Page:The National Gazetteer - A Topographical Dictionary of the British Islands, Volume 1.djvu/663

Rh J- CORK. 653 CORK. t Black water, rising in the mountains bordering on j TV in the V. ; it runs S. to near Millstreet,.vheiu s.denly turning E. it runs for many miles, past Mal- 1 and Fermoy, into Waterford county, returning [i in to Cork county, and eventually falls into the sea afoughal Harbour. The Lee also rises in the W., t Jork, whore it divides into two channels, and then t lens into an extensive estuary. The other rivers are ( Bandon, Hen, Funcheon, North Bride, and Awbeg. 'J i coast is deeply indented by numerous bays and inlets, 1 ning safe and commodious harbours, of which the i -t noted are, those of Bantry, Dunmanus, Clonakilty, ] isale, Cork Harbour, and Youghal. Off the south- -tern coast are several small rocky islands, of which t principal are Cape Clear, with a population of 152, and Innisherkin, near the harbour of Baltimore ; 1 ir and Whiddy, in Bantry Bay; and Dursey, off the aidutory i>f Bearhaven, forming the most western ' v of the county. In the mountainous districts I igane-Barra, with the hermitage of St. Finbar, and .' na, situated in a very lonely part of the country ; lakes of Cahir, near Glengariffe, the Some, at '.ntlu Head, and Lough Loughbofinny, near The chief ranges of mountains are the Nagle, I; water ; the highest points being Hungry Hill t, Cahirbarna 2,234 feet, and Knockinsea 1,386 1'c. Another range runs towards Mizen Head, S. of r Lee, including the Clargh hills, of which are the Great Southern and Western, connect- [ city with Dublin, and the Eastern Coast, with i nches to Fermoy and Killarney, which leave the .: at Mallow ; the Cork and Bandon railway, 'ii.-h is to be extended to Dumnanway and Skibbereen ; and Limerick direct line ; the Cork, Youghal, nstown direct line; and the Cork, Blackrock, age railway, connecting Cork city with Cork Irbour, from whence steamers leave for America, Eng- land, and various ports of Ireland. The chief the British and North American Royal Mail ^unships, from Queenstown to Boston, calling at i h'fax ; the Liverpool, New York, and Philadelphia >. ainship Company's vessels, from Queenstown to New ^vk. The steamers for England and Scotland sail to t several ports of Bristol, Cardiff, Glasgow, Liverpool, 5 ford, Newport, and London (calling at Plymouth) ; , -e are also steamers from Cork to Waterford, and from ' k to Queenstown, calling at Glenbrook and Monks- t n, and another line to Aghada ; these two last lines are t Citizen's River Steamers. The roads intersecting the i nty of Cork are numerous, connecting all the chief ns in the vicinity ; they may, however, be grouped eight systems, viz., from Cork by Glanmire to by Passage and Queenstown to Cloyne, by J linhassig to Kinsale and Bandon, by Bandon to (. ukhaven and Bantry, by Ballincollig to Ballylickey ' Bantry Bay, by Kilcrea to Macroom and Killarney, Mallow to Tralee and Limerick, by Watergrass Hill a . Kilworth to Clonmel, or by Mitchelstown to Tip- 1' iry. The county abounds in ancient ruins, stone ' romlechs, raths, caves, and religious houses. ^r Clonakilty is a stone circle, an ancient pillar one single stone, and an artificial cave. Ross 9 similar antiquities, and near Glanworth and t tlemary are monuments of curious form. Rosscar- ' v- is famous for its caves, so also the Great Island, ', 'ork Harbour, and The Ovens, near Cork. There > round towers at Cloyne and Kineth of considerable 'ther antiquities are found in the bogs. Ancient re numerous, a few of great magnificence, but tr greater number consist only of square towers or k|is; Kanturk Castle is the largest, but the most >ting is probably Blarney, the ancient seat of li McCarthy es, famous for the celebrated " Blarney CORK, a bar. in the co. of Cork, prov. of Munster, Ireland, situated in the S.E. part of the co., and till lately forming, with the city of Cork, a county of itself. It contains the pars, of Curraghippane, Kilcully, Rath- cooney, and parts of Carrigaline, Carrigrohane, Dun- bulloge, Iniskenny, Killanully, Kilnaglory, St. Anne Shandon, St. Mary Shandon, St. Catherine, St. Finbarr, St. Michael, St. Nicholas, and Whitechurch, comprising above 45,300 acres. CORK, a seaport, city, municipal and parliamentary borough, forming a co. of itself, but locally situated in the co. of Cork, prov. of Munster, Ireland, of which prov. it is the capital, and ranks third among the cities of Ireland for population, wealth, and commerce. It is situated in N. lat. 51 53' 39", and in W. long. 8 20', being distant from Dublin 158 miles by the old road, but 165 by the Great Southern and Western railway, which connects the two cities, and runs to Penroso Marsh through a tunnel of half a mile. The Cork, Black- rock, and Passage railway runs only 8 miles, and follows the course of the river from the road near the Monerea Marsh. The Cork and Bandou railway runs 20 miles, passing near the park on the S. side, and terminates at Albert Quay. The Cork, Queenstown, and Youghal direct line runs a distance of 27 miles. There are two other short lines, one to Kinsale and the other to Skib- bereen, which last is in course of completion. The city, situated on the river Lee, which here diverges into several branches, and forms an island, is 1 1 miles inland from the entrance of the river into Cork Harbour. It is, nevertheless, a large bonding port, with coastguard stations and spacious quays. The assizes for the county and city are held here. It is also the headquarters of the S. military district, and the seat of a bishop. Its name is supposed to be derived from the Gaelic word Corcach, signifying " a marshy place," the original city having been built on a lime- stone rock, on the margin of the S. branch of the river, which at that period inundated the surrounding country. The history of the city dates back to about the year 600, when an abbey was founded by St. Barr, or Finbarr, to whom such numbers of disciples resorted that Cork soon rose to be a city of some importance. But what is now known as the city was subsequently built on the island by the Danes, who are said to have burnt and plun- dered the old city and its religious establishments. The Danes eventually settled here about the year 1020, and alternately lost and won possession of it; but it" is known to have been in their possession when Dermot McCarthy, the then Prince of Desmond, did fealty to Henry II. of England, and gave up the city in the year 1172. The English king immediately appointed an English governor, with a garrison, and made it a mint town. He likewise granted to the citizens a charter, the original of which is now lost, but a copy was a few years ago discovered by Richard Saint- hill, Esq., amongst the Harleiau MSS. in the British Museum. The Desmonds afterwards took possession of the city, and war was waged between the English and Irish for some years. In 1177 Henry granted the sur- rounding territory to Milo do Cogan and Robert Fitz- Stephen, with the exception of the city and adjacent cantreds, occupied by the Ostmen, which he kept in his own possession. In 1185 the city was again besieged by Dermot McCarthy, but the Irish forces were routed, and in the following year Dermot was slain by a party of English, under Theobald Fitz- Walter, the founder of the noble house of Ormond. Shortly after, the success which crowned the military efforts of the Irish obliged the English garrison to capitulate to the Prince of Des- mond, but in a few years they recovered possession of the city, and strengthened it by the erection of Shandon. Castle, which kept the men of Desmond in subjection. The English at length prevailed, and in the year 1199 it is recorded that one John Despenser, civic magistrate, was made Provost of Cork. Nothing of importance occurs again until the time of Perkin Warbeck, who landed here from Lisbon in 1492,-and -was well received by many Irish, from dislike of the Lancastrian king ; but
 * vini; from Lake Gougane-Barra, eastward 30 miles,
 * i; several lakes, the most interesting being
 * ind Muskerry, running between the rivers Lee
 * - hy, 1,796 feet, is the highest point. The principal
 * ' and in good preservation. Ancient weapons, urns,