Kanturk
| Kanturk Irish: Ceann Toirc | |
| County Cork | |
|---|---|
 Kanturk Castle | |
| Location | |
| Location: | 52°10’38"N, 8°54’23"W |
| Data | |
| Population: | 2,263 (2011) |
| Post town: | Kanturk |
| Postcode: | P51 |
| Dialling code: | 029 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | Kanturk–Mallow MD |
| Website: | http://www.kanturk.ie |
Kanturk is a town in the East Riding of County Cork. The town is at the meeting of the rivers Allow and Dallow, streaming further on as tributaries into the Blackwater. It is about 31 miles from the City of Cork, from Blarney and from Limerick, and lies just north off the main N72 road, nine miles from Mallow.
The name of the town is from the Irish Ceann Toirc, meaning "Boar's Head", and a boar's head is the town's emblem.
This is a small market town, which after many years with a static population has begun to grow again. Apart from its creamery which produced casein from milk, a raw material for early plastics, its former knitwear facility now produces concrete flooring products.
History
A significant historical site close to the town is Kanturk Castle, a fortified house built in 1601 for MacDonagh McCarthy as a defence against English settlers.[1] According to legend, the castle was never completed as word of its construction reached the Privy Council in England. They ordered MacDonagh to stop building works, as they feared it would be used as a base to attack English settlers. Macdonogh was allegedly so furious at this news that he smashed all the blue ceramic tiles for the roof and threw them into a nearby stream. The stream then became known as the Bluepool Stream because of the reflection of the tiles in the water. Due to its architectural and historic importance, it is owned by An Taisce]].
Heritage tourists from the families of McAuliffe, O'Keeffe, O'Callaghan, Hartnett, Fitzpatrick, Sullivan, Walsh, O'Riordan, and McCarthy can search for their roots in Kanturk. As families moved during wars and the plantations, some O'Neills, O'Donnells, and other families can date their roots in Kanturk from the time of the Siege of Kinsale.
About the town
The picturesque Kanturk Town Park is a short distance from its shopping centre, crossing the Kanturk Bridge and left into the O'Brien Street, then entering the park at the Unity Stone monument, the park displays some fine oak, beech, chesnut and ash trees, incorporating a children's playground, some cultural exhibits, as well as a leisurely walk by the scenic banks of the Dalua. The park was opened by the Irish President in 1998.
Sport
- GAA: Kanturk GAA club has a hurling team and a football team, both men's and women's
- Rugby: Kanturk Rugby Club
- Golf: An eighteen-hole golf course on the Mill Road
- Cycling: Kanturk's cycling club is very active, with its own outdoor 250m velodrome, one of only two in the Republic of Ireland.
Kanturk has a vibrant trout fishing club which maintains the rivers that flow through the town. The Dalua from Newmarket flows into the Allow (Freemount River) in the centre of the town. A further mile and half south of the town the river Brogeen flows into the Allow. The Allow joins the River Blackwater; well known for its salmon fishing, a further two miles downstream at Leaders Bridge on the N72 Mallow to Killarney road. In recent years the club has undertaken major regeneration of its waters by installing a salmon pass in Kanturk Park and repairing the damage done in the previous decades aimed at flood prevention. The club has a distinguished history and is frequently represented on the international stage. In 2007, Kanturk Trout Anglers Association had senior, ladies and juvenile members on TAFI (Trout Anglers Federation of Ireland) world championship teams.
Outside links
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("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Kanturk) |