Passage West

Irish Place|

  name        = Passage West |
  gaeilge     =  |
  crest image =  |
  motto       =  |
  map image   = Ireland map County Cork Magnified.png |
  pin coords  = left: 137px; top: 64px |
  north coord = 51.872888 |
  west coord  = 8.343086 |
  irish grid  = W767687 |
  area        =  |
  elevation   =  |
  province    = Munster |

county = County Cork |

  town pop    = 4,595 |
  rural pop   =  |
  census yr   = 2002 |
  web         =  |}}

Passage West is a town in County Cork in the Republic of Ireland, situated east of Cork, facing Cork Harbour. Passage West is a village nearly incorporated into the urban sprawl of Cork City. It has a seafaring atmosphere from the Victoria Dry Dock Yards, which were originally bigger than they are now. They had a part to play in the ship building of Queenstown Ship Building Ltd. In Cobh. Queenstown Ship building Ltd. is now decommissioned in both areas. Passage West Docks now deal mainly with Scrap metal and dry building timber.

Passage West was directly affected by the events of the Irish Civil War 1922-23. The dock was one of the contentious Treaty Ports which the British retained for use by the Royal Navy under the Anglo-Irish Treaty. While it was not directly named in the document, it was included in the Queenstown town docks. The Ports were one of the areas of disagreement over the treaty that led to civil war breaking out between supporters and opponents of the treaty. In the war itself, Passage West saw a large scale landing of Free State (pro-treaty) troops on the 2nd of August 1922 as part of a wider offensive. These 1,500 men, well equipped with artillery and armour, went on to re-take Cork city from the badly armed republican troops who were holding it.

One version of how Passage West gets its name is from being the last place in Ireland that people emigrating to North America during the famine saw. However, it is also possible that its name is a result of it being used as a ferry crossing point, similar to Passage East between county Wexford and county Waterford.

Irish political leader Charles Stuart Parnell once made a speech from a building in the centre of the town, while famous hurling legend Gavin 'Frankie' O'Connor is also from the area.