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Cork is Ireland's largest county, with an area of 748,567 hectares. It is a microcosm of Ireland as a whole in history and scenery. It has long sandy beaches, high rugged cliffs and a scattering of off shore islands. There are rocky mountains, subtropical gardens and still, dark corrie lakes. You can find dark forests, climbing hillsides, old walled towns, multicoloured spinnakers of racing yachts on a bright sea and old memories of seafaring and ship wrecks.

It was in the harbour town of Cobh (pronounced cove) that the Titanic made her last port of call and many Irish immigrants were on the doomed ship. At one time Cobh was known as Queenstown, in honour of a visit by Queen Victoria. Blarney Castle is known for its Blarney Stone. Legend has it that if you kiss the stone you will be granted the gift of eloquence. You must go to the top of the castle, lie on your back and ease down while someone holds you feet in order to kiss the stone. One story is that the stone is one half of a larger stone and that the other half is the Stone of Scone, where Irish Kings sat for their coronation, and now resides in Westminster Abbey where British royalty sit upon it to be crowned.

County Cork is known as The Rebel County for the independant spirit of those that reside here, both past and present. Cork city is known as the shopping capital of the southwest and almost anything you can imagine can be found there.

County Cork derives it's name from the County Town that has now become Ireland's 2nd City. From the Irish word Corcaigh - meaning marsh, the city was founded by St. Finbarr in A.D.650 on the marshy land banks of the River Lee. The narrow waterways, river and alleys give the city a continental feel with the heart of the city lying on an island between two arms of the river. Many fine buildings and churches are dotted around the city and the steep lanes that rise from the north and south of the central island offer great views of the city. The county is the largest in Ireland with many pretty towns and villages as well as a spectacular coastline

Cloyne Round

Cloyne Cathedral and Round Tower Co. Cork
An early Christian monastery was founded here by St. Colman Mac Lenen who died around 600, but all its buildings were burned in 1137. The cathedral of the present Church of Ireland Diocese was started around 1250, but because of much modernisation, comparatively little of this early church can be seen.

The chancel has been heavily modernised; the chancel arch was blocked up in 1705 and removed completely in 1775. The east window was inserted in1856.

The Cathedral's most famous Bishop was George Berkeley, a celebrated philosopher who died in 1753. In the North-east corner of the Churchyard stand the foundations of an earlier oratory called 'The Fire House'. Some Gothic fragments were found in it in the last century. On the opposite side of the road is a Round Tower; its original conical top was later replaced by battlements.

Blarney House
Co. Cork

Blarney House is one of the most Elegant and Gracious of the Great Houses of Ireland. A family house now tastefully restored to its former glory. Built in 1874 it is beautifully situated overlooking Blarney Lake. It contains a collection of Early Furniture, Family Portraits, Tapestries and Work of Art.

Conducted Tours of the House.

Micheal Collins Memorial
Co. Cork

This memorial is located 5.5km from Clonakilty. The beautiful artistic work of the late sculptor Seamus Murphy stands in memory to a great patriot, soldier and statesman, in Irish History.

Cork city:
Cork city, the second City of the Republic of Ireland, has a population of 140,000 people, Like Venice, Cork City is built upon the waters, and the City Centre is built on an island in the River Lee just upstream of Cork Harbour.

The two channels of the River Lee which embraces the City centre are spanned by no less than sixteen bridges and this gives the City a distinctive Continental air. However it is often said of Cork City that it has all the amenities of a large City, but still retains its pleasant atmosphere, and extreme friendliness, which you will experience on your visit to the City.

Skibbereen
Skibbereen is a lively, cosmopolitan town and is regarded as the hub of the tourism area that spreads out in many directions from it. It is noted for its shops, pubs and restaurants, as well as being home of the West Cork Arts Centre, where the many artists who inhabit the area show their work and where top touring exhibitions are featured.

The town of Skibbereen nestles in the heartland of West Cork, an area of panoramic beauty washed by the warm waters of the Gulf Stream current. This Southwest corner of Ireland with its scattered mountain ranges, natural harbours and shelter ed valleys, its ancient castles and abbeys will always continue to fascinate the inquiring visitor be it their first or one of many return visits to the district.

From Skibbereen, there are many options for touring, as the town is gateway to the Mizen Peninsula and so much more spectacular scenery as you travel further into Ireland's magical mystical West Kinsale The town of Kinsale has a population of of approximately 2,000 people. This historic town is one of the most successful and popular visitor destinations in Ireland. Kinsale has many popular attractions which include heritage, gourmet restaurants, sailing, deep sea angling and golf.

The Battle of Kinsale, fought in 1602 between a combined Spanish, an Irish force and English armies, was a turning point in Irish history. The harbour is guarded by two very fine star-shaped fortresses built in the 17th century: Charles Fort is well worth a visit (guided tours). Also the old Courthouse, ow a museum; St Multose Church, built in the 13th century and still in use, and 'French Prison', the 16th century Desmond Castle.

There is a signposted tourist trail to this fascinating town with a guide booklet. Take a trip too to the Old Head of Kinsale for magnificent cliff scenery. It was off here that the Lusitania was sunk in 1915 with a loss of over 1,500 lives.

Kinsale can easily claim its place amongst Ireland's most historic locations for this has been a centre of population, commerce, trade and fishing far beyond memory and record.

In its earliest days the estuary of the Bandon River gave it great importance as the river is tidal as far as Innishannon and water transport was dominant until the 18th Century. The estuary also provided excellent anchorage for ancient shipping which went in peril of the vagaries of the weather.

The Town nestles between the hills and the shoreline, a maze of narrow streets, never far from the water and little changed in many hundreds of years. Amongst buildings of later periods are those of another age with historical links to the French, Spanish, British and Americans.

There are two Golf Courses near Kinsale both operated by Kinsale Golf Club.

A 9 hole course is located at Ringenane near Belgooly on the Cork City Road. A new 18 Championship Course at Farrangalway has been developed a few miles away from the town. Both Golf Courses welcome visitors. Another 18 Hole Championship Golf Course is under development at the Old Head of Kinsale, which will welcome visitors.

Cobh

The original name was simply "The Cove of Cork". The name "Queenstown" commemorates the visit of Queen Victoria, in 1849, and the name remained so until 1922 when it reverted to Cove but using the Gaelic form of the spelling - ie "Cobh".

It is a pleasant town; its streets climb the steep slope of a hill, the top of which is crowned by the very fine St. Coleman's Cathedral which has a carillon of 47 bells.

Cobh is a modern town. Up to the early 1800's, it was simply a small fishing village, inhabited by "fishermen and revenue officers". Ships with cargoes for Cork City would bypass the town and get as far upriver as possible to unload - in those times to Passage West. A difficulty was that Cobh was on an island and to exit the island involved either using ferries (to the West and East, respectively) or a ford to the north at Belvelly. However, Cobh is now a town of some 11,000 people. The rapid growth over a 200 year period is due to a number of factors. An important date is 1805, when Cobh was made the Station of a Port Admiral (Rear Admiral Drury) and a Royal Naval Station was established on Haulbowline island.

Cobh is situated on Great Island, one of the three large islands in Cork harbour which are all now joined by roads and bridges - Little Island and Fota are the others.

On the quayside there is a memorial to the victims of the 'Lusitania', many of whom are buried in the old church cemetery. The ship was sunk off Kinsale in 1915 by a German submarine, an action which was responsible for bringing the United States of America into the Great War. The survivors were brought back here. Another unhappy association is with the Titanic, 'the safest liner in the world'. Queenstown was her last port of call on her fateful maiden voyage. The harbour is one of the largest and safest anywhere, being capable of taking the largest vessels afloat. The great Transatlantic liners used to come in up to the 1950s.

The Queenstown Story is based in the disused portions of the railway station at Cobh. This highly imaginative visitor attraction tells the story of emigration from Cobh in the period of the famine in 1845 up to the era of the great Liners in the 1950s. The historical role which Cobh harbour has played as a port is also illustrated.

At Cobh, one looks over Haulbowline and Spike Islands, formerly the base of the Irish Naval Service. To the east, Cork Harbour leads to East Ferry. Roches Point can be seen to the south. To the south west is the yachting centre of Crosshaven.

Nearby Fota represents one of the most exciting leisure developments in Ireland. With its own micro-climate, it has a world-famous Arboretum, and unique Wildlife Park celebrated for its success in breeding endangered species.

Here, too, the Fota Island Golf Club, located in the heart of a 780 acre estate which is included in the Inventory of Outstanding Landscapes of Ireland. Set in this magnificent parkland terrain is a par 72 championship course and clubhouse.

Located a few minutes drive east of Cork city, Fota Island lies in the heart of a 780 acre estate. With Fota's internationally renowned Arboretum and Gardens nearby, The splendid woodlands are woven into a challenging par 72 championship course. The terrain is gently undulating parkland, offering glimpses of Cork Harbor from various points around the course. site...

Blarney:
Blarney Castle, and the magic Blarney Stone with its traditional power of conferring eloquence on those who kiss it, are world famous. Blarney together with Killarney are probably the most visited areas of Ireland outside of Dublin. The town and it's environs are real mecca's for tourists.

The Beara Peninsula:
The Beara Peninsula is the wildest and most romantic of the peninsulas in the South West. Start your journey of discovery at Glengarriff to open out one of the largest of the long peninsulas, which make up the highly indented coastline of the South West of Ireland.

The peninsula stretches for a distance of 48km (30 miles) from Glengarriff to Dursey Island and back to Kenmare. We have an unspoilt and magnificent landscape, which sweeps from the spine of the Caha hills down to the shores of Bantry Bay and Kenmare Bay. The Beara Tourism and Development Association has done work over the years to develop this resource for visitors while still keeping in mind our obligation to preserve the environment.

Beara has unique distinctions as the northern part of the peninsula straddles South Kerry and the southern part is firmly rooted in West Cork. The Beara Way Walking Route, regarded by many as the best in Ireland, covering 125 miles and taking in some of the most breathtaking scenery imaginable.

Beara has a profusion of archaeological sites, over 600 identified so far, ranging from wedge graves, stone circles, ring forts, "fulacht fiadh" and ancient church sites to the tallest ogham stone in the world (17 feet / 5.3m) situated at Ballycrovane, Eyeries.

For the angling enthusiast, we can offer lake and shore angling. We've got the fish - all you need is your rod.

There are safe bathing spots all around the coast with sandy beaches at Allihies and Garnish. Let our prayers for missing loved ones be their souls roll call tonight