Cork is the second largest city in the Republic of Ireland

Republic of Ireland

Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...

 and the island of Ireland

Ireland

Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

's third most populous city. It is the principal city and administrative centre of County Cork

County Cork

County Cork is a county in Ireland. It is located in the South-West Region and is also part of the province of Munster. It is named after the city of Cork . Cork County Council is the local authority for the county...

 and the largest city in the province

Provinces of Ireland

Ireland has historically been divided into four provinces: Leinster, Ulster, Munster and Connacht. The Irish word for this territorial division, cúige, literally meaning "fifth part", indicates that there were once five; the fifth province, Meath, was incorporated into Leinster, with parts going to...

 of Munster

Munster

Munster is one of the Provinces of Ireland situated in the south of Ireland. In Ancient Ireland, it was one of the fifths ruled by a "king of over-kings" . Following the Norman invasion of Ireland, the ancient kingdoms were shired into a number of counties for administrative and judicial purposes...

. Cork has a population of 119,418, while the addition of the suburban areas contained in the county brings the total to 190,384. Metropolitan Cork

Metropolitan Cork

Metropolitan Cork is an unofficial term which refers to the city of Cork, Ireland, its suburbs and the satellite towns that surround it. The term was used in the Cork Area Strategic Plan to refer to the area whose labour and property market is shared with the city...

 has a population of approximately 274,000, while the Greater Cork area is about 380,000.

County Cork has earned the nickname of "the Rebel County", while Corkonians often refer to the city as the "real capital of Ireland", and themselves as the "Rebels".

The city is built on the River Lee

River Lee (Ireland)

The Lee is a river in Ireland. It rises in the Shehy Mountains on the western border of County Cork and flows eastwards through Cork City, where it splits in two for a short distance, creating an island on which Cork's city centre is built, and empties into the Celtic Sea at Cork Harbour on the...

 which divides into two channels at the western end of the city. The city centre is located on the island created by the channels. At the eastern end of the city centre they converge; and the Lee flows around Lough Mahon

Mahon, Cork

Mahon is an area to the eastern side of Metropolitan Cork, Ireland with a population of 12,000. It was once a peninsula of lush green fields and estates but in recent years has seen many developments...

 to Cork Harbour

Cork Harbour

Cork Harbour is a natural harbour and river estuary at the mouth of the River Lee in County Cork, Ireland. It is one of several which lay claim to the title of "second largest natural harbour in the world by navigational area" . Other contenders include Halifax Harbour in Canada, and Poole Harbour...

, one of the world's largest natural harbours. The city is a major Irish seaport; there are quays and docks

Dock (maritime)

A dock is a human-made structure or group of structures involved in the handling of boats or ships, usually on or close to a shore.However, the exact meaning varies among different variants of the English language...

 along the banks of the Lee on the city's east side.

History

Cork was originally a monastic settlement founded by Saint Finbarr in the 6th century. Cork achieved an urban character at some point between 915 and 922 when Norseman (Viking

Viking

The term Viking is customarily used to refer to the Norse explorers, warriors, merchants, and pirates who raided, traded, explored and settled in wide areas of Europe, Asia and the North Atlantic islands from the late 8th to the mid-11th century.These Norsemen used their famed longships to...

) settlers founded a trading port. It has been proposed that, like Dublin, Cork was an important trading centre in the global Scandinavian trade network.

The city's charter was granted by King John

John of England

John , also known as John Lackland , was King of England from 6 April 1199 until his death...

 in 1185. The city was once fully walled, and some wall sections and gates remain today. For much of the Middle Ages, Cork city was an outpost of Old English

Old English (Ireland)

The Old English were the descendants of the settlers who came to Ireland from Wales, Normandy, and England after the Norman invasion of Ireland in 1169–71. Many of the Old English became assimilated into Irish society over the centuries...

 culture in the midst of a predominantly hostile Gaelic

Gaels

The Gaels or Goidels are speakers of one of the Goidelic Celtic languages: Irish, Scottish Gaelic, and Manx. Goidelic speech originated in Ireland and subsequently spread to western and northern Scotland and the Isle of Man....

 countryside and cut off from the English government in the Pale

The Pale

The Pale or the English Pale , was the part of Ireland that was directly under the control of the English government in the late Middle Ages. It had reduced by the late 15th century to an area along the east coast stretching from Dalkey, south of Dublin, to the garrison town of Dundalk...

 around Dublin. Neighbouring Gaelic and Hiberno-Norman

Hiberno-Norman

The Hiberno-Normans are those Norman lords who settled in Ireland who admitted little if any real fealty to the Anglo-Norman settlers in England, and who soon began to interact and intermarry with the Gaelic nobility of Ireland. The term embraces both their origins as a distinct community with...

 lords extorted "Black Rent" from the citizens in order to keep them from attacking the city. The present extent of the city has exceeded the medieval boundaries of the Barony of Cork City

Barony of Cork City

Cork City is a barony in County Cork, Ireland. It contains seven civil parishes.-Legal context:Baronies were created after the Norman invasion as subdivisions of counties and were used for administration. Baronies continue to be regarded as officially defined units, but they are no longer used...

; it now takes in much of the neighbouring Barony of Cork

Barony of Cork

Cork is a barony in County Cork, Ireland, surrounding the the city of Cork. The barony comprises the former Liberties of Cork, the area which was within the county of the city of Cork but outside the municipal borough of Cork. The liberties were defined by the charter granted in 1608 by Charles I...

. Together, these baronies

Barony (Ireland)

In Ireland, a barony is a historical subdivision of a county. They were created, like the counties, in the centuries after the Norman invasion, and were analogous to the hundreds into which the counties of England were divided. In early use they were also called cantreds...

 are located between the Barony of Barrymore

Barony of Barrymore

Barrymore is a barony in County Cork in Ireland.It is the namesake of the de Barry family, Old English family latterly created Earls of Barrymore Barrymore is bordered by eight baronies:* To the south-west, the Barony of Cork and the Barony of Cork City...

 to the east, Muskerry East

Muskerry East

Muskerry East is one of the baronies of Ireland, an historical geographical unit of land. Its chief town is Ballincollig. It is one of 24 baronies in the county of Cork. It may also be viewed as a half barony because some time before the 1821 census data, it was divided from its other half -...

 to the west and Kerryycurrihy to the south.

The city's municipal government was dominated by about 12–15 merchant families, whose wealth came from overseas trade with continental Europe – in particular the export of wool and hides and the import of salt, iron and wine. Of these families, only the Ronayne family were of Gaelic Irish origin.
The medieval population of Cork was about 2,100 people. It suffered a severe blow in 1349 when almost half the townspeople died of plague when the Black Death

Black Death

The Black Death was one of the most devastating pandemics in human history, peaking in Europe between 1348 and 1350. Of several competing theories, the dominant explanation for the Black Death is the plague theory, which attributes the outbreak to the bacterium Yersinia pestis. Thought to have...

 arrived in the town. In 1491, Cork played a part in the English Wars of the Roses

Wars of the Roses

The Wars of the Roses were a series of dynastic civil wars for the throne of England fought between supporters of two rival branches of the royal House of Plantagenet: the houses of Lancaster and York...

 when Perkin Warbeck

Perkin Warbeck

Perkin Warbeck was a pretender to the English throne during the reign of King Henry VII of England. By claiming to be Richard of Shrewsbury, Duke of York, the younger son of King Edward IV, one of the Princes in the Tower, Warbeck was a significant threat to the newly established Tudor Dynasty,...

 a pretender to the English throne, landed in the city and tried to recruit support for a plot to overthrow Henry VII of England

Henry VII of England

Henry VII was King of England and Lord of Ireland from his seizing the crown on 22 August 1485 until his death on 21 April 1509, as the first monarch of the House of Tudor....

. The mayor of Cork and several important citizens went with Warbeck to England but when the rebellion collapsed they were all captured and executed.

A description of Cork written in 1577 speaks of the city as, "the fourth city of Ireland" that is, "so encumbered with evil neighbours, the Irish outlaws, that they are fayne to watch their gates hourly ... they trust not the country adjoining [and only marry within the town] so that the whole city is linked to each other in affinity"

The title of Mayor of Cork

Lord Mayor of Cork

The Lord Mayor of Cork is the honorific title of the Chairman of Cork City Council which is the local government body for the city of Cork in Ireland. The incumbent is Terry Shannon of Fianna Fáil. The office holder is elected annually by the members of the Council.-History of office:In 1199 there...

 was established by royal charter in 1318, and the title was changed to Lord Mayor in 1900 following the Knighthood of the incumbent Mayor by Queen Victoria on her visit to the City.

In the War of Independence

Irish War of Independence

The Irish War of Independence , Anglo-Irish War, Black and Tan War, or Tan War was a guerrilla war mounted by the Irish Republican Army against the British government and its forces in Ireland. It began in January 1919, following the Irish Republic's declaration of independence. Both sides agreed...

, the centre of Cork was gutted by fires started by the British Black and Tans

Black and Tans

The Black and Tans was one of two newly recruited bodies, composed largely of British World War I veterans, employed by the Royal Irish Constabulary as Temporary Constables from 1920 to 1921 to suppress revolution in Ireland...

, and the city saw fierce fighting between Irish guerrillas and UK forces. During the Irish Civil War

Irish Civil War

The Irish Civil War was a conflict that accompanied the establishment of the Irish Free State as an entity independent from the United Kingdom within the British Empire....

, Cork was for a time held by anti-Treaty

Anglo-Irish Treaty

The Anglo-Irish Treaty , officially called the Articles of Agreement for a Treaty Between Great Britain and Ireland, was a treaty between the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and representatives of the secessionist Irish Republic that concluded the Irish War of...

 forces, until it was retaken by the pro-Treaty National Army

Irish Army

The Irish Army, officially named simply the Army is the main branch of the Defence Forces of Ireland. Approximately 8,500 men and women serve in the Irish Army, divided into three infantry Brigades...

 in an attack from the sea.

Local government

Local administration of the area within Cork's city boundary is the responsibility of Cork City Council

Cork City Council

Cork City Council is the local authority which is responsible for the city of Cork and its immediate hinterland in Ireland. The Council is responsible for Housing and Community, Roads and Transportation, Urban planning and Development, Amenity and Culture, and Environment...

. While local government in Ireland has limited powers in comparison with other countries, the council has responsibility for planning, roads, sanitation, libraries, street lighting, parks and a number of other important functions. Cork City Council has 31 elected members representing six electoral wards. The party make-up of the council is Fine Gael

Fine Gael

Fine Gael is a centre-right to centrist political party in the Republic of Ireland. It is the single largest party in Ireland in the Oireachtas, in local government, and in terms of Members of the European Parliament. The party has a membership of over 35,000...

 8 members, Labour Party

Labour Party (Ireland)

The Labour Party is a social-democratic political party in the Republic of Ireland. The Labour Party was founded in 1912 in Clonmel, County Tipperary, by James Connolly, James Larkin and William X. O'Brien as the political wing of the Irish Trade Union Congress. Unlike the other main Irish...

 7 members, Fianna Fáil

Fianna Fáil

Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party , more commonly known as Fianna Fáil is a centrist political party in the Republic of Ireland, founded on 23 March 1926. Fianna Fáil's name is traditionally translated into English as Soldiers of Destiny, although a more accurate rendition would be Warriors of Fál...

 6 members, Sinn Féin

Sinn Féin

Sinn Féin is a left wing, Irish republican political party in Ireland. The name is Irish for "ourselves" or "we ourselves", although it is frequently mistranslated as "ourselves alone". Originating in the Sinn Féin organisation founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffith, it took its current form in 1970...

 5 members, Socialist Party

Socialist Party (Ireland)

The Socialist Party is a socialist political party active in Ireland. It is a member of the Committee for a Workers' International .Formerly known as Militant Tendency, then Militant Labour, it adopted the name The Socialist Party in 1996. From their foundation in 1972 until the 1980s, members of...

 1 member, Workers' Party

Workers' Party of Ireland

The Workers' Party is a left-wing republican political party in Ireland. Originating in the Sinn Féin organisation founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffith, it took its current form in 1970 after a split within the party, adopting its current name in 1982....

 1 member, Independents

Independent (politician)

In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do...

 3 members.

Climate

The climate of Cork, like the rest of Ireland, is mild and changeable with abundant rainfall and a lack of temperature extremes. Cork lies in plant Hardiness zone

Hardiness zone

A hardiness zone is a geographically defined area in which a specific category of plant life is capable of growing, as defined by climatic conditions, including its ability to withstand the minimum temperatures of the zone...

10. Met Éireann

Met Éireann

Met Éireann is the national meteorological service in Ireland, part of the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government.-History:...

 maintains a climatological weather station at Cork Airport, a few kilometres south of the city. It should be noted that as the airport is at an altitude of 151 metres (495.4 ft) and temperatures can often differ by a few degrees between the airport and the city itself. There are also smaller synoptic weather stations at UCC and Clover Hill.

Temperature

Temperature

Temperature is a physical property of matter that quantitatively expresses the common notions of hot and cold. Objects of low temperature are cold, while various degrees of higher temperatures are referred to as warm or hot...

s below 0 °C (32 °F) or above 30 °C (86 °F) are rare. Cork Airport records an average of 1194.4 millimetres (3.9 ft)) of precipitation

Precipitation (meteorology)

In meteorology, precipitation In meteorology, precipitation In meteorology, precipitation (also known as one of the classes of hydrometeors, which are atmospheric water phenomena is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls under gravity. The main forms of precipitation...

 annually, most of which is rain. The airport records an average of 8 days of hail and 16 days of snow or sleet a year; though it only records lying snow for 6 days of the year. The low altitude of the city, and moderating influences of the harbour, mean that lying snow very rarely occurs in the city itself. There are on average 151 "rainy" days a year (over 1 millimetre (0.0393700787401575 in) of rainfall), of which there are 75 days with "heavy rain" (over 5 millimetre (0.196850393700787 in)). Cork is also a generally foggy city, with an average of 100 days of fog a year, most common during mornings and during winter. Despite this, however, Cork is also one of Ireland's sunniest cities, with an average of 3.8 hours of sunshine every day and only having 69 days where there is no "recordable sunshine", mostly during and around winter.

Culture

Music, theatre, dance, film and poetry all play a prominent role in Cork city life. The Cork School of Music and the Crawford College of Art and Design provide a throughput of new blood, as do the active theatre components of several courses at University College Cork (UCC). Highlights include: Corcadorca Theatre Company

Corcadorca Theatre Company

The Corcadorca Theatre Company was founded in Cork in 1991 and is one of Ireland's leading independent theatre companies.The theatre company strives to be integral part of the cultural life of the city, and has sought to develop new writing through its biennial Corcadorca Playwright Award, and by...

, of which Cillian Murphy

Cillian Murphy

Cillian Murphy is an Irish film and theatre actor. He is often noted by critics for his chameleonic performances in diverse roles and distinctive blue eyes and general sex appeal....

 was a troupe member prior to Hollywood fame; Cork Film Festival

Cork Film Festival

The Cork Film Festival is a film festival held annually in Cork City, Ireland. It was established in 1956 and has grown to be an internationally recognised festival, particularly in the area of short films....

, a supporter of the art of the short film; The Institute for Choreography and Dance, a national contemporary dance resource; the Triskel Arts Centre; Cork Jazz Festival

Cork Jazz Festival

The Cork Jazz Festival is an annual music festival held in Cork City, Ireland in late October every year since 1978.The festival is Ireland's biggest jazz event and attracts hundreds of musicians and thousands of music fans to the city each year....

; the Cork Academy of Dramatic Art (CADA), and the Graffiti Theatre Company. The Everyman Palace Theatre

Everyman Palace Theatre

The Everyman Palace Theatre is a 650-seat Victorian theatre on MacCurtain Street in Cork, Ireland. Originally opened in 1897/98, it is the oldest purpose built theatre building in Cork...

 and the Granary Theatre both play host to dramatic plays throughout the year.

Cork is home to the RTÉ Vanbrugh String Quartet, and to many musical acts, including John Spillane

John Spillane

John Spillane is a singer-songwriter from Cork, Ireland. He graduated from University College Cork with a degree in Irish and in English.-Background:Spillane grew up in the Cork suburb of Bishopstown, in a large family of boys...

, The Frank And Walters

The Frank and Walters

The Frank and Walters are an alternative rock band from Cork city in Ireland. The band was founded in 1990 by Paul Linehan , his brother Niall Linehan , who was replaced by Kevin Pedreschi in 2004, and Ashley Keating . They took the band name in honour of two eccentric Cork characters...

, Sultans Of Ping, Simple Kid

Simple Kid

Simple Kid, real-name Ciaran McFeely, is an Irish-born solo musical artist. In early 2011 it was announced on the official website that there will be no further music or tours by Simple Kid.-History:...

 and the late Rory Gallagher

Rory Gallagher

William Rory Gallagher, ; 2 March 1948  – 14 June 1995, was an Irish blues-rock multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and bandleader. Born in Ballyshannon, County Donegal, Ireland, and raised in Cork, Gallagher recorded solo albums throughout the 1970s and 1980s, after forming the band Taste...

. Singer songwriter Cathal Coughlan and Sean O'Hagan

Sean O'Hagan

Sean O'Hagan is a founding member of Irish indie band Microdisney. In the 1990s he formed The High Llamas and released a number of highly acclaimed albums showing influences as diverse as The Beach Boys, Ennio Morricone, Antonio Carlos Jobim and avant-garde electronica...

 of The High Llamas

The High Llamas

The High Llamas are a London-based musical group, formed by the Irish guitarist and songwriter Sean O'Hagan after the demise of his group Microdisney. O'Hagan writes and arranges the music and the rest of the group consists of drummer Rob Allum, keyboardist/cellist Marcus Holdaway, and...

 also hail from Cork. The opera singers Cara O'Sullivan, Mary Hegarty, Brendan Collins, and Sam McElroy are also Cork born. The short story writers Frank O'Connor

Frank O'Connor

Frank O’Connor was an Irish author of over 150 works, best known for his short stories and memoirs.-Early life:...

 and Sean O'Faoláin hailed from Cork. Contemporary writers include Thomas McCarthy

Thomas McCarthy (poet)

Thomas McCarthy is an Irish poet, novelist, and critic, born in Cappoquin, Co. Waterford, Ireland. He attended University College Cork where he was part of a resurgence of literary activity under the inspiration of John Montague...

, Gerry Murphy

Gerry Murphy (poet)

Gerry Murphy is an Irish poet.-Life & work:Gerry Murphy was born in Cork City in 1952. His work is witty, openly intellectual and often satirical and is "highly, self-consciously literary"...

, and novelist and poet William Wall

William Wall

William "Bill" Wall is an Irish novelist, poet and short story writer. He was born in Cork City in 1955, but grew up in the coastal village of Whitegate. He received his secondary education at the Christian Brothers School in Midleton. He progressed to University College Cork where he graduated in...

. There is a thriving literary community centring on The Munster Literature Centre and the Triskel Arts Centre.

Cork has been gaining cultural diversity for many years as a result of immigration, from Western Europe (particularly France and Spain) in the mid to late nineties, and more recently from Eastern European countries such as Poland

Poland

Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...

, Lithuania

Lithuania

Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...

, Latvia

Latvia

Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...

, Slovakia

Slovakia

The Slovak Republic is a landlocked state in Central Europe. It has a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south...

, Hungary

Hungary

Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...

, etc. and in small amount from various African and Asian nations. This is reflected in the recent growth of multi-cultural restaurants and shops, including specialist shops for East-European or Middle-Eastern food, Chinese and Thai restaurants, French patisseries, Indian buffets, and Middle Eastern kebab houses. Cork saw significant Jewish immigration from Lithuania and Russia in the late 19th century. Jewish citizens such as Gerald Goldberg

Gerald Goldberg

Gerald Yael Goldberg was a lawyer and politician who in 1977 became the first Jewish Lord Mayor of Cork...

 (several times Lord Mayor), David Marcus

David Marcus

David Marcus was an Irish Jewish editor and writer who was a lifelong advocate and editor of Irish fiction.- Life and times :...

 (novelist) and Louis Marcus

Louis Marcus

Louis Marcus was elected in 1932 as the first Jewish mayor of Salt Lake City, Utah, and served until his death on July 6, 1936. He is buried in the Salt Lake City Cemetery....

 (documentary maker) played important roles in 20th century Cork. Today, the Jewish community is relatively small in population, although the city still has a Jewish quarter and synagogue. Cork also features various Christian churches, as well as a mosque

Mosque

A mosque is a place of worship for followers of Islam. The word is likely to have entered the English language through French , from Portuguese , from Spanish , and from Berber , ultimately originating in — . The Arabic word masjid literally means a place of prostration...

. Some Catholic masses around the city are said in Polish

Polish language

Polish is a language of the Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages, used throughout Poland and by Polish minorities in other countries...

, Filipino

Filipino language

This move has drawn much criticism from other regional groups.In 1987, a new constitution introduced many provisions for the language.Article XIV, Section 6, omits any mention of Tagalog as the basis for Filipino, and states that:...

, Lithuanian

Lithuanian language

Lithuanian is the official state language of Lithuania and is recognized as one of the official languages of the European Union. There are about 2.96 million native Lithuanian speakers in Lithuania and about 170,000 abroad. Lithuanian is a Baltic language, closely related to Latvian, although they...

, Romanian

Romanian language

Romanian Romanian Romanian (or Daco-Romanian; obsolete spellings Rumanian, Roumanian; self-designation: română, limba română ("the Romanian language") or românește (lit. "in Romanian") is a Romance language spoken by around 24 to 28 million people, primarily in Romania and Moldova...

 and other languages, in addition to the traditional Latin and local Irish and English languages.

Recent additions to the arts infrastructure include modern additions to Cork Opera House and the Crawford Municipal Art Gallery

Crawford Municipal Art Gallery

The Crawford Municipal Art Gallery is a public art gallery in the city of Cork, Ireland.Since 1979 the Gallery has been located in the centre of Cork in what used to be the Cork Customs House, built in 1724...

. The new Lewis Glucksman Gallery

Lewis Glucksman Gallery

The Lewis Glucksman Gallery is an award-winning art gallery in University College, Cork, Ireland.Opened to the public by the President of Ireland, Mary McAleese on 14 October 2004, the Glucksman gallery was named Best Public Building in Ireland by the RIAI in June 2005...

 opened in the Autumn of 2004 at UCC, was nominated for the Stirling Prize

Stirling Prize

The Royal Institute of British Architects Stirling Prize is a British prize for excellence in architecture. It is named after the architect James Stirling, organised and awarded annually by the Royal Institute of British Architects...

 in the United Kingdom, and the building of a new €

Euro

The euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,...

60 million School of Music was completed in September 2007. Construction of the €

Euro

The euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,...

50 million Brookfield UCC Medical School complex was completed in 2005.

Cork was the European Capital of Culture

European Capital of Culture

The European Capital of Culture is a city designated by theEuropean Union for a period of one calendar year during which it organises a series of cultural events with a strong European dimension....

 for 2005, and in 2009 was included in the Lonely Planet

Lonely Planet

Lonely Planet is the largest travel guide book and digital media publisher in the world. The company is owned by BBC Worldwide, which bought a 75% share from the founders Maureen and Tony Wheeler in 2007 and the final 25% in February 2011...

's top 10 "Best in Travel 2010". The guide described Cork as being "at the top of its game: sophisticated, vibrant and diverse".

There is a rivalry between Cork and Dublin, similar to the rivalry between London and Manchester, Sydney and Melbourne or Madrid and Barcelona. Corkonians generally view themselves as different to the rest of Ireland, and refer to themselves as "The Rebels"; the county is known as the Rebel County. This distinctly Corkonian view has in recent years manifested itself in humorous references to the region as The People's Republic of Cork. Citizens of the Real Capital can be seen adorning themselves with t-shirts and other items which celebrate The People's Republic of Cork, printed in various languages, including English

English language

English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

, Irish

Irish language

Irish , also known as Irish Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family, originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish people. Irish is now spoken as a first language by a minority of Irish people, as well as being a second language of a larger proportion of...

, Polish

Polish language

Polish is a language of the Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages, used throughout Poland and by Polish minorities in other countries...

, Spanish

Spanish language

Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...

 and Italian

Italian language

Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...

.

Food

The city has many local traditions in food. Traditional Cork foods include crubeens

Crubeens

Crubeens are an Irish food made of boiled pigs' feet. They are traditionally eaten by hand.-External links:*...

, and tripe

Tripe

Tripe is a type of edible offal from the stomachs of various farm animals.-Beef tripe:...

 and drisheen

Drisheen

Drisheen is often viewed as a type of black pudding made in Ireland. Irish black pudding is made from a mixture of cow's, pig's and/or sheep's blood, milk, salt, fat and breadcrumbs, which is boiled and sieved and finally cooked using the main intestine of an animal as the sausage skin. The...

. Cork's English Market sells locally produced foods, including fresh fish, meats, fruit and vegetables,eggs and artisan cheeses and breads. During certain city festivals food stalls are also sometimes erected on city streets - such as St. Patrick's Street or Grand Parade

Grand Parade

Grand Parade can refer to:* Grand Parade in Brighton, England* Grand Parade in Cape Town, South Africa* Grand Parade in Cork, Republic of Ireland* Grand Parade in Gibraltar* Grand Parade in Halifax, Nova Scotia...

.

Accent

The Cork accent displays various features which set it apart from most of the accents used in Ireland. Patterns of tone and intonation often rise and fall, with the overall tone tending to be more high-pitched than the standard Irish accent. English spoken in Cork has a large number of dialect words that are peculiar to the city and environs. Unlike standard Hiberno-English

Hiberno-English

Hiberno-English is the dialect of English written and spoken in Ireland .English was first brought to Ireland during the Norman invasion of the late 12th century. Initially it was mainly spoken in an area known as the Pale around Dublin, with Irish spoken throughout the rest of the country...

, some of these words originate from the Irish language, but others through other languages Cork's inhabitants encountered at home and abroad.

Broadcasting

The city's FM radio

FM broadcasting

FM broadcasting is a broadcasting technology pioneered by Edwin Howard Armstrong which uses frequency modulation to provide high-fidelity sound over broadcast radio. The term "FM band" describes the "frequency band in which FM is used for broadcasting"...

 band features RTÉ Radio 1

RTÉ Radio 1

RTÉ Radio 1 is the principal radio channel of Irish public-service broadcaster Raidió Teilifís Éireann and is the direct descendant of Dublin radio station 2RN, which began broadcasting on a regular basis on 1 January 1926...

, RTÉ 2fm

RTÉ 2fm

RTÉ 2fm, or 2FM as it is more commonly referred to, is Raidió Teilifís Éireann's second national radio station. It broadcasts popular music programming aimed at a young Irish audience.- History :...

, RTÉ lyric fm

RTÉ lyric fm

RTÉ lyric fm is an Irish classical music radio station, owned by the public-service broadcaster Raidió Teilifís Éireann. The station, which is based in Limerick, was launched in 1999 and is available on FM in Ireland, on satellite, on Sky Digital in Ireland and United Kingdom and via the...

, RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta

RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta

RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta , abbreviated RnaG, is the Irish-language radio service of the public-service broadcaster Raidió Teilifís Éireann. The station is available on FM in Ireland and via satellite and on the Internet.- History :...

, Today FM

Today FM

Radio Ireland Ltd, trading as 100-102 Today FM is an Irish commercial FM radio station which is available nationally. The station, which commenced broadcasting on Saint Patrick's Day in 1997, can be received nationally and carries a mix of music and talk...

, 4fm

4fm

Classic Hits 4FM is an independent multi-region radio station broadcasting to Dublin and commuter belt, the cities and counties of Cork, Limerick, Galway and County Clare. Reception is also possible in parts of several other neighbouring counties...

, Newstalk and the religious station Spirit Radio. There are also local stations such as Cork's Red FM

Red FM (Ireland)

Cork's RedFM is an Irish radio station which broadcasts to Cork and the surrounding area, and is aimed at a youth audience.Cork's RedFM commenced broadcasting at 08:00 on 16 January 2002. The station was awarded Ireland’s first youth radio licence...

, Cork's 96FM

Cork's 96FM

96FM is one of three local radio stations licensed by the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland for Cork City and County in Ireland . It broadcasts from studios at Broadcasting House, St...

, 103FM County Sound

103FM County Sound

C103 is one of three local radio stations licensed by the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland for Cork City and County in Ireland...

, CUH 102.0FM, Cork Campus Radio 98.3FM and Christian

Christian

A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...

 radio station Life 93.1FM.. Cork also has a temporary licenced city-wide community station 'Cork FM Community Radio' on 100.5FM, which is currently on-air weekends only - Saturdays and Sundays - until May 2012. Cork has also been home to pirate radio

Pirate radio

Pirate radio is illegal or unregulated radio transmission. The term is most commonly used to describe illegal broadcasting for entertainment or political purposes, but is also sometimes used for illegal two-way radio operation...

 stations, most notably South Coast Radio and ERI in the 1980s. Today some small pirates stations remain. A number of neighbouring counties radio stations can be heard in parts of Cork City including Radio Kerry

Radio Kerry

Radio Kerry is a full service, licensed radio station that operates from the franchise area of County Kerry in Southwest Ireland.Radio Kerry was established in 1989 and began broadcasting on July 14 1990. The station headquarters are in Tralee, the principal town of County Kerry, with remote...

 at 97.0 and WLR FM on 95.1.

RTÉ Cork

Raidió Teilifís Éireann

Raidió Teilifís Éireann is a semi-state company and the public service broadcaster of Ireland. It both produces programmes and broadcasts them on television, radio and the Internet. The radio service began on January 1, 1926, while regular television broadcasts began on December 31, 1961, making...

 has television and radio studios, and production facilities at its centre in Father Matthew Street in the city centre.

Print

Lapp's Quay in Cork is home to one of Ireland's main national newspapers, the Irish Examiner

Irish Examiner

The Irish Examiner, formerly The Cork Examiner and then The Examiner, is an Irish national daily newspaper which primarily circulates in the Munster region surrounding its base in Cork, though it is available throughout the country...

(formerly the Cork Examiner). It also prints the Evening Echo

Evening Echo

The Evening Echo is an Irish evening newspaper based in Cork. It is distributed throughout the province of Munster, although it is primarily read in its base city of Cork. In Limerick, an altered local edition of the paper is sold...

, which for decades has been connected to the Echo Boys, who were poor and often homeless children who sold the newspaper. Today, the shouts of the vendors selling the Echo can still be heard in various parts of the city centre. One of the biggest free newspapers in the city is the Cork Independent

Cork Independent (newspaper)

The Cork Independent is a newspaper in Cork, Ireland. According to the Audit Bureau of Circulation, its circulation is 50,356, combining bulk and letterbox distribution. This makes it Cork's largest fully audited free weekly newspaper...

.

Places of interest

Cork features architecturally notable buildings originating from the Medieval to Modern periods. The only notable remnant of the Medieval era is the Red Abbey. There are two cathedrals in the city; St. Mary's Cathedral and St Finbarre's Cathedral

Saint Finbarre's Cathedral

Saint Fin Barre's Cathedral, is a cathedral of the Church of Ireland in Cork city, Ireland. It is in the ecclesiastical province of Dublin.It was featured on the Irish postcard before the Irish entry of the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 held in Moscow, Russia....

. St Mary's Cathedral, often referred to as the North Cathedral is the Roman Catholic cathedral of the city and was built in 1808. St Finbarre's Cathedral serves the Protestant faith and is the more famous of the two. It is built on the foundations of an earlier cathedral. Work began in 1862 and ended in 1879 under the direction of architect William Burges

William Burges (architect)

William Burges was an English architect and designer. Amongst the greatest of the Victorian art-architects, Burges sought in his work an escape from 19th century industrialisation and a return to the values, architectural and social, of an imagined mediaeval England...

.

St. Patrick's Street, the main street of the city which was remodelled in the mid 2000s, is known for the architecture of the buildings along its pedestrian-friendly route and is the main shopping thoroughfare. The reason for its curved shape is that it originally was a channel of the River Lee

River Lee (Ireland)

The Lee is a river in Ireland. It rises in the Shehy Mountains on the western border of County Cork and flows eastwards through Cork City, where it splits in two for a short distance, creating an island on which Cork's city centre is built, and empties into the Celtic Sea at Cork Harbour on the...

 that was built over on arches. The General Post Office, with its limestone façade, is one of the most prominent buildings on the street and the focal point of much pedestrian activity. The original building on this site, the Theatre Royal was built in 1760 and burned down in 1840. The English circus proprietor Pablo Fanque

Pablo Fanque

Pablo Fanque was the first black circus proprietor in Britain. His circus, in which he himself was a performer, was the most popular circus in Victorian Britain for 30 years, a period that is regarded as the golden age of the circus...

, who enjoyed fame again in the 20th Century when The Beatles

The Beatles

The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...

 referenced him in a song, rebuilt an amphitheatre on this spot in 1850, which was subsequently transformed into a theatre and then into the present General Post Office in 1877.

The adjacent Grand Parade is a tree-lined avenue, home to offices, shops and financial institutions. The old financial centre is the South Mall, with several banks whose interior derive from the 19th century, such as the Allied Irish Bank's which was once an exchange.

Many of the city's buildings are in the Georgian style

Georgian architecture

Georgian architecture is the name given in most English-speaking countries to the set of architectural styles current between 1720 and 1840. It is eponymous for the first four British monarchs of the House of Hanover—George I of Great Britain, George II of Great Britain, George III of the United...

, although there are a number of examples of modern landmark structures, such as County Hall

Cork County Hall

The County Hall is a 17-storey office block, owned by Cork County Council and housing its administrative headquarters. The building is located on Carrigrohane Road in the City of Cork...

 tower, which was, at one time the tallest building in the Republic of Ireland until being superseded by another Cork City building: The Elysian

The Elysian

The Elysian is a mixed-use celtic tiger-era building at Eglinton Street in Cork City, Ireland. Construction of the building was completed in early September 2008....

. Across the river from County Hall is Ireland's longest building; built in Victorian

Victorian era

The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...

 times, Our Lady's Psychiatric Hospital has now been renovated and converted into a residential housing complex called Atkins Hall, after its architect William Atkins

William Atkins (architect)

William Atkins was an Irish architect of the Victorian era.A native of Cork, William Atkins is an architect whose fame has been lost to posterity, although in 1846 he received one of the largest public commissions in Cork city, to build the city and county asylum...

.

Cork's most famous building is the church tower of Shandon

Church of St Anne (Shandon)

The Church of St Anne is a Church of Ireland church located in the Shandon district of Cork city in Ireland. It is situated a top a hill overlooking the River Lee.- History :...

, which dominates the North side of the city. It is widely regarded as the symbol of the city. The North and East sides are faced in red sandstone, and the West and South sides are clad in the predominant stone of the region, white limestone. At the top sits a weather vane in the shape of an eleven-foot salmon.

City Hall, another notable building of limestone, replaced the previous one which was destroyed by the Black and Tans

Black and Tans

The Black and Tans was one of two newly recruited bodies, composed largely of British World War I veterans, employed by the Royal Irish Constabulary as Temporary Constables from 1920 to 1921 to suppress revolution in Ireland...

 during the War of Independence in an event known as the "Burning of Cork

The Burning of Cork

The Burning of Cork is the name commonly given to a devastating series of fires that swept through the centre of Cork City on the night of 11 December 1920. The burning and the subsequent controversy is one of the most significant events of the Irish War of Independence.-Fire:During the War of...

". The cost of this new building was provided by the UK Government in the 1930s as a gesture of reconciliation.

Other notable places include Elizabeth Fort

Elizabeth Fort

Elizabeth Fort is a 17th century star fort off Barrack Street in Cork, Ireland. Originally built as a defensive fortification outside the city walls, the city eventually grew around the fort, and it took on various other roles - including use as a military barracks, prison, and police...

, the Cork Opera House

Cork Opera House

Cork Opera House is a theatre and opera house in Cork in the Republic of Ireland. It was originally built in 1855, although its existence has not been continuous; having survived the burning of much of Cork by British forces in reprisal for an ambush of a military convoy in 1920 by Irish rebels,...

, and Fitzgerald's Park to the west of the city. Other popular tourist attractions include the grounds of University College Cork, through which the River Lee flows, and the English Market. This covered market traces its origins back to 1610, and the present building dates from 1786.

Up until April 2009, there were also two large commercial breweries in the city. The Beamish and Crawford

Beamish and Crawford

Beamish and Crawford is the longest-established brewery in Cork, Ireland. Established in 1792 by William Beamish and William Crawford on the site of an existing porter brewery, it has had a number of owners over the centuries...

 on South Main Street closed in April 2009 and transferred production to the Murphy's

Murphy's Irish Stout

Murphy's Irish Stout is a dry stout brewed in County Cork according to the original recipe by Murphy's Brewery since 1856.In comparison to its heavier and more bitter chief competitors, Guinness and Beamish, Murphy's is a lighter and sweeter dry stout. Its flavour is evocative of caramel and malt,...

 brewery in Lady's Well. This brewery also produces Heineken for the Irish market. There is also the Franciscan Well brewery, serving the local market with a variety of lagers, ales and stouts. In May 2008 it was awarded as the "Best Microbrewery in Ireland" by Food and Wine Magazine.

Retail

The retail trade in Cork city includes a mix of both modern, state of the art shopping centres and family owned local shops. Department stores cater for all budgets, with expensive boutiques for one end of the market and high street stores also available. Shopping centres can be found in many of Cork's suburbs, including Blackpool

Blackpool, Cork

Blackpool is a suburb of Cork city in County Cork, Province of Munster, Ireland. It is situated in the north of the city, on the N20 road to Mallow.-Social History:...

, Ballincollig

Ballincollig

Ballincollig is a satellite town in County Cork, Ireland, approximately 9 km west of Cork city. It is located beside the River Lee on the R608 regional road. In 2006 the population of Ballincollig DED was 16,308. The nearest towns include: Ballinora, Ovens, Killumney, Inniscarra, Blarney ,...

, Douglas

Douglas, Cork

Douglas or Duglas is an area of Cork city, Ireland. As its borders are ill-defined and it straddles the boundary between Cork City and County Cork, it is difficult to ascertain the exact population. The CSO gives a figure of 18,192 for the parts of Douglas that lie within Cork County...

, Ballyvolane, Wilton and Mahon. Others are available in the city centre. These include the recently completed development of two large malls The Cornmarket Centre on Cornmarket Street, and new the retail street called "Opera Lane" off St. Patrick's Street/Academy Street. The planned Grand Parade scheme for the site of the former Capitol Cineplex has been approved by the planning authorities but for now at least financing hasn't been made available. Cork's main shopping street is St. Patrick's Street and is the most expensive street in the country per sq. metre after Dublin's Grafton Street. Other shopping areas in the city centre include Oliver Plunkett St. and Grand Parade. Cork is also home to some of the country's leading department stores with the foundations of shops such as Dunnes Stores

Dunnes Stores

Dunnes Stores, also known as Dunnes, is a supermarket and clothing retail chain, that is based in Dublin, Ireland.The chain primarily sells food, clothes and household wares. In addition to its main customer base in Ireland, the chain has operations in Great Britain and Spain...

 and the former Roches Stores

Roches Stores

Debenhams Ireland is a national chain of department stores in Ireland, that is owned by Debenhams.-Roches Stores :Founded in Cork in 1901 by William Roche, as a small furniture shop, the chain grew to eleven stores throughout Ireland. In October 2007, Roches Stores ceased operating...

 being laid in the city. Outside the city centre is Mahon Point Shopping Centre

Mahon Point Shopping Centre

Mahon Point Shopping Centre is a shopping centre in the suburbs of Cork in Ireland. It is Munster's second largest shopping destination after the Crescent Shopping Centre in Limerick. The centre has over 60 stores including Debenhams, Next, Zara, Barratts, Tesco and a thirteen-screen Omniplex cinema...

.

Cork City Centre has seen many retail businesses close down in recent years due to high rents and the collapse of consumer spending since 2008. Many Cork retail businesses are locked into "upward only" lease contracts meaning rents only increase over time with no account for decreasing sales turnover. Some other very central streets in the city have a large number of unoccupied shops which tend to detract from the City as a whole.

Industry

Cork City is at the heart of industry in the south of Ireland. Its main area of industry is pharmaceuticals, with Pfizer Inc. and Swiss company Novartis

Novartis

Novartis International AG is a multinational pharmaceutical company based in Basel, Switzerland, ranking number three in sales among the world-wide industry...

 being big employers in the region. The most famous product of the Cork pharmaceutical industry is Viagra. Cork is also the European headquarters of Apple Inc. where over 1,800 staff are involved in manufacturing, R&D and customer support. Logitech

Logitech

Logitech International S.A. is a global provider of personal peripherals for computers and other digital platforms headquartered in Romanel-sur-Morges, Switzerland. The company develops and markets products like peripheral devices for PCs, including keyboards, mice, microphones, game controllers...

 and EMC Corporation

EMC Corporation

EMC Corporation , a Financial Times Global 500, Fortune 500 and S&P 500 company, develops, delivers and supports information infrastructure and virtual infrastructure hardware, software, and services. EMC is headquartered in Hopkinton, Massachusetts, USA.Former Intel executive Richard Egan and his...

 are also important IT

Information technology

Information technology is the acquisition, processing, storage and dissemination of vocal, pictorial, textual and numerical information by a microelectronics-based combination of computing and telecommunications...

 employers in the area.

The city is also home to the Heineken Brewery which also brews Murphy's Irish Stout

Murphy's Irish Stout

Murphy's Irish Stout is a dry stout brewed in County Cork according to the original recipe by Murphy's Brewery since 1856.In comparison to its heavier and more bitter chief competitors, Guinness and Beamish, Murphy's is a lighter and sweeter dry stout. Its flavour is evocative of caramel and malt,...

 and the nearby Beamish and Crawford

Beamish and Crawford

Beamish and Crawford is the longest-established brewery in Cork, Ireland. Established in 1792 by William Beamish and William Crawford on the site of an existing porter brewery, it has had a number of owners over the centuries...

 brewery (taken over by Heineken in 2008) which have been in the city for generations. And for many years, Cork was the home to Ford Motor Company

Ford Motor Company

Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK...

, which manufactured cars in the docklands area before the plant was closed in 1984. Henry Ford

Henry Ford

Henry Ford was an American industrialist, the founder of the Ford Motor Company, and sponsor of the development of the assembly line technique of mass production. His introduction of the Model T automobile revolutionized transportation and American industry...

's grandfather was from West Cork

West Cork

West Cork refers to a geographical area in south-west Ireland, lying within Ireland's largest county, County Cork. Traditionally a popular tourist destination, the area is seen as being distinct from the more populated northern or eastern parts of the county, as well as the more urban area of...

, which was one of the main reason for opening up the manufacturing facility in Cork. But technology has replaced the old manufacturing businesses of the 1970s and 1980s, with people now working in the many I.T. centres of the city - such as Amazon.com

Amazon.com

Amazon.com, Inc. is a multinational electronic commerce company headquartered in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the world's largest online retailer. Amazon has separate websites for the following countries: United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Japan, and...

, the online retailer, which has set up in Cork Airport Business Park.

Cork's deep harbour allows ships of any size to enter, bringing trade and easy import/export of products. Cork Airport also allows easy access to continental Europe and Kent Station in the city centre provides good rail links for domestic trade.

Air

Cork Airport is one of Ireland's main airports and it is a gateway to the south of Ireland. It is situated on the south side of Cork City in an area known as Ballygarvan

Ballygarvan, County Cork

Ballygarvan is a village south of Cork City, in County Cork, Ireland.The village and surrounding area has a population of between 1000 and 1500 residents. Occupying the eastern half of Ballinhassig parish, the village lies in the valley between Myrtle and Meadstown Hills, beside the River Owenabue...

. Over 15 airlines fly to over 68 destinations with over 60 flights a day. Airlines using Cork airport include Aer Lingus

Aer Lingus

Aer Lingus Group Plc is the flag carrier of Ireland. It operates a fleet of Airbus aircraft serving Europe and North America. It is Ireland's oldest extant airline, and its second largest after low-cost rival Ryanair...

, Aer Lingus Regional

Aer Lingus Regional

Aer Lingus Regional is an Aer Lingus brand used for commuter and regional flights operated by Aer Arann on behalf of Aer Lingus. Aer Lingus Regional operates scheduled passenger services primarily from Ireland to the UK, France and the Channel Islands...

, Jet2.com

Jet2.com

Jet2.com Limited is a British low-cost airline based at Leeds Bradford Airport, England. It operates services from eight UK bases to 54 destinations. The airline also offers contract charter and air cargo services. Its main base and headquarters is at Leeds Bradford Airport, with smaller bases at...

, Monarch

Monarch Airlines

Monarch Airlines, often shortened to and trading as Monarch, is a British charter and scheduled airline based at London Luton Airport in Luton. It is one of the United Kingdom's largest charter airlines, operating to Europe, the United States, the Caribbean, India and Africa, serving mainly leisure...

, Ryanair

Ryanair

Ryanair is an Irish low-cost airline. Its head office is at Dublin Airport and its primary operational bases at Dublin Airport and London Stansted Airport....

 and Wizz Air

Wizz Air

Wizz Air Hungary Légiközlekedési Kft. is a Hungarian low-cost airline with headquarters in the Airport Business Park C2 in Vecsés, close to Budapest Ferihegy International Airport, Hungary. The airline typically uses secondary airports serving many cities across Europe.- History :The airline was...

.

Bus

Public bus services within the city are provided by the national bus operator Bus Éireann

Bus Éireann

Bus Éireann provides bus services in Ireland with the exception of those operated entirely within the Dublin Region, which are provided by Dublin Bus. Bus Éireann, established as a separate company in 1987, is a subsidiary of Córas Iompair Éireann. The logo of Bus Éireann incorporates a red Irish...

. City routes are numbered from 1 through to 19 and connect the city centre to the principal suburbs, colleges, shopping centres and places of interest. Two of these bus routes provide orbital services across the Northern and Southern districts of the city respectively. Buses to the outer suburbs, such as Ballincollig

Ballincollig

Ballincollig is a satellite town in County Cork, Ireland, approximately 9 km west of Cork city. It is located beside the River Lee on the R608 regional road. In 2006 the population of Ballincollig DED was 16,308. The nearest towns include: Ballinora, Ovens, Killumney, Inniscarra, Blarney ,...

, Glanmire

Glanmire

Glanmire literally meaning ‘The valley of the small fish; The valley of the ploughed land:' The Still Vale: The Valley of the Young Fish) is a town in County Cork, Ireland with a population of 15,498....

 and Carrigaline

Carrigaline

Carrigaline is a single-street town in County Cork, Ireland. It is about 12 km from Cork City which can be reached by car in 25 minutes...

 are provided from the city's bus terminal at Parnell Place in the city centre. Suburban services also include shuttles to Cork Airport, and a park and ride

Park and ride

Park and ride facilities are car parks with connections to public transport that allow commuters and other people wishing to travel into city centres to leave their vehicles and transfer to a bus, rail system , or carpool for the rest of their trip...

 facility in the south suburbs.

Long distance buses depart from the bus terminal in Parnell Place to destinations throughout Ireland. Hourly services run to Killarney

Killarney

Killarney is a town in County Kerry, southwestern Ireland. The town is located north of the MacGillicuddy Reeks, on the northeastern shore of the Lough Lein/Leane which are part of Killarney National Park. The town and its surrounding region are home to St...

/Tralee, Waterford

Waterford

Waterford is a city in the South-East Region of Ireland. It is the oldest city in the country and fifth largest by population. Waterford City Council is the local government authority for the city and its immediate hinterland...

, Athlone and Shannon Airport/Limerick

Limerick

Limerick is the third largest city in the Republic of Ireland, and the principal city of County Limerick and Ireland's Mid-West Region. It is the fifth most populous city in all of Ireland. When taking the extra-municipal suburbs into account, Limerick is the third largest conurbation in the...

/Galway

Galway

Galway or City of Galway is a city in County Galway, Republic of Ireland. It is the sixth largest and the fastest-growing city in Ireland. It is also the third largest city within the Republic and the only city in the Province of Connacht. Located on the west coast of Ireland, it sits on the...

 and there are six services daily to Dublin. There is also a daily Eurolines

Eurolines

Eurolines is a coach organisation, operating international bus routes within Europe and Morocco to over 500 destinations in over 25 countries. Rather than being a single company, Eurolines is a network of co-operating bus companies from all over Europe, offering integrated ticketing and extensive...

 bus service that connects Cork to Victoria Coach Station

Victoria Coach Station

Victoria Coach Station is the largest and most significant coach station in London. It serves long distance coach services and is also the departure point for many countryside coach tours originating from London. It should not be confused with the nearby Green Line Coach Station serving Green Line...

 in London via South Wales

South Wales

South Wales is an area of Wales bordered by England and the Bristol Channel to the east and south, and Mid Wales and West Wales to the north and west. The most densely populated region in the south-west of the United Kingdom, it is home to around 2.1 million people and includes the capital city of...

 and Bristol

Bristol

Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...

.

Several private operators also run services to and from the City, with Irish Citylink running services to Limerick and Galway, and Aircoach

Aircoach

Aircoach is a Republic of Ireland based subsidiary company of the United Kingdom based FirstGroup. It provides airport bus express coach services from Cork, Greystones, Bray, South Dublin and Dublin City Centre to Dublin Airport. It also operates contracted bus service for airport car parks...

 running a service to Dublin City Centre and Dublin Airport eight times daily including an overnight service.

Ferry

The Cross River Ferry, from Rushbrooke

Rushbrooke

Rushbrooke is an urban area on the western side of Cobh on Great Island in Cork Harbour, Ireland. It is in the townland of Ringacoltig .The townland is Ringacoltig, an anglicised version of the original Irish name....

 to Passage West

Passage West

Passage West is a port town in County Cork, Ireland, situated on the west bank of Cork Harbour. It is some 10 km from Cork city, separated by the green belt from the urban sprawl of Douglas and Rochestown. The town has many services, amenities and social outlets...

, links the R624 to R610. This service is useful when trying to avoid traffic congestion in Jack Lynch tunnel and Dunkettle area. The Port of Cork

Port of Cork

Port of Cork is the main port serving the South of Ireland, County Cork and Cork City. It is a major ferry port and is one of two free ports in Ireland, the other being in the Shannon area...

 is situated at Ringaskiddy

Ringaskiddy

Ringaskiddy is a village south of Cork city, in County Cork, Ireland. Located across Cork harbour south from Cóbh, and connected to Cork city by the N28 road the village is now a major ferry port Port of Cork with passenger ferry services to France & the United Kingdom.Ringaskiddy has seen huge...

, 16 km SE via the N28. There are Direct services to France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 and the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

. A Water Taxi

Water taxi

A water taxi or water bus, also known as a commuter boat, is a watercraft used to provide public transport, usually but not always in an urban environment. Service may be scheduled with multiple stops, operating in a similar manner to a bus, or on demand to many locations, operating in a similar...

 has also been proposed to link the city with towns in the lower harbour.

Road

The Cork area has seen improvements in road infrastructure in recent years, especially with regards to National Primary roads. The Cork South Link road (a dual carriageway

Dual carriageway

A dual carriageway is a class of highway with two carriageways for traffic travelling in opposite directions separated by a central reservation...

), built in the early 1980s, linking the Kinsale road roundabout with the city centre was the first of many improvements.

Shortly afterwards, the first sections of the South Ring Road (dual carriageway) were opened. Work continued through the 1990s on extending the N25 South Ring Road with the opening of the Jack Lynch Tunnel

Jack Lynch Tunnel

The Jack Lynch Tunnel is an immersed tube tunnel and an integral part of the N25 southern ring road of Cork in Ireland. It is named after former Taoiseach, Jack Lynch, a native of Cork....

 under the River Lee

River Lee (Ireland)

The Lee is a river in Ireland. It rises in the Shehy Mountains on the western border of County Cork and flows eastwards through Cork City, where it splits in two for a short distance, creating an island on which Cork's city centre is built, and empties into the Celtic Sea at Cork Harbour on the...

 being the most significant addition. The Kinsale Road flyover opened in August 2006 to remove a major bottleneck for traffic heading to the Airport or Killarney. Other projects completed at this time include the N20

N20 road

The N20 road is a national primary road in Ireland, connecting the cities of Cork and Limerick. Buttevant, Croom, Charleville, Mallow and Blarney are major towns along the route...

 Blackpool bypass and the N20 Cork to Mallow road projects. The N22

N22 road

The N22 road is a national primary road in Ireland which goes through counties Kerry and Cork, from Tralee in the west through Killarney, Macroom and Ballincollig to Cork City in the east....

 Ballincollig dual carriageway bypass, which links to the Western end of the Cork Southern Ring road was opened in September 2004. City Centre road improvements include the Patrick St. project which reconstructed the street with a pedestrian focus. The M8 motorway

M8 motorway (Ireland)

The M8 motorway is an inter-urban motorway in Ireland, which forms part of the road from the capital - Dublin - to Cork city. The 149 km motorway commences in the townland of Aghaboe, County Laois and runs through the counties of Kilkenny, North Tipperary, South Tipperary and Limerick,...

 links Cork with Dublin. Cork City Council supports a car sharing scheme operated by Mendes GoCar in partnership with cambio Mobility Services. There are several bases in Cork.

Railway and tramway heritage

Cork was one of the most rail-oriented cities in Ireland, featuring eight stations at various times. The main route, still much the same today, is from Dublin. Originally terminating on the city's outskirts at Blackpool

Blackpool, Cork

Blackpool is a suburb of Cork city in County Cork, Province of Munster, Ireland. It is situated in the north of the city, on the N20 road to Mallow.-Social History:...

, the route now reaches the city centre terminus

Terminal Station

Terminal Station is a 1953 film by Italian director Vittorio De Sica. It tells the story of the love affair between an Italian man and an American woman. The film was entered into the 1953 Cannes Film Festival.-Production:...

 of Kent Station via Glanmire tunnel. Now a through station, the line through Kent connects the town of Cóbh

Cobh

Cobh is a seaport town on the south coast of County Cork, Ireland. Cobh is on the south side of Great Island in Cork Harbour. Facing the town are Spike Island and Haulbowline Island...

 east of the city. This also connected to the seaside town of Youghal

Youghal

Youghal is a town in County Cork, Ireland. Sitting on the estuary of the River Blackwater, in the past it was militarily and economically important. Being built on the edge of a steep riverbank, the town has a distinctive long and narrow layout...

, until the 1980s.

Other rail routes terminating or traversing Cork city were the Cork, Blackrock and Passage Railway

Cork, Blackrock and Passage Railway

The Cork, Blackrock and Passage Railway was a narrow gauge railway in County Cork, Ireland. It was originally opened in 1850 as a broad gauge railway between Cork and Passage West, but was converted to 3' gauge in 1902. An extension southwards from Passage West to Crosshaven opened in 1904...

, a line to Macroom

Macroom

Macroom is a market town in Ireland located in a valley on the River Sullane, a tributary of the River Lee, between Cork and Killarney. It is one of the key gateways to the tourist region of West Cork. The town recorded a population on 3,553 in the 2006 national census...

, the Cork and Muskerry Light Railway

Cork and Muskerry Light Railway

The Cork and Muskerry Light Railway was a narrow gauge railway in County Cork, Ireland. The first part of the railway opened in 1887 and closed in 1934. A major reason for building the railway was to exploit tourist traffic to Blarney Castle.-Initial route:...

 to Blarney

Blarney

Blarney is a town and townland in County Cork, Ireland. It lies north-west of Cork and is famed as the site of Blarney Castle, home of the legendary Blarney Stone.-Tourism:Blarney town is a major tourist attraction in County Cork...

, Coachford

Coachford

Coachford is a village west of Cork City, in County Cork, Ireland. It is located on the north side of the River Lee. Coachford got its name from Áth an Chóiste as there used to be a narrow ford across a stream...

 and Donoughmore

Donoughmore

Donoughmore is a parish in County Cork which lies 25 km west north west of Cork city in Ireland.-Amenities:Donoughmore has two primary schools. Scoil Iósaif and St. Lachteen's...

, as well as the Cork, Bandon and South Coast Railway

Cork, Bandon and South Coast Railway

Cork, Bandon and South Coast Railway , was an Irish gauge railway in Ireland. It opened in 1851 as the Cork and Bandon Railway, changed its name to Cork Bandon and South Coast Railway in 1888 and became part of the Great Southern Railway in 1924....

 connecting Bantry

Bantry

Bantry is a town on the coast of County Cork, Ireland. It lies on the N71 national secondary road at the head of Bantry Bay, a deep-water gulf extending for 30 km to the west...

, Skibbereen

Skibbereen

Skibbereen , is a town in County Cork, Ireland. It is the most southerly town in Ireland. It is located on the N71 national secondary road.The name "Skibbereen" means "little boat harbour." The River Ilen which runs through the town reaches the sea at Baltimore.-History:Prior to 1600 most of the...

, Clonakilty

Clonakilty

Clonakilty , often referred to by locals simply as Clon, is a small town on the N71 national secondary road in West County Cork, Ireland, approximately 45 minutes away by road to the west of Cork City. The town is on the southern coast of the island, and is surrounded by hilly country devoted...

 and many other West Cork

West Cork

West Cork refers to a geographical area in south-west Ireland, lying within Ireland's largest county, County Cork. Traditionally a popular tourist destination, the area is seen as being distinct from the more populated northern or eastern parts of the county, as well as the more urban area of...

 towns. West Cork trains terminated at Albert Quay, across the river from Kent Station (though an on-street rail system connected the two for rolling stock and cargo movement).

Within the city there have been two tram networks in operation. A proposal to develop a horse-drawn tram

Tram

A tram is a passenger rail vehicle which runs on tracks along public urban streets and also sometimes on separate rights of way. It may also run between cities and/or towns , and/or partially grade separated even in the cities...

 (linking the city's railway termini) was made by American George Francis Train

George Francis Train

George Francis Train was an entrepreneurial businessman who organized the clipper ship line that sailed around Cape Horn to San Francisco; he organized the Union Pacific Railroad and the Credit Mobilier in the United States, and a horse tramway company in England while there during the American...

 in the 1860s, and implemented in 1872 by the Cork Tramway Company. However, the company ceased trading in 1875 after Cork Corporation refused permission to extend the line, mainly because of objections from cab operators to the type of tracks which - although they were laid to the Irish national railway gauge of 5 ft 3in - protruded from the road surface.

In December 1898, an electric tram system began operating on the Blackpool–Douglas, Summerhill–Sunday's Well and Tivoli

Tivoli, Cork

Tivoli is an eastern suburb of Cork city in Ireland.Tivoli is part of the Port of Cork. It provides container handling, facilities for oil, livestock and ore and a roll-on/roll-off ferry ramp. It's a significant point of entry for imported motor vehicles...

–Blackrock routes. The gauge

Rail gauge

Track gauge or rail gauge is the distance between the inner sides of the heads of the two load bearing rails that make up a single railway line. Sixty percent of the world's railways use a standard gauge of . Wider gauges are called broad gauge; smaller gauges, narrow gauge. Break-of-gauge refers...

 of the tramway was 90.2 cm (2 ft 11½ in), and designed so that trains from the Cork and Muskerry Light Railway and the Cork, Blackrock and Passage West Railway (which operated on a 3 ft gauge) could connect, using the tram tracks. The half inch difference in the tramway gauge was to allow the broader wheel flanges of the railway rolling stock to run in the tramway grooves. This plan however never came to pass, however there is a photograph in the TMS collection showing a steam train on the tram tracks, dated to the closing day. Increased usage of cars and buses in the 1920s led to a reduction in the use of trams, which discontinued operations permanently on 30 September 1931. The former tramway generating station at Albert Road now houses the National Sculpture Factory and the adjacent tram shed - complete with inspection and service pits (with tram rails still in place) - is also still intact and in use as a commercial premises. Place names today still tell of the routes, such as Tramway Terrace in Douglas

Douglas, Cork

Douglas or Duglas is an area of Cork city, Ireland. As its borders are ill-defined and it straddles the boundary between Cork City and County Cork, it is difficult to ascertain the exact population. The CSO gives a figure of 18,192 for the parts of Douglas that lie within Cork County...

.

Current routes

Cork's Kent Station is the main train station in the city. From here, services run to destinations all over Ireland – often via Dublin or Limerick Junction. The main line from Cork to Dublin, Ireland's busiest rail line, has hourly departures and a number of connecting services. InterCity services are also available to Killarney

Killarney

Killarney is a town in County Kerry, southwestern Ireland. The town is located north of the MacGillicuddy Reeks, on the northeastern shore of the Lough Lein/Leane which are part of Killarney National Park. The town and its surrounding region are home to St...

 and Tralee, and to Galway

Galway

Galway or City of Galway is a city in County Galway, Republic of Ireland. It is the sixth largest and the fastest-growing city in Ireland. It is also the third largest city within the Republic and the only city in the Province of Connacht. Located on the west coast of Ireland, it sits on the...

 (via Limerick Junction

Limerick Junction

Limerick Junction is an important railway station in South Tipperary, Ireland which was originally named "Tipperary Junction". Tipperary town is about two miles away to the south-east. Limerick Junction, with a cluster of pleasantly presented railway cottages and a pub, is a small hamlet...

 and the western corridor

Western Railway Corridor

The Western Railway Corridor , or Conair Iarnróid an Iarthair , in Ireland is a recent term for a mostly disused railway line running through the West of Ireland...

).

The Cork Suburban Rail

Cork Suburban Rail

The Cork Suburban Rail network serves the Metropolitan Cork area in County Cork, Munster, Ireland.There has been a suburban rail system in Cork since the middle of the 19th century however it suffered serious neglect and line closures in the 20th century...

 system also departs from Kent Station and provides connections to parts of Metropolitan Cork

Metropolitan Cork

Metropolitan Cork is an unofficial term which refers to the city of Cork, Ireland, its suburbs and the satellite towns that surround it. The term was used in the Cork Area Strategic Plan to refer to the area whose labour and property market is shared with the city...

, including Little Island

Little Island, Cork

Little Island is mainly an industrial area to the east of Cork City, Ireland. It is no longer an island, since the northern channel separating it from the mainland has filled over. To the east and south is Cork Harbour; across a channel to the west is Fota Island.-Development:Many of Cork's...

, Mallow

Mallow, County Cork

Mallow is the "Crossroads of Munster" and the administrative capital of north County Cork, in Ireland. The Northern Divisional Offices of Cork County Council are located in the town....

, Midleton

Midleton

Midleton, historically Middleton , is a town in south-eastern County Cork, Ireland. It lies some 22 km east of Cork City on the Owenacurra River and the N25 road, which connects Cork to the port of Rosslare...

, Fota

Fota Island

Fota Island is a small island in Cork Harbour, Ireland, just north of the larger island of Great Island. The name "Fota" is derived from the Irish "Fód te" meaning warm soil...

 and Cobh

Cobh

Cobh is a seaport town on the south coast of County Cork, Ireland. Cobh is on the south side of Great Island in Cork Harbour. Facing the town are Spike Island and Haulbowline Island...

. In July 2009 the Glounthaune

Glounthaune

Glounthaune is a village situated some 10 km east of Cork,on the north shore of Cork Harbour, the estuary of the River Lee, in County Cork, Province of Munster, Ireland.-Transport:...

 to Midleton line was reopened, with new stations announced for Carrigtohill, Kilbarry, Monard and Blarney

Blarney

Blarney is a town and townland in County Cork, Ireland. It lies north-west of Cork and is famed as the site of Blarney Castle, home of the legendary Blarney Stone.-Tourism:Blarney town is a major tourist attraction in County Cork...

.

Education

Cork is an important educational centre in Ireland. University College Cork (UCC), a constituent university of the National University of Ireland

National University of Ireland

The National University of Ireland , , is a federal university system of constituent universities, previously called constituent colleges, and recognised colleges set up under the Irish Universities Act, 1908, and significantly amended by the Universities Act, 1997.The constituent universities are...

, offers a wide variety of courses in Arts, Commerce, Engineering, Law, Medicine and Science. The university was named "Irish University of the Year" in 2003–2004 and 2005–2006 by The Sunday Times

The Sunday Times

The Sunday Times is a British Sunday newspaper.The Sunday Times may also refer to:*The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times...

. Cork Institute of Technology

Cork Institute of Technology

Cork Institute of Technology , formerly the Regional Technical College, Cork, is an Institute of Technology in Ireland, located in Cork, Ireland opened in 1973. The institute has 17,000 students in art, business, engineering, music and science disciplines...

 (CIT) was named Irish "Institute of Technology of the Year" in 2006–2007 and offers a variety of third level courses in Computing and IT, Business, Humanities and Engineering (Mechanical, Electronic, Electrical, and Chemical). The National Maritime College of Ireland

National Maritime College of Ireland

The National Maritime College of Ireland NMCI is the first third level college in Ireland to be built under the Government’s Public-Private Partnership scheme. The partners include Cork Institute of Technology , the Irish Naval Service and Focus Education. The college offers both courses and...

 is also located in Cork and is the only college in Ireland in which Nautical Studies and Marine Engineering can be undertaken. CIT also incorporates the Cork School of Music and Crawford College of Art and Design as constituent schools. The Cork College of Commerce

Cork College of Commerce

Cork College of Commerce is a college that was established by the business and education communities on the banks of the River Lee in Cork, Ireland in 1908...

 is the largest post-Leaving Certificate

Leaving Certificate

The Leaving Certificate Examinations , commonly referred to as the Leaving Cert is the final examination in the Irish secondary school system. It takes a minimum of two years preparation, but an optional Transition Year means that for those students it takes place three years after the Junior...

 College in Ireland and is also the biggest provider of Vocational Preparation and Training courses in the country. Other 3rd level institutions include Griffith College Cork

Griffith College Dublin

Griffith College Dublin is a private third level college in the Republic of Ireland. It is based in and named after the former Griffith Barracks on the South Circular Road in Dublin. It offers courses accredited by a number of institutions and bodies in Ireland and Britain...

, a private institution, and various other colleges.

Sport

Rugby

Rugby union

Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...

, gaelic football

Gaelic football

Gaelic football , commonly referred to as "football" or "Gaelic", or "Gah" is a form of football played mainly in Ireland...

, hurling

Hurling

Hurling is an outdoor team game of ancient Gaelic origin, administered by the Gaelic Athletic Association, and played with sticks called hurleys and a ball called a sliotar. Hurling is the national game of Ireland. The game has prehistoric origins, has been played for at least 3,000 years, and...

 and association football

Football (soccer)

Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...

 are popular sporting pastimes for Corkonians.

Gaelic games

Hurling

Hurling

Hurling is an outdoor team game of ancient Gaelic origin, administered by the Gaelic Athletic Association, and played with sticks called hurleys and a ball called a sliotar. Hurling is the national game of Ireland. The game has prehistoric origins, has been played for at least 3,000 years, and...

 is the most popular spectator sport in the city, and has a strong identity with city and county – with Cork winning 30 All-Ireland Championships

All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship

The GAA Hurling All-Ireland Senior Championship is an annual hurling competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association since 1887 for the top hurling teams in Ireland....

 . Gaelic football

Gaelic football

Gaelic football , commonly referred to as "football" or "Gaelic", or "Gah" is a form of football played mainly in Ireland...

 is also popular, and Cork has won 7 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship

All-Ireland Senior Football Championship

The All-Ireland Senior Football Championship, the premier competition in Gaelic football, is a series of games organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association and played during the summer and early autumn...

 titles. There are many Gaelic Athletic Association

Gaelic Athletic Association

The Gaelic Athletic Association is an amateur Irish and international cultural and sporting organisation focused primarily on promoting Gaelic games, which include the traditional Irish sports of hurling, camogie, Gaelic football, handball and rounders...

 clubs in Cork City, including St. Finbarr's

St. Finbarr's GAA

St. Finbarr's National Hurling and Football Club is a Gaelic Athletic Association club based in the Togher area of Cork city, County Cork, Ireland....

, Glen Rovers

Glen Rovers GAA

Glen Rovers is a Cork-based Gaelic Athletic Association club based in the Ballyvolane and Blackpool areas of Cork city, Ireland. The club was founded in 1916 and is primarily concerned with the game of hurling.-Colours:...

, Na Piarsaigh

Na Piarsaigh GAA

Na Piarsaigh are a Hurling and Gaelic football club based in the north side of Cork City, Ireland. The club was founded in 1943.-Birth of the club:...

, Erins Own

Erin's Own GAA (Cork)

Erin's Own GAA is a Gaelic Athletic Association club located in Glounthaune in east County Cork, Ireland. The club is made up of players from Little Island, Knockraha, Brooklodge and Glounthaune areas of the parish...

 and Nemo Rangers

Nemo Rangers GAA

Nemo Rangers Hurling and Football Club is a Cork-based Gaelic Athletic Association club on the southside of Cork city, Ireland. The club was founded in 1922 and is primarily concerned with the game of Gaelic football, though interest in hurling has escalated in recent years.-History:Nemo Rangers...

. The main public venues are Páirc Uí Chaoimh

Páirc Uí Chaoimh

Páirc Uí Chaoimh is a Gaelic Athletic Association stadium in the Ballintemple area of Cork in Ireland, where major hurling and Gaelic football matches are played. It is the home of Cork GAA...

 and Páirc Uí Rinn

Páirc Uí Rinn

Páirc Uí Rinn is a stadium in Cork owned by the Gaelic Athletic Association . It was formerly Flower Lodge, a soccer ground home to several Cork teams in the 20th century, named after a Big House on whose grounds it was built.-Flower Lodge:...

 (named after Christy Ring

Christy Ring

Nicholas Christopher Michael Ring , better known as Christy Ring, was a famous Irish sportsperson. He played hurling with the Glen Rovers club from 1941 until 1967 and was a member of the Cork senior inter-county team from 1939 until 1963. Ring is widely regarded as one of the greatest hurlers in...

).

Association football

Cork City FC are the largest and most successful association football team in Cork, winning two League of Ireland

League of Ireland

The League of Ireland is the national association football league of the Republic of Ireland. Founded in 1921, as a league of eight clubs, it has expanded over time into a two-tiered league of 22 clubs. It is currently split into the League of Ireland Premier Division and the League of Ireland...

 titles, two FAI Cup

FAI Cup

The Football Association of Ireland Challenge Cup, known as the FAI Ford Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a knock-out association football competition contested annually by teams from the Republic of Ireland...

 titles, and one "All Ireland" Setanta Sports Cup

Setanta Sports Cup

The Setanta Sports Cup, commonly known as just the Setanta Cup, is a club football competition featuring teams from both football associations on the island of Ireland...

 title. Association football is also played by amateur and school clubs across the city, as well as in "five-a-side"

Five-a-side football

thumb|240px|alt=Men playing football on artificial grass pitch.|Five-a-side game on astroturf pitch.Five-a-side football is a variation of association football in which each team fields five players , rather than the usual eleven on each team. Other differences from football include a smaller...

 style leagues.

Rugby

Rugby union

Rugby union

Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...

 is played at various levels, from school to senior league level. There are two first division clubs in Cork city. Cork Constitution

Cork Constitution

Cork Constitution is a club, based in Cork. It was founded by staff of the Cork Constitution. Since the paper did not publish on Sundays, the staff were looking for activities to pursue on Saturday afternoons. In the summer, cricket was played, while in the winter, rugby was the designated...

 (three-time All Ireland League Champions) play their home games in Ballintemple and Dolphin R.F.C. play at home in Musgrave Park

Musgrave Park, Cork

Musgrave Park is a rugby football stadium in the city of Cork, Ireland. The ground consists of four terraces, one stand, three tribunes, one jogging track, and two VIP stands on the west side. Musgrave has a capacity of about 9,251 and is situated on Pearse Road in Ballyphehane...

. Other notable rugby clubs in the city include, Highfield, Sunday's Well and UCC. At schools level, Christian Brothers College

Christian Brothers College, Cork

Christian Brothers College, Cork is a fee-paying Catholic school under the trusteeship of the Edmund Rice Schools Trust in Cork, Ireland....

 and Presentation Brothers College

Presentation Brothers College, Cork

Presentation Brothers College is a Catholic, boys-only, fee-paying college based in Cork, Ireland.- History :The college was founded by the Presentation Brothers in 1878, in the South Mall. Soon afterwards it moved to the Grand Parade and, in 1887, to the Western Road...

 are two of the country's better known rugby nurseries. Munster Rugby

Munster Rugby

Munster Rugby is an Irish professional rugby union team based in Munster, that competes in the RaboDirect Pro12 and Heineken Cup.The team represents the Irish Rugby Football Union Munster Branch which is one of four primary branches of the IRFU, and is responsible for rugby union in the Irish...

 plays half of its home matches in the Magners League

Celtic League (rugby union)

The Celtic League is an annual rugby union competition involving professional sides from Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales....

 at Musgrave Park

Musgrave Park, Cork

Musgrave Park is a rugby football stadium in the city of Cork, Ireland. The ground consists of four terraces, one stand, three tribunes, one jogging track, and two VIP stands on the west side. Musgrave has a capacity of about 9,251 and is situated on Pearse Road in Ballyphehane...

 in Ballyphehane. In the past Heineken Cup

Heineken Cup

The Heineken Cup is one of two annual rugby union competitions organised by European Rugby Cup involving leading club, regional and provincial teams from the six International Rugby Board countries in Europe whose national teams compete in the Six Nations Championship: England, France, Ireland,...

 matches have also been played at Musgrave Park but now, due to capacity issues these are now played at Thomond Park

Thomond Park

Thomond Park is a stadium located in Limerick in the Irish province of Munster. The stadium is owned by the Irish Rugby Football Union and count Munster Rugby, Shannon RFC and UL Bohemian RFC as tenants. The capacity of the stadium is 26,500 following its large scale redevelopment in...

 in Limerick

Limerick

Limerick is the third largest city in the Republic of Ireland, and the principal city of County Limerick and Ireland's Mid-West Region. It is the fifth most populous city in all of Ireland. When taking the extra-municipal suburbs into account, Limerick is the third largest conurbation in the...

. In May 2006 and again in May 2008 Munster became the Heineken Cup

Heineken Cup

The Heineken Cup is one of two annual rugby union competitions organised by European Rugby Cup involving leading club, regional and provincial teams from the six International Rugby Board countries in Europe whose national teams compete in the Six Nations Championship: England, France, Ireland,...

 Champions, with many players hailing from Cork city and county.

Cork's rugby league

Rugby league

Rugby league football, usually called rugby league, is a full contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. One of the two codes of rugby football, it originated in England in 1895 by a split from Rugby Football Union over paying players...

 team, the Cork Bulls

Cork Bulls

The Cork Bulls are an Irish rugby league team based in Cork, Ireland. They play in the Munster Conference of the Irish Elite League.The Cork Bulls were formed in 2010....

, were formed in 2010 and play in the Munster Conference of the Irish Elite League

Irish Elite League

The Irish Elite League or the Carnegie League as it is known by its sponsorship name is a rugby league competition for teams in the Republic of Ireland...

.

Water sports

There are a variety of watersports in Cork, including rowing

Sport rowing

Rowing is a sport in which athletes race against each other on rivers, on lakes or on the ocean, depending upon the type of race and the discipline. The boats are propelled by the reaction forces on the oar blades as they are pushed against the water...

 and sailing

Sailing

Sailing is the propulsion of a vehicle and the control of its movement with large foils called sails. By changing the rigging, rudder, and sometimes the keel or centre board, a sailor manages the force of the wind on the sails in order to move the boat relative to its surrounding medium and...

. There are five rowing clubs training on the river Lee, including the Shandon, UCC, Pres, Lee and Blackrock clubs. Naomhóga Chorcaí is a rowing club whose members row traditional naomhóga

Currach

A Currach is a type of Irish boat with a wooden frame, over which animal skins or hides were once stretched, though now canvas is more usual. It is sometimes anglicised as "Curragh". The construction and design of the currach is unique to the west coasts of Ireland and Scotland, with variations in...

 on the Lee in occasional competitions. The "Ocean to City" race has been held annually since 2005, and attracts teams and boats from local and visiting clubs who row the 24 kilometres (14.9 mi) from Crosshaven into Cork city centre. The decision to move the National Rowing Center to Inniscarra has boosted numbers involved in the sport. Cork's maritime sailing heritage is maintained through its sailing clubs. The Royal Cork Yacht Club

Royal Cork Yacht Club

The Royal Cork Yacht Club is the world's oldest founded in 1720, although this record is challenged by the Neva Yacht Club.- Formation and claim to be the world's first yacht club :...

 located in Crosshaven

Crosshaven

Crosshaven is a village in County Cork, Ireland. Origins of the Irish name of Crosshaven include; - mouth of the river Sabhrann , and . The village is located in a scenic area with views of Wood, and Cork Harbour.-Transport:...

 (outside the city) is the world's oldest yacht club, and "Cork Week" is a notable sailing event.

Cricket

The most notable cricket

Cricket

Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...

 club in Cork is Cork County Cricket Club, which was formed in 1874. Although located within the Munster

Munster Cricket Union

The Munster Cricket Union is one of four provincial governing bodies for cricket in Ireland. Along with the Northern, Leinster and North West unions, it makes up the Irish Cricket Union , the supreme governing body of Irish cricket....

 jurisdiction, the club plays in the Leinster Senior League

Leinster Senior League (cricket)

The Leinster Senior League is the provincial cricket league within the Leinster jurisdiction in Ireland, which covers the province of Leinster in the Republic of Ireland. The league was formed in 1919, the nine founding members being Phoenix, Leinster, Pembroke, Trinity College Dublin, Railway...

. The club plays at the Mardyke

Mardyke

The Mardyke is an area in Cork city, on the northern half of the long western part of the island formed by the two channels of the River Lee near the city centre. It comprises several large open spaces...

, a ground which has hosted three first-class

First-class cricket

First-class cricket is a class of cricket that consists of matches of three or more days' scheduled duration, that are between two sides of eleven players and are officially adjudged first-class by virtue of the standard of the competing teams...

 matches in 1947, 1961 and 1973. All three involved Ireland playing Scotland. The Cork Cricket Academy operates within the city, with the stated aim of introducing the sport to schools in the city and county. Cork's other main cricket club, Harlequins Cricket Club, play close to Cork Airport.

Other sports

There are Cork clubs active nationally in basketball

Basketball

Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...

 (Neptune and UCC Demons) and golf

Golf

Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....

, pitch and putt

Pitch and putt

Pitch and putt is an amateur sport, similar to golf. The maximum hole length for international competitions is with a maximum total course length of . Players may only use three clubs; one of which must be a putter...

, hockey

Hockey

Hockey is a family of sports in which two teams play against each other by trying to maneuver a ball or a puck into the opponent's goal using a hockey stick.-Etymology:...

, tennis

Tennis

Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...

 and athletics

Athletics (track and field)

Athletics is an exclusive collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking. The most common types of athletics competitions are track and field, road running, cross country running, and race walking...

 clubs in the Cork area.

The city is also the home of road bowling

Irish Road Bowling

Irish road bowling is an ancient sport. It is centered in Ireland - primarily in County Armagh and County Cork. However, it also has players in Boston, Massachusetts; Cambridge, New York, and Bennington, Vermont, vicinity; Traverse City, Michigan; the Bronx, New York; New Zealand; Asheville, North...

, which is played in the north-side and south-west suburbs. There are also boxing and martial arts clubs (including Karate, Muay Thai and Taekwondo) within the city. Cork Racing, a motorsport team based in Cork, has raced in the Irish Formula Ford

Formula Ford

Formula Ford is a single seater, open wheel class in motorsport which exists in some form in many countries around the world. It is an entry-level series to motor racing....

 Championship since 2005. Cork also hosts one of Ireland's most successful Australian Rules Football

Australian rules football

Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...

 teams, the Leeside Lions, who have won the Australian Rules Football League of Ireland

Australian Rules Football League of Ireland

The Australian rules football League of Ireland is an Australian rules football competition and governing body in Ireland.The league is an International Affiliate of the Australian Football League and a founding member of the European governing body, .The league is not affiliated with the Gaelic...

 Premiership four times (in 2002, 2003, 2005 and 2007).

Twinning

Cork is a member of the Most Ancient European Towns Network

Most Ancient European Towns Network

The Most Ancient European Towns Network is a working group of the oldest cities in Europe. It was founded in 1994, with the idea coming from the town of Argos, Greece presented to the European Union...

 and also twinned with the following places:
{|
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{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; background:white; width:50%;"
|- style="color:white;"
! ! style="background:#659ec7; width:10%;"| City
! ! style="background:#659ec7; width:12%;"| Nation
! ! style="background:#659ec7; width: 5%;"| Since
|-
|! ! style="background:lemonchiffon;"| Coventry

Coventry

Coventry is a city and metropolitan borough in the county of West Midlands in England. Coventry is the 9th largest city in England and the 11th largest in the United Kingdom. It is also the second largest city in the English Midlands, after Birmingham, with a population of 300,848, although...

|! ! align=center| England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

, UK
|! !| 1969
|-
|! ! style="background:lemonchiffon;"| Rennes

Rennes

Rennes is a city in the east of Brittany in northwestern France. Rennes is the capital of the region of Brittany, as well as the Ille-et-Vilaine department.-History:...

|! ! align=center| France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

|! !| 1982
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|! ! style="background:lemonchiffon;"| San Francisco
|! ! align=center| United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

|! !| 1984
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|! ! style="background:lemonchiffon;"| Cologne

Cologne

Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...

|! ! align=center| Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

|! !| 1988
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|! ! style="background:lemonchiffon;"| Swansea

Swansea

Swansea is a coastal city and county in Wales. Swansea is in the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan. Situated on the sandy South West Wales coast, the county area includes the Gower Peninsula and the Lliw uplands...

|! ! align=center| Wales

Wales

Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...

, UK
|! !| 1994
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|! ! style="background:lemonchiffon;"| Shanghai

Shanghai

Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...

|! ! align=center| China

China

Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

|! !| 1994
|}

Twinning with Shanghai has led to controversy, as the Green Party

Green Party (Ireland)

The Green Party is a green political party in Ireland. It was founded as the Ecology Party of Ireland in 1981 by Dublin teacher Christopher Fettes. The party became the Green Alliance in 1983 and in 1987 was renamed to its current title in English...

 called on Cork's local, national and European elected representatives to withdraw the city's twinning with Shanghai due to reports of human rights violations in China. Since then, parties from both Cork and Shanghai have visited their counterparts on trade related missions.

See also

• List of civil parishes of County Cork
• List of townlands of the barony of Cork in County Cork

Further reading

• Merchants, Mystics and Philanthropists – 350 Years of Cork Quakers Richard S. Harrison Published by Cork Monthly Meeting, Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) 2006

External links

• Cork City Council site (including strategic plan and housing strategy)
• Architecture of Cork
• Port of Cork