CLONMEL

In 1868, the parish of Clonmel contained the following places:

"CLONMEL, a parish in the barony of Barrymore, in the county of Cork, province of Munster, Ireland, sometimes treated as one with Templerobin. It contains a part of the town of Cove, or Queenstown, and the village of Whitepoint. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Cloyne, united with Templerobin, and in the patronage of the bishop. The church is situated at Cove, and was built partly by means of a loan from the late Board of First Fruits. Here are two Roman Catholic chapels, besides a Methodist, and a military chapel; the latter is on Spike Island, where is also an hospital. There are several day schools within the parish.

"CARRIGALOE, a hamlet in the barony of Barrymore, in the county of Cork, province of Munster, Ireland, 2 miles from Cork."

"QUEENSTOWN, (formerly Cove of Cork), a seaport town, partly in the parish of Clonmel, but principally in that of Templemore, barony of Barrymore, county Cork, Ireland, 14 miles E.S.E. of Cork. It is situated on the S. side of Great Island, in Cork Harbour, in 51° 51' N. lat, and 8° 18' W. long. The population in 1851 was 11,419, including 4,172 persons, passengers and crew on board vessels then in the harbour; but in 1861 it was only 8,719. This town overlooks, and almost literally overhangs, the basin of Inner Cork Harbour, and occupies the steep and southern face of a hill, rising from near the edge of the water to a considerable height. The principal seats are wide and commodious, and the houses are regularly built, and in many places faced with slate to protect them from the effects of the prevailing storms. Previous to 1786 Queenstown was but a small village, occupied only by tide waiters and pilots of Cork, and by a few fishermen. During the French war it was made an admiral's station, and quickly rose in importance. It was used as a port for the embarkation of troops going on foreign service, and a rendezvous for ships about to sail under convoy. Six hundred merchant vessels have been at anchor in the harbour at one time, and 400 sail have left on a single day. It is suited for the scene of extensive commerce. The harbour is 3 miles long by 2 broad, with an entrance 2 miles long and 1 mile wide. It is bounded on one side by Great Island, and on the other by the mainland and Spike Island, which form an oval basin sufficiently capacious to contain and shelter the whole navy of England, and the entrance is commanded by the Carlisle and Camden forts, which frown from the summit of two lofty cliffs on either side, but are not now maintained. Spike Island contains an artillery barracks and a depot for convicts. There is an ordnance depot on Haulbowline, a small island opposite Queenstown, and near it, in Rocky Island, two powder magazines have been cut out of the solid rock. Queenstown carries on but little trade. It is resorted to as a port of call where vessels wait for orders to proceed to their destination. From its salubrity, and the comparative equality of the temperature, and the dryness of the air, it is much resorted to by consumptive patients, and other classes of invalids. The climate is reputed by some authorities to be more equable and mild than that of any part of England or France, and even to equal that of Rome or Naples. In summer it is much used as a bathing-place, and is at all times a favourite resort of the citizens of Cork. It contains a parish church in the early English style of architecture, with stained-glass windows; a Roman Catholic chapel, which serves as the cathedral of the diocese of Cloyne; and a Wesleyan chapel. National schools, parochial schools under the Church Education Society, and an infant school; a club room, a literary society, a public library, and reading rooms. It has also a market-house, a fever hospital, a dispensary, and a bridewell. Near the western entrance to the town is a pier erected in 1805 at a cost of £20,000, which forms a promenade, and commands a view of the harbour. In the centre of the beach, near the custom-house, is the club-house of the Royal Cork Yacht Club, built in the Italian style of architecture. The annual regatta given by the club is usually held in the month of July, and attracts the best yachts of the sister country. The government of the town is chiefly vested in the local magistrates; and the Cork Harbour Board have likewise a certain jurisdiction. Petty sessions are held every Monday. A market is held on Saturday. The views round Queenstown are beautiful. Rostill, on Castle-Mary, and the Vale of Cloyne, with its ancient cathedral and round tower, lying on the E.; to the S. the harbour; and to the W. Carrigaline, with its estuary, and the expanse of the river Lee. In a cemetery surrounding the ruins of Clonmel church, a short distance from the town, lie the remains of Tobin, the author of the "Honeymoon," and Woolfe, the author of the verses on the death of Sir John Moore."

"WHITEPOINT, a village in the barony of Barrymore, county Cork, Ireland, adjoining Queenstown."

[Transcribed from The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland 1868].  Copyright Colin Hinson ©2018