Ringaskiddy () is a village 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. It is located on the western side of

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 ...

, south of

Cobh Cobh ( ,), known from 1849 until 1920 as Queenstown, is a seaport town on the south coast of County Cork, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. With a population of 14,148 inhabitants at the 2022 census of Ireland, 2022 census, Cobh is on the south si ...

, 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-weekly sailings to Roscoff in France. A ferry service to Swansea in

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

closed in 2012. During the 20th century, Ringaskiddy changed from a fishing village to a centre of transport and industrial activity. It is now one of the largest employment hubs in the pharmaceuticals sector in the region. The village is close to a number of tourist areas, including Crosshaven, Curraghbinny and Monkstown. A motorway project, to connect Cork City with Ringaskiddy, was given the "green light" by the Supreme Court in March 2021.

Places of interest

Barnahely Castle, later known as Warren's Castle, is located near Ringaskiddy. Originally the site of an Anglo-Norman castle, a new fortification was built here during the 15th or 16th century. In 1796, the site was bought and a mansion house (incorporating the remnants of the earlier castle) was built by the Warren family. The remaining ruins of the castle include a rectangular

bawn A bawn is the defensive wall surrounding an Irish tower house. It is the anglicised version of the Irish word ''bábhún'' (sometimes spelt ''badhún''), possibly meaning "cattle-stronghold" or "cattle-enclosure".See alternative traditional s ...

. A

Martello tower Martello towers are small defensive forts that were built across the British Empire during the 19th century, from the time of the French Revolutionary Wars onwards. Most were coastal forts. They stand up to high (with two floors) and typica ...

sits on a hilltop at Ringaskiddy, and is one of several other forts and towers designed to protect

. It is accessed via the Loughbeg road and overlooks the harbour. There are two beaches near Ringaskiddy: Lough beach (also known locally as Luc beach) and Gobby beach. Lough beach, a sandy beach with shallow water, is served by an access path and seasonal toilet facilities. Gobby beach is a rocky beach with direct views over Spike Island. In mid-2020, a Ringaskiddy Tidy Towns group was set up.

Economy

Industry

Ringaskiddy is an important industrial centre, particularly for pharmaceutical companies such as Centocor,

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 ...

, Hovione,

Novartis Novartis AG is a Swiss multinational corporation, multinational pharmaceutical company, pharmaceutical corporation based in Basel, Switzerland. Novartis is one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world and was the eighth largest by re ...

Pfizer Pfizer Inc. ( ) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Pharmaceutical industry, pharmaceutical and biotechnology corporation headquartered at The Spiral (New York City), The Spiral in Manhattan, New York City. Founded in 184 ...

, and Recordati. Most of the world's supply of the

erection An erection (clinically: penile erection or penile tumescence) is a Physiology, physiological phenomenon in which the penis becomes firm, engorged, and enlarged. Penile erection is the result of a complex interaction of psychological, neural, ...

-treatment drug

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is manufactured there. As of 2021, more than 3,800 people were reportedly employed in the Ringaskiddy area. The

Port of Cork The Port of Cork () is the main port serving the south of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, County Cork and Cork City. It is one of the three "Ports of National Significance (Tier 1)" as designated by National Ports Policy. It offers all six ship ...

facilities at Ringaskiddy handle much of the vehicle imports for the southern part of Ireland, with 34,000 trade vehicles imported through Cork in 2017.

Incinerator proposal

An application to build a domestic waste incinerator in Ringaskiddy was rejected by An Bord Pleanála in 2011. The incinerator's proposed owners, Indaver Ireland, said the facility would relieve pressure on landfill, while locals and environmentalists feared the incinerator would impact on public health and the environment in the area. Indaver Ireland said that they had not abandoned their plans, and in 2018 were granted planning permission for the plant. However, this decision was subject to a legal challenge and, as of 2021, the High Court was due to rule on whether An Bord Pleanála could reconsider its permission decision, or if the entire planning process had to be restarted.

Amenities

Amenities in Ringaskiddy, and nearby Shanbally, include a church, primary school, shop, preschool and community centre. The local

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 ...

club is Shanbally GAA. Ringaskiddy also has a bar/restaurant (the Ferry Boat Inn). The National Maritime College of Ireland was officially opened in Ringaskiddy in 2006 and has drawn a student population to the village. The college provides the only training in Ireland of Merchant Navy personnel, and the Irish Naval Service also carry out their non-military training there. The Irish Naval Service base at Haulbowline is 3 kilometres (2 miles) from Ringaskiddy on the L2545 local road.

References