Cloyne

History

The first evidence of settlement in Cloyne is a 4000-year-old portal dolmen that lies to the West of the town. The bishopric of Cloyne was founded by St. Colman Mac Léníne, (530–606 A.D.) as his principal monastery in the sixth century. The origin legend Conall Corc and the Corco Loígde claims that the land for the foundation of the monastery was not given by the local king, but by Coirpre mac Crimthainn (d. c. 580 A.D.), who was king of Munster from the Eóganacht Glendamnach:

Coirpre mac Crimthainn it was who gave Cloyne to God and to Colman mac Colcon who is also called Mac Lénéne and Aired Cechtraige and Cell Náile. Because of this they [the Eoganacht Glendamnach] are entitled to secular rule.

The Danes plundered Cloyne in 822, 824 and again in 885 when, according to the Annals of the Four Masters, the Abbot and Prior of the monastery were killed. The Annals of Inisfallen mention that in 978 A.D. the people of Ossory plundered Cloyne and that in 1088 A.D. Diarmait Ua Briain devastated it. Cloyne was recognised as a diocese at the Synod of Kells in 1152. The only major action of the Irish War of Independence in Cloyne was on 4 May 1920 when Irish Republican Army volunteers of the Fourth Battalion attacked the local Royal Irish Constabulary barracks. The volunteers at first failed to gain entry but succeed in setting fire to the building, which resulted in the entire surrender of the garrison. The prisoners had their hands tied before being ordered to march the road to Midleton while the flying column made their escape. Small-scale rioting broke out in Cloyne on 26 October 2013 after hundreds of youths arrived in the town due to an invitation for a house party going viral on social network sites. Local property was damaged and responding Gardaí were attacked with stones by the estimated crowd of 200 youths.

Climate and Geography

Cloyne is situated approximately 7.6 kilometres from the major town of Midleton. The town is located at the bottom of a valley and is surrounded by large hills to the North and South as well as the Celtic Sea to the East and Cork Harbour to the West.

Being only 2 miles (3.2 km) from Cork harbour and 3.5 miles (5.6 km) from the open ocean, Cloyne has a mild climate with few extremes of temperature. The highest recorded temperature was 31.1 °C (88.0 °F), on 3 August 1995 and the lowest was −7.1 °C (19.2 °F), recorded on 2 January 1979 and also on 13 January 1987.

The climate of Cloyne is mild all year round, with an average of only six days of frost each year. Snow is almost unknown, especially in recent years, although a fall of 4 cm did occur on January 10, 2010, the first significant snow since March 1993. A severe cold spell in December 2010 produced some further light snowfalls but this period was much more notable for the persistence and severity of frost, with the record for the lowest temperature on record being threatened at times, but never actually broken; the absolute minimum being −6.6 °C on Christmas morning. 2010 was also the frostiest year on record, with 62 days recording an air frost, over 10 times the average.

Rainfall averages around 1027 mm (40.5 in) per annum, with the wettest weather usually occurring between October and January. The driest year ever recorded was in 1975 when 583.7 mm fell, while the wettest was in 2009 with 1433.4 mm. In common with the rest of Ireland, rainfall in Cloyne has increased over the past 10 years or so, with the sharpest rises in average being in the summer months. Winter rainfall has actually decreased slightly in the same period.

Notable people

The philosopher George Berkeley was appointed the Church of Ireland Bishop of Cloyne in 1734, where he remained until his retirement in 1752. His monument is prominent in the north transept of the cathedral. The year after arriving in Cloyne he wrote The Querist, the first of three volumes containing questions on the social and economic problems of Ireland. Further pamphlets on Ireland followed, with appeals for religious toleration. He was known in the town as a dedicated pastor as well as a scholar, who personally ministered to the sick and destitute of the parish.

Cloyne was the birthplace of the great Texas architect, Nicholas Joseph Clayton. Clayton and his widowed mother moved to the United States in the 1840s and eventually to Galveston, Texas. He quickly gained prominence in Galveston and Texas in the 1870s into the 1910s as a talented builder. The historic district of Galveston features many of Clayton's buildings that survived the ravages of storms and fires through the years.

The explorer Cynthia Longfield was born and lived in Cloyne up until her death on 27 June 1991. Longfield also served as a driver in the Royal Army Service Corps during World War I. She is buried in Cloyne Cathedral.

Sir John Madden was born in Cloyne on 16 May 1844. Madden later emigrated to Australia with his family in 1857 and served as the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Victoria before his death in 1918.

Cloyne has produced a number of modern-day hurlers for Cork including Donal Óg Cusack, Cork's former inter-county hurling goalkeeper, as well as Diarmuid "The Rock" O'Sullivan and his brother Paudie O'Sullivan.

Cloyne is also notable as the native-place of the great Cork hurler, Christy Ring. Ring was born and grew up in Cloyne where he learned to hurl before joining Glen Rovers in Cork city. But he is buried in Cloyne where he is commemorated by a statue.

Places of interest

Cloyne has a round tower which is the town's symbol. The tower dates back to about 560 A.D. when St. Colman founded his monastery. In 1749 a lightning strike caused some damage to the top of the tower. There is also ruins of a Norman watchtower on a hill overlooking the town. The Church of Ireland Cathedral dates back to 1250 A.D. and is available to visit between 3:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. after Sunday service is held at 12:00 p.m. The local Catholic church, St. Colmans, was built in 1815 and celebrates mass every day of the week.

Demographics

According to the 2011 Census, people of Irish ethnicity make up 86.2% of the population with mostly Polish and British people making up the rest. In terms of religion, 87% of Cloyne's population are Roman Catholic, 7% belong to other religions (e.g. Church of England, Presbyterian, Islam) and 6% state no religion. 601 persons could speak the Irish language and 71 people could speak Polish, making it the second most common foreign language.

Economy

The land around Cloyne is extremely rich and fertile, being mainly of limestone base. This makes it very suitable for agriculture, with many acres of wheat and barley harvested each year. The underlying limestone rock also gives rise to a spectacular network of caves under and to the south of the town. The cave, which is the biggest in Cork, are estimated to be up to 7 km long. A large section of the main street collapsed into the caves during the 20th century. Cloyne Cave is accessible from the grounds of Cloyne House on Rock Street. (Permission must be sought from the owner as these are private grounds). The town boasts a number of pubs and small shop's in the centre of town while there is also a Thai and traditional Irish restaurant in the town.

Education

The local primary school is St. Colman's National School.

Sport

Cloyne GAA is the local Gaelic Athletic Association club. They play in the traditional kit of red and black stripes. The club has two grounds known locally as the "old" and "new" pitches.

Churchvilla FC is the local soccer club. The club was formed in 1968 and has since gone on to have a very strong juvenile section with over 150 players in both juvenile and senior teams.