Curraghbinny (), also sometimes spelled Currabinny or Currabinney, is a

townland A townland (; Ulster-Scots: ''toonlann'') is a traditional small land division used in Ireland and in the Western Isles of Scotland, typically covering . The townland system is of medieval Gaelic origin, predating the Norman invasion, and mo ...

County Cork County Cork () is the largest and the southernmost Counties of Ireland, county of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, named after the city of Cork (city), Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster ...

, Ireland. Located on

Cork Harbour Cork Harbour () is a natural harbour and river estuary at the mouth of the River Lee (Ireland), 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 ...

near

Ringaskiddy Ringaskiddy () is a village in County Cork, Ireland. It is located on the western side of Cork Harbour, south of Cobh, and is from Cork city, to which it is connected by the N28 road. The village is a port with passenger ferry, with two bi- ...

and with an area of , it is a townland in the barony of Kerrycurrihy. As of the 2011 census, Curraghbinny townland had a population of 155 people. Lough Beg Bird Reserve and Curraghbinny Wood are located in the area. There is also a large pharmaceutical manufacturing plant, which was acquired by

Thermo Fisher Scientific Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. is an American life science and clinical research company. It is a global supplier of analytical instruments, clinical development solutions, specialty diagnostics, laboratory, pharmaceutical and biotechnology s ...

from

GlaxoSmithKline GSK plc (an acronym from its former name GlaxoSmithKline plc) is a British Multinational corporation, multinational Pharmaceutics, pharmaceutical and biotechnology company with headquarters in London. It was established in 2000 by a Mergers an ...

for €90m in 2019, in the townland.

History

Evidence of ancient settlement in Currabinny townland include a number of burnt spread and

shell midden A midden is an old landfill, dump for domestic waste. It may consist of animal bone, bones, feces, human excrement, botanical material, mollusc shells, potsherds, Lithic flake, lithics (especially debitage), and other Artifact (archaeology), ...

sites. At the highest point on Curraghbinny Hill are the remains of a

Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...

cairn A cairn is a human-made pile (or stack) of stones raised for a purpose, usually as a marker or as a burial mound. The word ''cairn'' comes from the (plural ). Cairns have been and are used for a broad variety of purposes. In prehistory, t ...

which is known locally as the "giant's grave". The cairn, which was subject to excavation in the 1930s (during which cremated human remains and a bronze ring was found), was restored in the 1990s. There is some speculation that the name Curraghbinny derives from a legend of a giant named Binne whose burial chamber surmounts the hill (corra). A

thatched cottage Thatching is the craft of building a roof with dry vegetation such as straw, water reed, sedge ('' Cladium mariscus''), rushes, heather, or palm branches, layering the vegetation so as to shed water away from the inner roof. Since the bulk of ...

within the townland, dating to the mid-18th century, is described by the

National Inventory of Architectural Heritage The National Inventory of Architectural Heritage (NIAH) maintains a central database of the architectural heritage of the Republic of Ireland covering the period since 1700 in complement to the Archaeological Survey of Ireland, which focuses on arc ...

as "an incredibly rare survivor" of its type in the area.

Woodland

Curraghbinny Wood is a forested amenity, of approximately , which is maintained by ''

Coillte Coillte (; ; meaning /) is a state-owned commercial forestry business in Ireland based in Newtownmountkennedy. Coillte manage approximately 7% of the country’s land, and operates three businesses - their core forestry business, a 'land solut ...

''. The woodlands are home to a number of species of plants, trees, shrubs and wildflowers. A number of these were planted , with some identified as

garden escapee An escaped plant is a cultivated plant that has escaped from agriculture, forestry or garden cultivation and has become naturalized in the wild. Usually not native to an area, escaped plants may become invasive. Therefore, escaped plants are th ...

Downy birch ''Betula pubescens'' (syn. ''Betula alba''), commonly known as downy birch and also as moor birch, white birch, European white birch or hairy birch, is a species of deciduous tree, native and abundant throughout northern Europe and northern Asia ...

(''Betula pubescens''),

pedunculate oak ''Quercus robur'', the pedunculate oak, is a species of flowering plant in the beech and oak family, Fagaceae. It is a large tree, native to most of Europe and western Asia, and is widely cultivated in other temperate regions. It grows on soi ...

(''Quercus robur''),

sycamore Sycamore is a name which has been applied to several types of trees, but with somewhat similar leaf forms. The name derives from the Ancient Greek () meaning . Species of otherwise unrelated trees known as sycamore: * ''Acer pseudoplatanus'', a ...

(''Acer pseudoplatanus''), and

European beech ''Fagus sylvatica'', the European beech or common beech, is a large, graceful deciduous tree in the beech family with smooth silvery-gray bark, large leaf area, and a short trunk with low branches. Description ''Fagus sylvatica'' is a large ...

(''Fagus sylvatica'') are present in the canopy. The shrubs and hedges include a mixture of native and introduced plants.

Bramble ''Rubus'' is a large and diverse genus of flowering plants in the rose family, Rosaceae, subfamily Rosoideae, most commonly known as brambles. Fruits of various species are known as raspberries, blackberries, dewberries, and bristleberries. I ...

(''Rubus fruticosus''), woodrush (''Luzula sylvatica''), broad buckler-fern (''Dryopteris dilatata'') are the native ground cover, with cherry laurel (''Prunus laurocerasus'') and common rhododendron (''

Rhododendron ponticum ''Rhododendron ponticum'', called common rhododendron or pontic rhododendron, is a species of flowering plant in the ''Rhododendron'' genus of the heath family Ericaceae. It is native to the Iberian Peninsula in southwest Europe and the Caucasus ...

'') introduced via the gardens adjoining the woods. The area is also home to several species of birds, including

goldcrest The goldcrest (''Regulus regulus'') is a very small passerine bird in the kinglet family. Its colourful golden Crest (feathers), crest feathers, as well as being called the "king of the birds" in European folklore, gives rise to its Englis ...

(''Regulus regulus''),

Eurasian wren The Eurasian wren (''Troglodytes troglodytes'') or northern wren is a very small insectivorous bird, and the only member of the wren family Troglodytidae found in Eurasia and Africa (Maghreb). In Anglophone Europe, it is commonly known simply as ...

(''Troglodytes troglodytes''), Common wood pigeon (''Columba palumbus''),

Eurasian siskin The Eurasian siskin (''Spinus spinus'') is a small passerine bird in the finch family Fringillidae. It is also called the European siskin, common siskin or just siskin. Other (archaic) names include ''black-headed goldfinch'', ''barley bird'' an ...

(''Spinus spinus''), Eurasian blackbird (''Turdus merula''),

Great cormorant The great cormorant (''Phalacrocorax carbo''), also known as just cormorant in Britain, as black shag or kawau in New Zealand, formerly also known as the great black cormorant across the Northern Hemisphere, the black cormorant in Australia, and ...

(''Phalacrocorax carbo''),

Eurasian blue tit The Eurasian blue tit (''Cyanistes caeruleus'') is a small passerine bird in the tit (bird), tit family, Paridae. It is easily recognizable by its blue and yellow plumage and small size. Eurasian blue tits, usually resident bird, resident a ...

(''Cyanistes caeruleus''),

European robin The European robin (''Erithacus rubecula''), known simply as the robin or robin redbreast in the British Isles, is a small insectivorous passerine bird that belongs to the Old World flycatcher family Muscicapidae. It is found across Europe, ea ...

(''Erithacus rubecula''), and

European herring gull The European herring gull (''Larus argentatus'') is a large gull, up to long. It breeds throughout the northern and western coasts of Europe. Some European herring gulls, especially those resident in colder areas, bird migration, migrate furthe ...

(''Larus argentatus''). There is a plaque to the Irish-Canadian politician,

William Warren Baldwin William Warren Baldwin (April 25, 1775 – January 8, 1844) was a medical doctor, businessman, lawyer, judge, architect and reform politician in Upper Canada. He, and his son Robert Baldwin, are recognized for having introduced the concept o ...

, within the wood.

References

{{reflist Townlands of County Cork

History

Woodland

See also

References