Ballinspittle () is a village in

County Cork County Cork ( ga, Contae Chorcaí) is the largest and the southernmost county of Ireland, named after the city of Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. Its largest market towns are ...

, Ireland. It is in the

barony Barony may refer to: * Barony, the peerage, office of, or territory held by a baron * Barony, the title and land held in fealty by a feudal baron * Barony (county division), a type of administrative or geographical division in parts of the British ...

Courceys Courceys is a barony in County Cork on the south coast of Ireland. Its name refers to the Norman ''de Courcy'' family, Barons Kingsale, who ruled the area from the early 13th century. The villages in the parish include Ballinspittle and Ballinad ...

and lies about southwest of

Kinsale Kinsale ( ; ) is a historic port and fishing town in County Cork, Ireland. Located approximately south of Cork City on the southeast coast near the Old Head of Kinsale, it sits at the mouth of the River Bandon, and has a population of 5,281 (a ...

, on the R600 road. It is near Garrylucas and Garrettstown Blue Flag

beach A beach is a landform alongside a body of water which consists of loose particles. The particles composing a beach are typically made from rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles, etc., or biological sources, such as mollusc shel ...

es. The village is a community with new

housing estate A housing estate (or sometimes housing complex or housing development) is a group of homes and other buildings built together as a single development. The exact form may vary from country to country. Popular throughout the United States a ...

s, businesses, a

post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional serv ...

, a national school and a

Gaelic Athletic Association The Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA; ga, Cumann Lúthchleas Gael ; CLG) is an Irish international amateur sporting and cultural organisation, focused primarily on promoting indigenous Gaelic games and pastimes, which include the traditional ...

facility known as the Jim O' Regan Memorial Park.

History

Built heritage

Ancient historical sites in the area include Ballycatten Fort, which dates from the sixth century, and Curtapurteen, which, according to legend,

Saint Patrick Saint Patrick ( la, Patricius; ga, Pádraig ; cy, Padrig) was a fifth-century Romano-British Christian missionary and bishop in Ireland. Known as the "Apostle of Ireland", he is the primary patron saint of Ireland, the other patron saints be ...

once visited. The most southerly tip the

Old Head of Kinsale The Old Head of Kinsale () is a headland near Kinsale, County Cork, Ireland. A castle has been on the headland since at least the 3rd century, with the current iteration built in 1223. An early lighthouse was established here in the 17th centur ...

is a site of ancient and present-day lighthouses, as well as a golf links.

Templetrine Church Templetrine Church, also called The Chapel of Traghne and the Church of the Holy Trinity, is a small Early English style Anglican church located near Ballinspittle, County Cork, Ireland. It was first completed in its current form 1821. It is p ...

, built in the 1820s, is located nearby.

Moving statue

In the summer of 1985, Ballinspittle received national and international attention when inhabitants claimed to have witnessed a statue of the

Blessed Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jews, Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Jose ...

moving spontaneously. As news of the phenomenon spread, thousands of

pilgrim A pilgrim (from the Latin ''peregrinus'') is a traveler (literally one who has come from afar) who is on Pilgrimage, a journey to a holy place. Typically, this is a physical journey (often on foot) to some place of special significance to the a ...

s and spectators flocked to the site of the statue. Many visitors claimed to have observed the spontaneous movements. The

Catholic Clergy The sacrament of holy orders in the Catholic Church includes three orders: bishops, priests, and deacons, in decreasing order of rank, collectively comprising the clergy. In the phrase "holy orders", the word "holy" means "set apart for a sa ...

in Ireland maintained a neutral stance in regard to the authenticity of the claims.

Transport

Bus Éireann Bus Éireann (; "Irish Bus") is a state-owned bus and coach operator providing services throughout Ireland, with the exception of Dublin and the Greater Dublin Area, where bus services are provided by sister company Dublin Bus. It is a subsidia ...

route 226 serves Ballinspittle on Sundays only during summer, linking it to Garretstown and Kinsale (where onward connections for

Cork Airport Cork Airport ( ga, Aerfort Chorcaí, ) is the second-largest of the three principal international airports in Ireland, after Dublin and ahead of Shannon. It is located in Cork City, south of the city centre in an area known as Farmers Cross ...

and

Cork city Cork ( , from , meaning 'marsh') is the second largest city in Ireland and third largest city by population on the island of Ireland. It is located in the south-west of Ireland, in the province of Munster. Following an extension to the city' ...

are available). Until June 2013

route 249 also served Ballinspittle two days per week year-round. The Bus Éireann Garrettstown service no longer runs as of 2014. Ballinspittle sits over the

PTAT-1 PTAT-1 was the first privately financed transatlantic fibre optic telecommunications cable, which was completed in 1989, at a cost of US$400 million. It was maintained by Cable & Wireless (C&W) and Sprint/PSI, and connected Manasquan, New Jers ...

transatlantic fibre optic cable.

Sport

Courcey Rovers GAA Courcey Rovers is a Gaelic Athletic Association club based in the villages of Ballinspittle and Ballinadee in County Cork, Ireland. The club fields both hurling, Gaelic football and camogie teams. It has historically concentrated on hurling. T ...

is the local Gaelic Athletic Association club based in Ballinspittle and Ballinadee. De Courcey Albion, a local soccer club based in Ballinspittle and Ballinadee, closed in 2016.

Notable people

The Irish tenor

Finbar Wright Edward Finbar Wright (born 26 September 1957), known popularly as Finbar Wright, is a popular music singer, songwriter, and poet from County Cork, Ireland. Wright is a classically trained tenor who emerged during the 1990s in Ireland and has be ...

grew up in the

townland A townland ( ga, baile fearainn; Ulster-Scots: ''toonlann'') is a small geographical division of land, historically and currently used in Ireland and in the Western Isles in Scotland, typically covering . The townland system is of Gaelic origi ...

of Kilmore just outside the village.

Festivals

A summer festival has been held in the town since 2001. It features live bands on the Village Centre Festival Stage. The neighbouring village of Ballinadee hosts events on the weekend prior to Ballinspittle Festival. The village receives an annual influx of summer visitors, including from Cork city. Community events include historical walks, road bowling, markets, family athletics, and a visit by the

Courtmacsherry Courtmacsherry (), often referred to by locals as Courtmac, is a seaside village in County Cork, on the southwest coast of Ireland. It is about 30 miles southwest of Cork, and 15–20 minutes drive east from the town of Clonakilty. The village co ...

Lifeboat.

References

External links

Ballinspittle and the moving statues
(archived 2006)
BBC News report regarding the moving statues
{{Authority control Towns and villages in County Cork