Kinsale
This article is about the town in Ireland. There is also a Kinsale, Montserrat.{{ie citytown infobox|town_name = Kinsale |Irish_name = Cionn tSáile |crest_image = |motto_latin = '' |motto_english = '' |north_coord = 51° 36.3' |west_coord = 8° 31.9' |irish_grid = ∅ |pin_coords = top: 82px; left: 118px;|town_elevation = 10m |town_pop = 2,257 (2002) |rural_pop = 1,297 (2002) |county_name = Cork |
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On the quayside at Kinsale |
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Market Street in Kinsale, one of the town's oldest thoroughfares |
Kinsale (
Cionn tSáile in
Irish) is a town in
County Cork,
Ireland. It is located some 25 km south of
Cork City on the coast near the
Old Head of Kinsale and sits at the mouth of the
River Bandon.
Kinsale is a popular
holiday resort for
Irish and foreign
tourists which is known for its many
gourmet restaurants and excellent leisure activities including yachting, sea
angling and
golf. The town is also rich in culture with its art galleries and first class school of English.
In
1601, Kinsale was the site of a battle in which English forces defeated an Irish/Spanish force (see
Siege of Kinsale), led by the princes
Hugh Roe O'Donnell and
Hugh O'Neill. Following this battle the
Flight of the Earls occurred in which a number of the Irish aristocracy abandoned their lands and fled to mainland Europe.
In
1690,
James II of England. following his defeat at the
Battle of the Boyne, departed to France.
Charles's Fort, located at
Summer Cove and dating from
1677, is a fortification that guards the entrance to Kinsale harbour. It was built to protect the area and specifically the harbour from use by the
French and
Spanish in landing in Ireland.
James's Fort is located on the other side of the cove, on the
Castlepark peninsula. An underwater chain used to be strung between the two forts across the harbour mouth during times of war to scuttle enemy shipping by ripping the bottom out of incoming vessels.
When the
RMS Lusitania was sunk by a
German U-boat on
May 7,
1915, rescue efforts were coordinated out of Kinsale, which was the nearest harbour. A statue in the harbour commemorates the effort.
On Saturday October 8th 2005, Kinsale became Ireland's 2
nd Fair Trade Town, with
Clonakilty being the first.
Bus Éireann provides Kinsale's only public transport. Buses regularly operate from Kinsale to Cork City, with most of these going through
Cork Airport on the way.
*
Siege of Kinsale*
List of towns in the Republic of Ireland*
Official Kinsale Website*
The UnOfficial Kinsale Website*
Kinsale & District Newsletter
