Innishannon or Inishannon () is a large village on the main

Cork "Cork" or "CORK" may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Stopper (plug), or "cork", a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container *** Wine cork an item to seal or reseal wine Places Ireland * ...

– Bandon road ( N71) in

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 Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. Situated on the

River Bandon The River Bandon (, from ''ban-dea'', meaning "goddess") is a river in County Cork, Ireland. The Bandon rises at Nowen Hill (one of the Shehy Mountains), to the north of Drimoleague. The river then flows to Dunmanway, before turning eastwar ...

, the village has grown due to its proximity to Cork city (20 km to the north-east), and is now a

dormitory town A commuter town is a populated area that is primarily residential rather than commercial or industrial. Routine travel from home to work and back is called commuting, which is where the term comes from. A commuter town may be called by many o ...

for city workers. As of 2022, it had a population of 1,043.

History

Inishannon village is located at and developed around an important crossing-point on the

. Formerly controlled by the

de Barry family The de Barry family (de Barra/Barri) is a noble Cambro-Norman family which held extensive land holdings in Wales and Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The founder of the de Barry family was a Normans, Norman knight, Odo, who assisted in the Norman C ...

, the area was used as a ferry point on the river from at least the early medieval period. Inishannon received a market and fair grant in 1256, and was given a royal charter in 1412. Writing in the mid-18th century, the antiquarian Charles Smith described Inishannon as "formerly walled and a place of some note".

Innishannon Tower Innishannon Tower is the ruin of a Huguenot chapel tower built beside the original church and graveyard in the town of Innishannon, County Cork. Tower There are two currently working churches in the town of Innishannon, one Catholic and one Ch ...

, the remains of a mid-18th century church, are built on the site the much earlier medieval parish church of Inishannon. In 1837, Inishannon village had a population of approximately 650 people. By the 2016 census, Innishannon had a population of 1,043, a near threefold increase in the 25 years since the 1991 census, when the village had 319 inhabitants. As of 2022, it had a population of over 1000 people.

Events

Innishannon Steam and Vintage Rally is held in Innishannon annually in June. This event continues on from the old Upton Steam Rally that was held on the old St. Patricks School grounds. The Innishannon Steam and Vintage Rally was formed in 1998, and attracts upwards of 1,000 exhibits and approximately 60,000 visitors every year. Since 1998, the rally's organisers have raised over one million euro for the

Irish Cancer Society The Irish Cancer Society (formerly known as the Conquer Cancer Campaign) is the national charity in Ireland dedicated to eliminating cancer as a major health problem, and improving the lives of those who have cancer. History Foundation of th ...

Transport

The area was previously served by the

Cork and Bandon Railway The Cork, Bandon and South Coast Railway (CB&SCR) was an Irish gauge () railway in Ireland. It opened in 1849 as the Cork and Bandon Railway (C&BR), changed its name to Cork Bandon and South Coast Railway in 1888 and became part of the Great ...

. Upton and Innishannon railway station opened in August 1849 and closed in April 1961. The village lies on the N71 secondary road between Cork and Bandon. It is on several bus routes.

Innishannon parish

The parish of Innishannon stretches from the nearby Dromkeen to close to

Aherla Aherla () is a small village in County Cork, Republic of Ireland, Ireland, with a population of 562. It is in the townlands of ''Aherla More'' and ''Rathard''. Aherla is built on a limestone shelf typical of County Cork's ridges and valleys. The ...

and over to

Kilmacsimon Kilmacsimon () is a small village and townland situated on the banks of the River Bandon in County Cork, Ireland. Historical records list ''Killmcsimon'' in the Calendar of Patent Rolls of James I dated 1615. The village has a pub and a commu ...

in the east. The parish includes the village of

Crossbarry Crossbarry () is a small village on the R589 road (Ireland), R589 regional road in Innishannon parish, County Cork, Ireland. It is about 20 km southwest of the city of Cork City, Cork. The River Owenabue flows through the village. The We ...

. It also includes John Coleman's house in Togher Upper. The parish has four schools; Scoil Eoin in the village of Innishannon itself, Knockavilla to the north of the parish opposite St. Patrick's Church - the second church of the parish, Gurrane National School (sometimes called Gurranes) near Crossbarry, and Castleack National School near the parish's boundary with Bandon.

Amenities

The village has two food stores, a doctor's surgery, a dentist, a pharmacy, a butcher, a hairdresser, a café, a credit union, a fast food restaurant, a Chinese restaurant, a car sales garage and three public houses. Innishannon's

Gaelic Athletic Association The Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA; ; CLG) is an Irish international amateur sports, amateur sporting and cultural organisation, focused primarily on promoting indigenous Gaelic games and pastimes, which include the traditional Irish sports o ...

pitch, home to

Valley Rovers GAA Valley Rovers GAA Club is a Gaelic Athletic Association club in the parish of Innishannon in County Cork, Ireland. The club was formed in 1919 when two teams in the parish, Innishannon and Knockavilla, came together. The club fields teams in hu ...

club, is sometimes flooded because of its proximity to the river. The local

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

club is Innishvilla AFC.

People

Innishannon is home of the author Alice Taylor who wrote the bestselling ''To School Through the Fields'', and ''Quench the Lamp'', as well as many other novels and collections of poetry.

club has provided the national

organisation with two presidents, Seán McCarthy and Con Murphy.

References

{{County Cork Towns and villages in County Cork