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Cork
KNOWLEDGE OF Cork
Origins
The first recorded reference to Cork city can be attributed to the Alexandrine geographer Ptolemy. Writing in 150AD, using information received from Mediterranean shipmasters, he makes mention of a town called “Ivuernis which many believe to be the first allusion to what would in time become the modern city. In the seventh century the famous monastic settlement associated with St. Finbarr was established. This was in some ways a golden age in Cork’s history and for 250 years the Abbey thrived. Dignitaries and scholars from all over Europe came to learn in what was a setting of overwhelming peace. Today the beauty of St. Fin Barre's Cathedral and the motto of University College Cork (“Where Finbarre taught let Munster learn) are testament to the enduring legacy, both spiritual and cultural, of those times.
Invasion and Occupation
The Vikings, also referred to as Danes and Norsemen, invaded Ireland in about 820. Following their eventual defeat at the Battle of Clontarf in 1014 the Norse survivors continued to live in the separate communities they had established in Cork, Dublin, Limerick, Waterford and Wexford. They and their descendants became known as Ostmen from this time on. 1176 marks the beginning of the Anglo-Norman occupation. Henry II divided most of Munster among two of his men. He retained the “City of Cork and the “Cantred of the Ostmen for himself, exempting them from the control of his feudal lords. A wall was built up around the perimeter of the city; it remained for over five hundred years after the Norman occupation.
At the start of the 17th century living conditions in Cork amounted almost to destitution. The defeat of the Irish at Kinsale in 1601 meant that the Crown's authority in Ireland was absolute and colonial outposts such as Cork were no longer needed. The insurrection of 1641 had further disastrous consequences for Cork's inhabitants. In 1664, many were expelled and forced to surrender their possessions and property. Some were allowed return in 1648 but another general expulsion took place in 1649 under Cromwell. To get an idea of the appearance of the city at around this time: it was described by Camden in 1586 as “of oval shape, surrounded by walls and encompassed and intersected by the river, and accessible only by rivers". It had only one straight street (now known as North Main and South Main Streets), about 690 yards long. The city was, on average, about 240 yards wide. East and West of the walls were waterways and marches. As such, most of the modern city is built on reclaimed land. Indeed, the Irish for marsh is corcach and it is from this word that the city derives its name.
The first recorded reference to Cork city can be attributed to the Alexandrine geographer Ptolemy. Writing in 150AD, using information received from Mediterranean shipmasters, he makes mention of a town called “Ivuernis which many believe to be the first allusion to what would in time become the modern city. In the seventh century the famous monastic settlement associated with St. Finbarr was established. This was in some ways a golden age in Cork’s history and for 250 years the Abbey thrived. Dignitaries and scholars from all over Europe came to learn in what was a setting of overwhelming peace. Today the beauty of St. Fin Barre's Cathedral and the motto of University College Cork (“Where Finbarre taught let Munster learn) are testament to the enduring legacy, both spiritual and cultural, of those times.
Invasion and Occupation
The Vikings, also referred to as Danes and Norsemen, invaded Ireland in about 820. Following their eventual defeat at the Battle of Clontarf in 1014 the Norse survivors continued to live in the separate communities they had established in Cork, Dublin, Limerick, Waterford and Wexford. They and their descendants became known as Ostmen from this time on. 1176 marks the beginning of the Anglo-Norman occupation. Henry II divided most of Munster among two of his men. He retained the “City of Cork and the “Cantred of the Ostmen for himself, exempting them from the control of his feudal lords. A wall was built up around the perimeter of the city; it remained for over five hundred years after the Norman occupation.
At the start of the 17th century living conditions in Cork amounted almost to destitution. The defeat of the Irish at Kinsale in 1601 meant that the Crown's authority in Ireland was absolute and colonial outposts such as Cork were no longer needed. The insurrection of 1641 had further disastrous consequences for Cork's inhabitants. In 1664, many were expelled and forced to surrender their possessions and property. Some were allowed return in 1648 but another general expulsion took place in 1649 under Cromwell. To get an idea of the appearance of the city at around this time: it was described by Camden in 1586 as “of oval shape, surrounded by walls and encompassed and intersected by the river, and accessible only by rivers". It had only one straight street (now known as North Main and South Main Streets), about 690 yards long. The city was, on average, about 240 yards wide. East and West of the walls were waterways and marches. As such, most of the modern city is built on reclaimed land. Indeed, the Irish for marsh is corcach and it is from this word that the city derives its name.
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