Baltimore, County Cork
| Baltimore Irish: Dún na Séad | |
| County Cork | |
|---|---|
 Baltimore | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | W051264 |
| Location: | 51°28’60"N, 9°22’0"W |
| Data | |
| Population: | 323 (2016) |
| Postcode: | P81 |
| Dialling code: | 028 |
| Local Government | |
Baltimore is a village in western County Cork. It is the main village in the parish of Rathmore and the Islands, the southernmost parish in Ireland. It is the main ferry port to Sherkin Island, Cape Clear Island and the eastern side of Roaring Water Bay (Loch Trasna) and Carbery's Hundred Isles.
The English-language name, 'Baltimore', is an anglicisation of the Irish Baile an Tí Mhóir, meaning "town of the big house", while the Irish-language name is given as Dún na Séad, meaning 'Fort of the Jewels',[1] referring to O'Driscoll Castle, and the latte name is also rendered as 'Dunashad'. The restored castle is open to the public and overlooks the town.
History
Baltimore was a seat of one of Ireland's most ancient dynasties, the Corcu Loígde, former Kings of Tara and Kings of Munster.
An English colony was founded here about 1605 by Sir Thomas Crooke, 1st Baronet, with the blessing of King James I; Crooke leased the lands from Sir Fineen O'Driscoll, head of the O'Driscoll clan.[2] It was a lucrative centre of the pilchard fisheries, and in the early 1600s a pirate base, where not only all the justices including the Vice-Admiral of Munster, but the entire population, were involved. All the women of Baltimore were reputed to be either wives or mistresses of pirates.[3] These activities were unaffected by official discouragement under King James, but English piracy generally declined shortly thereafter, partly due to competition from Barbary pirates. In 1607 Baltimore became a market town, with the right to hold a weekly market and two annual fairs. After Crooke's death, political control of the town passed to Sir Walter Coppinger.
The town was depopulated in 1631 in the Sack of Baltimore, a raid by Barbary pirates from either Ottoman Algeria or Salé in Morocco.[2] Between 100[4] and 237 English settlers and local Irish people were sold into slavery,[5] of whom only two or three ever saw Ireland again.[2] Reminders of the incident still exist in the form of pub names, like the "Algiers Inn".
The survivors of the raid fled to Skibbereen, and Baltimore for generations was almost deserted. A slow recovery began in the 18th century, and by the early 1800s the village was starting to prosper again, only to suffer further great losses in the Great Famine.[2]
Baltimore was granted borough status in 1612 with a town government consisting of a "sovereign" (Sir Thomas Crooke) and twelve burgesses. It returned two members to the Irish House of Commons 1613-1801.
Places of interest
One of the most notable landmarks in the area is the Baltimore Beacon, also known as Lot's wife.
Towards the end of July 1847, Commander James Wolfe, R.N., informed the Ballast Board that he had recently completed a survey of Baltimore Harbour and noticed the destruction of the beacon on the eastern point of the southern entrance to the harbour. George Halpin, the Board's inspector was ordered to report the matter which he did the following month, stating that the original, locally built beacon was too small, poorly built, and had been vandalised. He recommended a large and properly constructed beacon with which the Board concurred.
Almost a year passed, 6 July 1848, before the Board requested the secretary to seek permission from Lord Carbery for a piece of ground ten yards in diameter, on which to build the beacon. By the end of July a reply had been received from Mr. Arthur Perry-Aylmer informing the Board that Lady Carbery of Castle Freke near Rosscarbery had given her full permission to either rebuild or re-construct the existing beacon and granted free access as the beacon was a matter of such vast importance to fishermen and others.
By February 1849 inspector George Halpin reported that the masonry work of the beacon was complete but the iron staff and vane still had to be placed on top.
The conspicuous conical white painted Baltimore Beacon, sometimes called the 'pillar of salt' or 'Lot's wife' is approximately 50 feet high and 5 yards in diameter at the base. The vent, mentioned by Halpin in 1849 was obviously vulnerable and at a later date was replaced by a sphere.
Sport
- Football: Baltimore FC, also known as 'the Crabs', established in 2006
- Gaelic sports: Ilen Rovers, formed in 1973
Sailing is also a popular activity in Baltimore. Courses are held in the summer months for both adults and children.
Outside links
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("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Baltimore, County Cork) |
References
- ↑ Dún na Séad: Placenames Database of Ireland
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Des Ekin (2008). The Stolen Village- Baltimore and the Barbary Pirates. Dublin: O'Brien Press.
- ↑ Appleby J.C. A Nursery of Pirates: The English pirate community in Ireland in the early seventeenth century. IJMH II (1990) no. 1 pp 1-27. As reported in Rodger, N.A.M., The Safeguard of the Sea. A naval history of Britain, 660-1649. p 349. 1997. Republished Penguin Books 2004. ISBN 978-0-14-029724-9
- ↑ When Britons Were Slaves in Africa. BBC. January 2017. 66.
- ↑ "Salé et ses corsaires, 1666-1727: un port de course marocain au XVII" (in fr). Leïla Maziane (Rouen ; Caen: Publication Pôle Universitaire Normand): 173. 2007. ISBN 978-2-84133-282-3. https://books.google.com/books?id=yhuv9waKc_MC&q=hornacheros&pg=PA7. Retrieved 1 October 2020.