in Kinsale
  • John Handcock (1755–1786), British Army officer; Lieutenant-Governor of Kinsale
  • Aidan Higgins (1927–present), poet; lives in Kinsale
  • Ron Holland (1947–present), yacht designer; lives in Kinsale
  • Thomas Johnson (1872–1963), first leader of the Irish Labour Party in Dáil Éireann; lived in Kinsale
  • Nancy Wynne-Jones (1922–2006), painter; lived in Kinsale
  • John Edward Kelly (1840–1884), Protestant Nationalist and Fenian; born in Kinsale
  • Cormac Ó Cadhlaigh (1884–1960), Celticist; born in Kinsale
  • Arthur O'Connor (1763–1852), President of the Society of United Irishmen and a General in Napoleon's armies; lived near Kinsale
  • Desmond O'Grady (1935–present), poet; lives in Kinsale
  • John Fergus O'Hea (c. 1838–1922); political cartoonist AKA "Spex"; born in Kinsale
  • Timothy O'Keeffe (1926–1994), publisher who worked with Flann O'Brien; born in Kinsale
  • Derek Mahon (1941–present), Northern Irish poet; lives in Kinsale
  • Mortimer and Timothy McCarthy (c. 1878–1967 and 1888–1917), Antartic explorers on Scott's 1911 expedition; born in Kinsale
  • Peter McDermott (1918–2011), All-Ireland winning footballer for County Meath; born near Kinsale
  • Gervais Parker (1695–1750), British Army officer; Governor of Kinsale
  • William Penn (1644–1718), founder of the State of Pennsylvania; was Clerk of the Admiralty Court in Kinsale
  • Lennox Robinson (1886–1958), poet and dramatist; lived in Kinsale
  • Sir Robert Southwell (1635–1702), diplomat, Secretary of State for Ireland and President of the Royal Society; born near Kinsale
  • John Sullivan, recipient of the Victoria Cross
  • Joseph Ward (1832–1872), British soldier and recipient of the Victoria Cross; born in Kinsale
  • Finbar Wright (1957–present), tenor; born near Kinsale

Gallery

  • Market Street

  • On the quayside

  • Harbour

  • Market House (circa 1600)

See also

References

  1. ↑ "On Census Day, April 23rd 2006". Ireland News: Top Story. Irish Times. 1 July 2008. Retrieved 27 January 2009.  Irish Times 1 July 2008
  2. ↑ Davenport, F.; Charlotte, Beech; Downs, T; Hannigan, D; Parnell, F; Wilson, N (2006). Lonely Planet Ireland. Lonely Planet Publications. ISBN 1-74059-968-3. 
  3. ↑ http://www.histpop.org
  4. ↑ http://www.nisranew.nisra.gov.uk/census
  5. ↑ Lee, JJ (1981). "On the accuracy of the Pre-famine Irish censuses". 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. 
  6. ↑ 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 
  7. ↑ http://books.google.ie/books?id=ZUcxAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA75&lpg=PA75&dq=Kinsale+Borough+parliament+1334&source=bl&ots=awsqSK7bhc&sig=Paa5nR3OqI0683fwMyjRbdXDMaE&hl=en&sa=X&ei=5ReMUarfPOeJ7AaKuICYAg&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=true
  8. ↑ "Kinsale Past and Present". West Cork Travel. Retrieved 27 January 2009. 
  9. ↑ "Kinsale". Eircom. Retrieved 27 January 2009. 
  10. ↑ Lawrence, Felicity (7 April 2007). "Article on Transition Towns". London: The Guardian. Retrieved 27 January 2009. 
  11. ↑ "Sáile Sports and Leisure". saile sports and leisure. Retrieved 29 October 2013. 
  12. ↑ "Kinsale Yacht Club". Retrieved 29 October 2013. 
  13. ↑ "Kinsale RFC". Kinsale RFC. 18 January 2009. Retrieved 27 January 2009. 
  14. ↑ "Kinsale GAA Club". Kinsale GAA. Retrieved 27 January 2009. 
  15. ↑ "Kinsale Badminton Club". Retrieved 9 September 2012. 
  16. ↑ "Kinsale Red Cross – About Us". Kinsale Red Cross. Retrieved 27 January 2009. 
  17. ↑ "Something For the Weekend – Kinsale". The Independent. 22 October 2003. Retrieved 25 October 2011. 
  18. ↑ "Kinsale Jazz Festival". Retrieved 25 October 2011. 
  19. ↑ "Helpful Links for Visitors: Sister Cities". City of Newport. Retrieved 27 January 2009. 
  20. ↑ "The Mumbles Reporter". Themumblesbook.co.uk. February 2008. Retrieved 27 January 2009. 

External links

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