Clonakilty (; ), sometimes shortened to Clon, is a town 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 a ...

, Ireland. The town is located at the head of the tidal Clonakilty Bay. The rural hinterland is used mainly for dairy farming. The town's population as of 2016 was 4,592. The town is a tourism hub in West Cork, and was recognised as the "Best Town in Europe" in 2017, and "Best Place of the Year" in 2017 by the

Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland The Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland ( ga, Institiúid Ríoga Ailtirí na hÉireann) founded in 1839, is the "competent authority for architects and professional body for Architecture in the Republic of Ireland." The RIAI's purpose ...

. Clonakilty is in the Cork South-West (

Dáil Éireann Dáil Éireann ( , ; ) is the lower house, and principal chamber, of the Oireachtas (Irish legislature), which also includes the President of Ireland and Seanad Éireann (the upper house).Article 15.1.2º of the Constitution of Ireland rea ...

) constituency, which has three seats.

History

The Clonakilty area has a number of ancient and pre-Celtic sites, including Lios na gCon ringfort. Norman settlers built castles around Clonakilty, and a number of Norman surnames survive in the West Cork area to the present day. In 1292, Thomas De Roach received a charter to hold a market every Monday at Kilgarriffe (then called Kyle Cofthy or Cowhig's Wood), close to where the present town now stands. In the 14th century, a ten-mile strip of fallow woodland called (the land of the woods) divided the barony of Ibane ( Ardfield) and Barryroe and reached the sea at Clonakilty Bay. Here a castle called Coyltes Castell was recorded in a 1378 plea roll. This was subsequently referred to as Cloghnykyltye, one of the many phonetic spellings for (meaning the castle of the woods, from , the Irish for stone or stone building, and meaning woods). The lands around Clonakilty were owned by

Richard Boyle, 1st Earl of Cork Richard Boyle, 1st Earl of Cork (13 October 1566 – 15 September 1643), also known as the Great Earl of Cork, was an English politician who served as Lord Treasurer of the Kingdom of Ireland. Lord Cork was an important figure in the continuing ...

, and it was Lord Cork ('the Great Earl') who obtained its charter from

King James I James VI and I (James Charles Stuart; 19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625) was King of Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the Scottish and English crowns on 24 March 1603 until hi ...

in 1613, with the right to return members to the

Irish House of Commons The Irish House of Commons was the lower house of the Parliament of Ireland that existed from 1297 until 1800. The upper house was the House of Lords. The membership of the House of Commons was directly elected, but on a highly restrictive fran ...

. The borough of Clonakilty returned two members from 1613 to 1801; it was disfranchised when the Act of Union came into force in January 1801. It also had a part-time judge, the

Recorder Recorder or The Recorder may refer to: Newspapers * ''Indianapolis Recorder'', a weekly newspaper * ''The Recorder'' (Massachusetts newspaper), a daily newspaper published in Greenfield, Massachusetts, US * ''The Recorder'' (Port Pirie), a news ...

of Clonakilty, who held a weekly court of Petty session. The estate lands at Clonakilty were later purchased by the Earls of Shannon, another branch of the Boyle dynasty. They remained the main landlords of the town from the eighteenth century through until the early twentieth century. During the

Irish Rebellion of 1641 The Irish Rebellion of 1641 ( ga, Éirí Amach 1641) was an uprising by Irish Catholics in the Kingdom of Ireland, who wanted an end to anti-Catholic discrimination, greater Irish self-governance, and to partially or fully reverse the plantat ...

, Protestant settlers in Clonakilty fled to Bandon, and much of Clonakilty was burned by Catholic rebels. On October 1642, a Protestant force led by

Lord Forbes Lord Forbes is the senior Lordship of Parliament in the Peerage of Scotland. The title was created sometime after 1436 for Alexander de Forbes, feudal baron of Forbes. The precise date of the creation is not known, but in a Precept dated July 1 ...

consisting of the Scottish Lord Forbes' Regiment and the Irish Bandon Foot reoccupied the town. Lord Forbes left two companies from Lord Forbes' Regiment and one company from the Bandon Foot to

garrison A garrison (from the French ''garnison'', itself from the verb ''garnir'', "to equip") is any body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it. The term now often applies to certain facilities that constitute a mil ...

Clonakilty before leaving the town to relieve Rathbarry Castle, which was under siege by rebel forces. However, almost immediately after Lord Forbes left Clonakilty, a large force of Catholic rebels attacked the town; the two Scottish companies refused to retreat and were killed to a man, while the Irish company fought their way out of the town to an abandoned

ringfort Ringforts, ring forts or ring fortresses are circular fortified settlements that were mostly built during the Bronze Age up to about the year 1000. They are found in Northern Europe, especially in Ireland. There are also many in South Wales ...

near

Rosscarbery Rosscarbery () is a village and census town in County Cork, Ireland. The village is on a shallow estuary, which opens onto Rosscarbery Bay. Rosscarbery is in the Cork South-West (Dáil Éireann) constituency, which has three seats. History The ...

, where they were relieved by Lord Forbes who had returned from

Rathbarry Castlefreke, also known as Rathbarry (), is a townland and village in County Cork, Ireland. The townland is located in the civil parish of Rathbarry on the R598 regional road, to the east of Rosscarbery. Name The townland takes its common I ...

. The reunified force returned to Clonakilty and drove out the rebels, who fled towards the island of

Inchydoney Inchydoney or Inchydoney Island () (sometimes misspelled Inchadoney) is a small island off West Cork, Ireland, connected to the mainland by two causeways. The nearest town is Clonakilty. It has a Blue Flag beach. It is a tourist destination wi ...

, where roughly six hundred of them drowned at high tide. Lord Forbes' men returned to the town and freed a large number of men, women and children imprisoned in Clonakilty's market house who the rebels had planned on burning on a

bonfire A bonfire is a large and controlled outdoor fire, used either for informal disposal of burnable waste material or as part of a celebration. Etymology The earliest recorded uses of the word date back to the late 15th century, with the Catho ...

. The town was also the site of a battle in 1691 during the

Williamite War in Ireland The Williamite War in Ireland (1688–1691; ga, Cogadh an Dá Rí, "war of the two kings"), was a conflict between Jacobite supporters of deposed monarch James II and Williamite supporters of his successor, William III. It is also called th ...

. During the

Irish Rebellion of 1798 The Irish Rebellion of 1798 ( ga, Éirí Amach 1798; Ulster-Scots: ''The Hurries'') was a major uprising against British rule in Ireland. The main organising force was the Society of United Irishmen, a republican revolutionary group influence ...

, Shannonvale near Clonakilty was the site of the Battle of the Big Cross. It was described as "the only place in all

Munster Munster ( gle, an Mhumhain or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the south of Ireland. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" ( ga, rí ruirech). Following the ...

where a blow of some sort had been struck during the Rising of '98". There is a commemorative statue celebrating the Battle of the Big Cross in Astna Square in the centre of Clonakilty.

Michael Collins Michael Collins or Mike Collins most commonly refers to: * Michael Collins (Irish leader) (1890–1922), Irish revolutionary leader, soldier, and politician * Michael Collins (astronaut) (1930–2021), American astronaut, member of Apollo 11 and Ge ...

, who was the Director of Intelligence for the

Irish Republican Army The Irish Republican Army (IRA) is a name used by various paramilitary organisations in Ireland throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. Organisations by this name have been dedicated to irredentism through Irish republicanism, the belief tha ...

(IRA) during the

Irish War of Independence The Irish War of Independence () or Anglo-Irish War was a guerrilla war fought in Ireland from 1919 to 1921 between the Irish Republican Army (IRA, the army of the Irish Republic) and British forces: the British Army, along with the quasi-mil ...

, lived in Clonakilty and attended the local boys' national school. Collins later served as Chairman of the

Provisional Government of Ireland The Provisional Government of Ireland ( ga, Rialtas Sealadach na hÉireann) was the provisional government for the administration of Southern Ireland (1921–22), Southern Ireland from 16 January 1922 to 5 December 1922. It was a transitional adm ...

and was instrumental in the founding of the

Irish Free State The Irish Free State ( ga, Saorstát Éireann, , ; 6 December 192229 December 1937) was a state established in December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty of December 1921. The treaty ended the three-year Irish War of Independence between th ...

. Collins was killed in ambush by the

Anti-Treaty IRA The 1921 Anglo-Irish Treaty ( ga , An Conradh Angla-Éireannach), commonly known in Ireland as The Treaty and officially the Articles of Agreement for a Treaty Between Great Britain and Ireland, was an agreement between the government of the ...

during the

Irish Civil War The Irish Civil War ( ga, Cogadh Cathartha na hÉireann; 28 June 1922 – 24 May 1923) was a conflict that followed the Irish War of Independence and accompanied the establishment of the Irish Free State, an entity independent from the United ...

. He gave several orations from O'Donovan's Hotel on the Main Street of Clonakilty. On Emmet Square, where Collins lived for a period, is a statue of Michael Collins (erected and dedicated in 2002) and a museum (opened in 2016). In April 1943, a

Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is a four-engined heavy bomber developed in the 1930s for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC). Relatively fast and high-flying for a bomber of its era, the B-17 was used primarily in the European Theater ...

was travelling from

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...

to England when it was forced to land at a marsh just outside Clonakilty. The crew (who were uninjured) thought they had been flying over German-occupied

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

. Kennedy Gardens at Emmet Square (formerly Shannon Square) in the centre of town is named after

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination ...

. In June 2012, Clonakilty was damaged by flooding. Clonakilty was founded on 5 May 1613, and on 5 May 2013,

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

Michael D. Higgins Michael Daniel Higgins ( ga, Mícheál Dónal Ó hUigínn; born 18 April 1941) is an Irish politician, poet, sociologist, and broadcaster, who has served as the ninth president of Ireland since November 2011. Entering national politics throug ...

and his wife visited the town to commemorate 400 years since it obtained its original charter.

Churches

Kilgariffe Church (

Church of Ireland The Church of Ireland ( ga, Eaglais na hÉireann, ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Kirk o Airlann, ) is a Christian church in Ireland and an autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. It is organised on an all-Ireland basis and is the second ...

) is a building of 1818 replacing an older church going back to 1613. The Church of the Immaculate Conception (

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

) is a large building in Early French Gothic style, designed by

George Ashlin George Coppinger Ashlin (28 May 1837 – 10 December 1921) was an Irish architect, particularly noted for his work on churches and cathedrals, and who became President of the Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland. Biography Ashlin was ...

and completed in 1880. The old

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

Church was built in 1861 and taken over and used since 1924 as a local Post Office. The local

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's b ...

church is located in the town and became the first church in Ireland to win two Eco Congregation Ireland awards.

Transport

The nearest airport to the town is

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

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 ...

provides coach links from Clonakilty to Cork and

Skibbereen Skibbereen (; ) is a town in County Cork, Ireland. It is located in West Cork West Cork ( ga, Iarthar Chorcaí) is a tourist region and municipal district in County Cork, Ireland. As a municipal district, West Cork falls within the administr ...

. During the summer months, there is a bus link to

Killarney Killarney ( ; ga, Cill Airne , meaning 'church of sloes') is a town in County Kerry, southwestern Ireland. The town is on the northeastern shore of Lough Leane, part of Killarney National Park, and is home to St Mary's Cathedral, Ross Castl ...

via the N71 road through Skibbereen,

Bantry Bantry () is a town in the civil parish of Kilmocomoge in the barony of Bantry on the southwest coast of County Cork, Ireland. It lies in West Cork at the head of Bantry Bay, a deep-water gulf extending for to the west. The Beara Peninsula is ...

Glengarriff Glengarriff () is a village of approximately 140 people on the N71 national secondary road in the Beara Peninsula of County Cork, Ireland. Known internationally as a tourism venue, it has a number of natural attractions. It sits at the norther ...

and

Kenmare Kenmare () is a small town in the south of County Kerry, Ireland. The name Kenmare is the anglicised form of ''Ceann Mara'', meaning "head of the sea", referring to the head of Kenmare Bay. Location Kenmare is located at the head of Kenmare ...

. Clonakilty was one of the destinations on the

West Cork Railway Cork, Bandon and South Coast Railway (CB&SCR), was an Irish gauge () railway in Ireland. It opened in 1849 as the Cork and Bandon Railway (C&BR), changed its name to Cork Bandon and South Coast Railway in 1888 and became part of the Great Sou ...

, an Irish mainline railway from Cork city to various parts of West Cork, which shut down in 1961. Clonakilty railway station opened on 28 August 1886, but finally closed on 1 April 1961. Clonakilty has a

bypass road A bypass is a road or highway that avoids or "bypasses" a built-up area, town, or village, to let through traffic flow without interference from local traffic, to reduce congestion in the built-up area, and to improve road safety. A bypass spec ...

on the N71, to the south of the town, which routes traffic to Cork,

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 ...

, Bandon, Skibbereen and

Dunmanway Dunmanway (, official Irish name: ) is a market town in County Cork, in the southwest of Ireland. It is the geographical centre of the region known as West Cork. It is the birthplace of Sam Maguire, an Irish Protestant republican, for whom the tr ...

via the R599, just west of the town, or vice versa to the R588 via Enniskean and the town centre.

Culture and music

Clonakilty's bars host live music nights throughout the year, and De Barra's Folk Club, Shanley's Music Bar, and O'Donovans and are among the town's music venues. De Barra's Folk Club has featured acts like

Christy Moore Christopher Andrew "Christy" Moore (born 7 May 1945) is an Irish folk singer, songwriter and guitarist. In addition to his significant success as an individual, he is one of the founding members of Planxty and Moving Hearts. His first album, ...

Sharon Shannon Sharon Shannon (born 8 June 1968) is an Irish musician, best known for her work with the button accordion and for her fiddle technique. She also plays the tin whistle and melodeon. Her 1991 debut album, ''Sharon Shannon,'' was the best-selling ...

, Roy Harper,

John Spillane John Spillane (born 1961) is a singer-songwriter from Cork, Ireland. Background Spillane grew up in the Cork suburb of Wilton, in a family of five boys. He was educated in Coláiste an Spioraid Naoimh, Bishopstown. Raised by his mother, she ...

and

Frances Black Frances Black (born 25 June 1960) is an Irish singer and politician. She came to prominence in the late 1980s when she began to play with her family's band, the Black Family, performing a mix of traditional and contemporary Irish music. Bla ...

. A number of notable musicians live in the area. For example,

Noel Redding David Noel Redding (25 December 1945 – 11 May 2003) was an English rock musician, best known as the bass player for the Jimi Hendrix Experience and guitarist/singer for Fat Mattress. Following his departure from the Experience in 1969 a ...

made Clonakilty his home, as has singer-songwriter Roy Harper. English novelist David Mitchell also calls Clonakilty home. An Súgán - geograph

The town also hosts several festivals every year, including the Clonakilty International Guitar Festival in mid-September, the Motion Festival and the Waterfront Festival in August.

Awards

The town won the

Irish Tidy Towns Competition Tidy Towns (Irish: ''Bailte Slachtmhara'') is an annual competition, first held in 1958, organised by the Department of Rural and Community Development in order to honour the tidiest and most attractive cities, towns and villages in the Republic ...

in 1999 and was also named 'Ireland's Tidiest Small Town' in 2017. In 2003, Clonakilty became Ireland's first-ever official

Fair trade Fair trade is an arrangement designed to help producers in developing countries achieve sustainable and equitable trade relationships. The fair trade movement combines the payment of higher prices to exporters with improved social and enviro ...

Town. In 2007 it was awarded the status of European Destination of Excellence by the European Commission at a ceremony in Portugal and is Ireland's first recipient of this title.

Demographics

As of the 2011 census, ethnically Clonakilty was 80% white Irish, 14% "other white", 1.5% black, 1.5% Asian, and 2% other or not stated. In terms of religion, the 2011 census captured a population that was 80.5% Catholic, 10% other stated religions, 8.5% with no religion, and 0.5% not stated.

Food

The town is known for its

black pudding , type = , course = , place_of_origin = Great Britain and Ireland , region =England, Ireland, Scotland , associated_cuisine = United Kingdom and Ireland , creator = , year = , mintime = , maxtime = , served = Hot, occasionally ...

. Clonakilty black pudding originated in Edward Twomey's butcher shop in Pearse Street. The secret spice recipe has been handed down through the generations since the 1880s, and is still known only to the Twomey family who continue to manufacture the pudding at the Clonakilty Food Company.

Tourism

The Model Village in Clonakilty is a tourist destination in the area and includes fully scaled models of Clonakilty and nearby towns - built on a miniature of the area's railway line. Michael Collins House is a museum dedicated to the Irish revolutionary leader

. The museum is set out in a restored Georgian townhouse on Emmet Square, where Collins lived from 1903 to 1905. The museum tells the story of Collins' life and the history of Irish independence through tours, exhibits, interactive displays, and historical artefacts. A "Random Acts of Kindness Festival" was set up by the local Clonakilty Macra na Feirme Club. The 2012 event ran over a weekend in July. Clonakilty Street Carnival takes place in June of each year, and involves live music, activities and other events. Other historical attractions in the town include the Clonakilty Museum, the Georgian houses of Emmet Square and the Micheal Collins Centre which is located a few miles east of the town. A Farmers Market takes place at Emmet Square every Friday.

Education

There are two secondary schools located in the town. Clonakilty Community College is a mixed school and the Sacred Heart Secondary School is an all-girls school. There are 4 Primary Schools located in the town. Clonakilty Agricultural College is located 2 miles east of the town. It is known locally as Darrara College and mainly deals with Agricultural Education.

Sport

Clonakilty has a GAA club (

Clonakilty GAA Clonakilty GAA is a Gaelic football and hurling club based in the town and parish of Clonakilty in County Cork, Ireland. It is affiliated to the Carbery division of Cork. It was founded in October 1887. The club is most famous for being from th ...

), two soccer clubs (Clonakilty A.F.C, Clonakilty Town), a

Rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

club ( Clonakilty R.F.C.) and a Martial Arts club (Warrior Tae Kwon Do). The GAA team won the

Cork Senior Football Championship The Cork Premier Senior Football Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the Bon Secours Cork Premier Senior Hurling Championship and abbreviated to the Cork PSFC) is an annual club Gaelic football competition organised by the Cork Count ...

in 2009, 1996, and were runners-up in the 2003 competition. Clonakilty GAA won their first adult hurling county title when they won the Cork Minor B Hurling Championship in 2007. Clonakilty R.F.C. also became a senior rugby club in 2001 and spent 12 years in the All-Ireland League until they were relegated to Division 1 of the Munster Junior League. Clonakilty A.F.C. won the Beamish Cup in 2008 & 1995 and in 2014 featured Australian international, Alex Swift. Students of the Clonakilty "Warrior Tae Kwon Do" club compete in

Tae Kwon Do ''Taekwondo'', ''Tae Kwon Do'' or ''Taekwon-Do'' (; ko, 태권도/跆拳道 ) is a Korean martial arts, Korean form of martial arts involving punching and kicking techniques, with emphasis on head-height kicks, spinning jump kicks, and fast k ...

Kickboxing Kickboxing is a combat sports, combat sport focused on kicking and punch (strike), punching. The combat takes place in a boxing ring, normally with boxing gloves, mouthguards, shorts, and bare feet to favour the use of kicks. Kickboxing is pract ...

and Freestyle tournaments and the club has produced 4 World Champions in several martial arts disciplines.

Beaches

The closest

Blue Flag beach The Blue Flag is a certification by the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE) that a beach, marina, or sustainable boating tourism operator meets its standards. The Blue Flag is a trademark owned by FEE, which is a not-for-profit non-gov ...

is at Inchydoney Island, immediately to the south of the town. Approximately from Clonakilty, and looking out over the Galley Head lighthouse, is Long Strand. This sandy beach is a mile and a half long, and bounded by dunes at Castlefreke (a protected Special Area of Conservation). Duneen Beach is across the bay from the right-hand side of Inchydoney beach.

International relations

Clonakilty has been twinned with: * - Chateaulin,

Brittany Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, Historical region, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known ...

, France (in 1986) * -

Waldaschaff Waldaschaff is a community in the Aschaffenburg district in the ''Regierungsbezirk'' of Lower Franconia (''Unterfranken'') in Bavaria, Germany. Geography Location The community lies at the threshold of the High Spessart (range), roughly 15 ...

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...

, Germany (since 1989)

Notable people

Born in Clonakilty

Peter Callanan Peter Callanan (29 June 1935 – 11 October 2009) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician and served as a member of Seanad Éireann from 1997 until his death in 2009. Born in Clonakilty, County Cork, Callanan was educated in Mount Melleray College, ...

, politician and

Fianna Fáil Fianna Fáil (, ; meaning 'Soldiers of Destiny' or 'Warriors of Fál'), officially Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party ( ga, audio=ga-Fianna Fáil.ogg, Fianna Fáil – An Páirtí Poblachtánach), is a conservative and Christian- ...

senator *

, was born in Woodfield (now the

Michael Collins Birthplace The Michael Collins Birthplace is a cottage and National Monument located in Kilkerranmore, County Cork, Ireland. It was the birthplace of Irish revolutionary leader Michael Collins (1890–1922). Location The Michael Collins Birthplace is l ...

) 5 km west of Clonakilty, and lived in the town for a period. *

Tadhgo Crowley Timothy J. Crowley (24 April 1921 – 3 December 1963), also known as Tadhgo Crowley, was an Irish Gaelic football player and referee. Throughout his 18-year club career, he played for his hometown club Clonakilty, winning seven County Champions ...

, footballer and All-Ireland Senior Football Championship winning captain (1945) *

Alfred Elmore Alfred Elmore (1815–1881) was a British history and genre painter. Life Alfred Elmore was born in Clonakilty, Ireland, the son of John Richard Elmore, a surgeon who retired from the British Army to Clonakilty. His family moved to London, ...

, Victorian artist *

William Harnett William Michael Harnett (August 10, 1848 – October 29, 1892) was an Irish-American painter known for his trompe-l'œil still lifes of ordinary objects. Early life Harnett was born in Clonakilty, County Cork, Ireland during the time of the Gr ...

, Irish-American artist * Máire Ní Shíthe (1868–13 July 1955), Irish language writer and translator *

Val O'Donovan Michael Valentine (Val) O'Donovan, CM (February 14, 1936 – February 5, 2005) was a Canadian businessman and Chancellor of the University of Waterloo. Born on Valentine's Day in 1936 in Cork, Ireland, to parents Patrick Joseph and Mary Imel ...

, entrepreneur and academic * Mary Jane O'Donovan Rossa, poet and political activist *

Louise O'Neill Louise O'Neill is an Irish author who writes primarily for young adult fiction, young adults. She was born in 1985 and grew up in Clonakilty, in West Cork, Ireland. Career O'Neill moved to New York City in 2010. Upon returning to Ireland in 201 ...

, author *

Liam Twomey Liam Twomey (born 3 April 1967) is a medical doctor and former Irish Fine Gael politician who served as a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Wexford constituency from 2002 to 2007 and 2011 to 2016. Early life and education Twomey was born in Bealad, Cl ...

, politician and

Fine Gael Fine Gael (, ; English: "Family (or Tribe) of the Irish") is a liberal-conservative and Christian-democratic political party in Ireland. Fine Gael is currently the third-largest party in the Republic of Ireland in terms of members of Dáil � ...

TD and senator

Notable residents

* Roy Harper, singer-songwriter *

Eamonn McGrath Eamonn McGrath (14 June 1929 – 5 May 2008) was an Irish author. Life Born the third of four children, McGrath spent his childhood in a small farming community near Taghmon, County Wexford. He was educated by the Augustinians at the Good Cou ...

, author * David Mitchell, author *

, musician * Joseph Walsh, politician, Fianna Fáil TD and former Minister for Agriculture

References

External links

Official Web site (Clonakilty town council)
{{Authority control Towns and villages in County Cork