Things To Do in Kinsale, County Cork
Kinsale (Irish: Cionn tSáile) is a town in County Cork, Ireland. Located some 25 km south of Cork City on the coast near the Old Head of Kinsale, it sits at the mouth of the River Bandon and has a population of 2,257 which increases substantially during the summer months when the tourist season is at its peak and when the boating fraternity arrive in large numbers.
Kinsale is a popular holiday resort for Irish and foreign tourists which is known for its many gourmet restaurants and leisure activities - including yachting, sea angling, and golf. The town also has several art galleries and a noted school of English. The town is compact with a quaint air of antiquity in the narrow intersecting streets.
Kinsale Marina by Night
There is a large yachting marina close to the town centre which attracts sailing enthusiasts overlooking Oysterhaven Bay. The town is noted for its eating establishments, and holds a "Gourmet Festival" annually. The celebrity chef Keith Floyd was previously a resident of Kinsale.
History of Kinsale
On October 8, 2005, Kinsale became Ireland's second Fair Trade Town, with Clonakilty being the first. In 1601, Kinsale was the site of a battle in which English forces defeated an Irish/Spanish force, led by the princes Hugh Roe O'Donnell and Hugh O'Neill. Following this battle the Flight of the Earls occurred in which a number of the native Irish aristocrats, including the Earls of Tyrone and Tir Conaill abandoned their lands and fled to mainland Europe. In 1690, James II of England and Ireland, following his defeat at the Battle of the Boyne, departed to France.
The Lighthouse
Charles Fort, located at Summer Cove and dating from 1677, is a fortification that guards the entrance to Kinsale harbour. It was built to protect the area and specifically the harbour from use by the French and Spanish in the event of a landing in Ireland. James's Fort is located on the other side of the cove, on the Castlepark peninsula. An underwater chain used to be strung between the two forts across the harbour mouth during times of war to scuttle enemy shipping by ripping the bottom out of incoming vessels.
When the RMS Lusitania was sunk by a German U-boat on May 7, 1915, some of the bodies and survivors were brought to Kinsale and the subsequent inquest on the bodies recovered was held in the town's courthouse. A statue in the harbour commemorates the effort.
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