Blackpool () is a suburb of Cork city 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 Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...

. It is situated in the north of the city, on the

N20 road The N20 road is a national primary road in Ireland, connecting the cities of Cork and Limerick. Buttevant, Croom, Charleville, Mallow and Blarney are major towns along the route. A short section of the route (from Limerick to Patrickswell) ...

to Mallow. Blackpool is part of the Cork North Central Dáil constituency.

History

The first official reference to Blackpool in Cork City as an urban centre was in relation to the building of a Guard House in 1734 mentioned in the Cork Corporation minute book. Its early development can be traced to its being on the main thoroughfare from Cork City to the north, with roads leading to the important destinations of Mallow, Limerick and Dublin. Dublin Street and

Hill A hill is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain. It often has a distinct summit. Terminology The distinction between a hill and a mountain is unclear and largely subjective, but a hill is universally considered to be not as ...

in Blackpool were named after this route."Your guide to Blackpool, Cork: Old factory neighbourhood with a new generation moving in", ''The Journal'', 12 October 2018
/ref> Weaving became identified with Blackpool from its early beginnings and it was later recalled that the cabins of Blackpool were a hive of wool combing and weaving. The success of weaving in Blackpool can in part be attributable to

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gur ...

and

Naval A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It includ ...

contracts that accrued to the area. The Revolutionary War period (1793–1815) was a buoyant time for weaving in Blackpool as a result. But after the war ended and the Act of Union of 1801 eventually allowed cheaper industrial clothing to invade the Irish market it marked the end of the cabin weaving industry of Blackpool. Many of the weavers from Blackpool emigrated to Britain. Thereafter Blackpool had a concentration of industries such as tanning,

bacon Bacon is a type of salt-cured pork made from various cuts, typically the belly or less fatty parts of the back. It is eaten as a side dish (particularly in breakfasts), used as a central ingredient (e.g., the bacon, lettuce, and tomato sand ...

curing,

brewing Brewing is the production of beer by steeping a starch source (commonly cereal grains, the most popular of which is barley) in water and fermenting the resulting sweet liquid with yeast. It may be done in a brewery by a commercial brewer, ...

and distilling. Many of the Blackpool's residents formerly depended on the industrial employment offered by companies such as Gouldings, Harringtons, Dennys, Sunbeam, Irish Distillers and Murphy's Brewery. There are many clubs associated with Blackpool which grew over the years including the Harriers, St Finbarr's Pipe Band, Glen Boxing Club, and Glen Rovers

hurling Hurling ( ga, iománaíocht, ') is an outdoor team game of ancient Gaelic Irish origin, played by men. One of Ireland's native Gaelic games, it shares a number of features with Gaelic football, such as the field and goals, the number of p ...

club. Blackpool's Roman Catholic parish church, the Church of the Annunciation, was designed by noted stone carver Seamus Murphy"Seamus Murphy (1907-1975)", Encyclopedia of Irish plastic Art
/ref> who worked in the locality. The building of this church, completed in 1945 to replace the earlier St Nicholas Church, was funded by the Dwyer family who owned the nearby Sunbeam textile complex, and their staff with weekly collections. Notable people from the area include

Taoiseach The Taoiseach is the head of government, or prime minister, of Ireland. The office is appointed by the president of Ireland upon the nomination of Dáil Éireann (the lower house of the Oireachtas, Ireland's national legislature) and the office ...

and hurler

Jack Lynch John Mary Lynch (15 August 1917 – 20 October 1999) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who served as Taoiseach from 1966 to 1973 and 1977 to 1979, Leader of Fianna Fáil from 1966 to 1979, Leader of the Opposition from 1973 to 1977, Ministe ...

, hurler

Christy Ring Nicholas Christopher Michael Ring (30 October 1920 – 2 March 1979) was an Irish hurler whose league and championship career at senior level with the Cork county team spanned twenty-four years from 1939 to 1963. He established many champions ...

(often regarded as the greatest hurler of all time) and association footballer

Charlie Hurley Charles John Hurley (born 4 October 1936) is an Irish former footballer who played mainly in the Center Back position. Hurley is best known for his long career at Sunderland, where he was named the Black Cats' "Player of the Century" by th ...

Sport

Glen Rovers GAA Glen Rovers is a Cork-based Gaelic Athletic Association club based in Blackpool, Cork, Ireland. The club was founded in 1916 and is primarily concerned with the game of hurling. They were Cork senior hurling champions in 2015 and 2016, having ...

is the local

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 ...

club.

References

{{Authority control Geography of Cork (city)

History

Sport

See also

References