Douglas () is a suburb, with a village core, in

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' ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. Douglas is also the name of 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 ...

, Roman Catholic parish,

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 ...

parish and

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority ...

in which it is contained. Originally a separate village, the growth of both the village and the city has meant Douglas has become incorporated into the city over time. The 2017

Mackinnon Report The MacKinnon Report, officially titled Report and recommendations: Blue Ribbon Panel on Alberta’s Finances, is the official report documenting the findings and conclusions of Blue-ribbon committee, Blue-Ribbon Panel on Alberta's Finances into t ...

proposed that Douglas and surrounding residential areas be moved to within an extended Cork City Council boundary, ending the division of Douglas between the city and county administrative areas. Douglas, along with

Rochestown Rochestown is a primarily residential area in Cork City, Ireland. Originally a somewhat rural area in County Cork, housing developments in the 20th and 21st centuries have connected the area to Douglas and nearby suburbs. The area was formally in ...

, Grange and Frankfield, formally moved into the city council area on 31 May 2019, following the 2019 local elections.

History

Prehistory

There are a number of extant or proposed prehistoric sites in Douglas and the surrounding area, including a

shell midden A midden (also kitchen midden or shell heap) is an old dump for domestic waste which may consist of animal bone, human excrement, botanical material, mollusc shells, potsherds, lithics (especially debitage), and other artifacts and eco ...

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 ...

souterrain ''Souterrain'' (from French ''sous terrain'', meaning "under ground") is a name given by archaeologists to a type of underground structure associated mainly with the European Atlantic Iron Age. These structures appear to have been brought northw ...

s, and a

fulacht fiadh A burnt mound is an archaeological feature consisting of a mound of shattered stones and charcoal, normally with an adjacent hearth and trough. The trough could be rock-cut, wood-lined or clay-lined to ensure it was watertight. Radiocarbon d ...

. Further evidence of prehistoric settlement in the area includes the finding of a

Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...

decorated beaten gold disc in the townland of Castletreasure; although reputed to be related to the ruined castle of the same name, it has actually been dated to 2500-2000 BC.

Origins (13th-17th century)

The first known mention of Douglas is in an inquisition on the lands of Gerald de Prendergast in 1251, and in a 1291 taxation document which records the lands as being an

appurtenance An appurtenance is something subordinate to or belonging to another larger, principal entity, that is, an adjunct, satellite or accessory that generally accompanies something else.Bauvier. It is alternately listed as "Duffelglasse" and "Duglasse" in 1302 and 1306, respectively, as part of the parish of Carrigaline. In the year 1603, it became one of the liberties of Cork City. In 1615, parochial records mention the chapel of Douglas being laid waste, reportedly due to theft of the foundation stones, and in a 1700 entry of the same records it is mentioned that the ruined chapel in question had been the church of Carrigaline parish for a century prior to the construction of a new church in Carrigaline itself. By the mid-seventeenth century, it had a population of 308 people (of whom 33 were English) and consisted of a number of large farms.

Urbanisation and the linen industry

The area began to develop as an urban settlement in the early eighteenth century with the opening of the "Douglas factory" in 1726, reported in August 1755 to be the property of "Messrs. Perry, Carleton and Co.", with 100 looms initially operational. The mills produced sail-cloth and supplied sails to the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

, amongst other clients. The industry was established by

Huguenot The Huguenots ( , also , ) were a religious group of French Protestants who held to the Reformed, or Calvinist, tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, the Genevan burgomaster Be ...

weavers and textile workers, such as the Besnards, who acquired the Mills by 1783 and in 1801 installed the first powered spindles in Ireland, along with skilled workers from

Ulster Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label= Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United King ...

and

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

. In addition to the mill workers, employees included over 1,000 spinners working from their houses, and hacklers, bleachers and labourers tasked with preparing raw material in Douglas village. Grange Road - geograph

Further

textile mills Textile Manufacturing or Textile Engineering is a major industry. It is largely based on the conversion of fibre into yarn, then yarn into fabric. These are then dyed or printed, fabricated into cloth which is then converted into useful goods s ...

opened in the nineteenth century, including an additional Besnard-owned

scutching Scutching is a step in the processing of cotton or the dressing of flax or hemp in preparation for spinning. The scutching process separates the impurities from the raw material, such as the seeds from raw cotton or the straw and woody stem fr ...

mill (Ravensdale, 1806), Lane's Corn and Hemp Mills (now Douglas Community Park, 1845), O’Brien's Brothers (St Patrick's Woollen Mills, 1882), Donnybrook Mills (Wallis & Pollock Flax Mills, 1866; re-opened as Morroghs' Woolen Mills, 1889/1890) and Conroy's Rope and Twine Mills (now Galway's Lane, 1892). Most of the mills ceased to operate in the early twentieth century, although St Patrick's Woollen Mills and Donnybrook Mills continued to operate until the 1970s. Some of the houses built for the mill workers are still in existence, including a

terrace Terrace may refer to: Landforms and construction * Fluvial terrace, a natural, flat surface that borders and lies above the floodplain of a stream or river * Terrace, a street suffix * Terrace, the portion of a lot between the public sidewalk an ...

of houses near the junction of the Grange Road and Donnybrook Hill. Other large businesses of the time included an Osiery beside Conroy's Mills, two large brick manufacturers which straddled the nearby estuary, the Ravensdale Flour Mill, and the Woodville Flour Mill which was situated south of the Rochestown train station and produced sea biscuits and ship bread.

Suburban development

Douglas developed as a suburban area throughout the later eighteenth century and the nineteenth century, and was noted for the high concentration of ' big houses'. The popularity of the area among the nobility was such that elevated prices were commanded for the surrounding lands, and as a result, the acreage of the estates was lower than average. The oldest house was believed to have been Ronayne's Court, built in 1627 by Morris Ronayne; although the house was demolished in 1969, the original inscribed fireplace was moved to

Blackrock Castle Blackrock Castle is a castellated fortification located at Blackrock, about 2 km from Cork city centre on the banks of the River Lee in Ireland. Originally developed as a coastal defence fortification in the 16th century to protect upper ...

. The nearby Montfieldstown House was reputed to be the inspiration for Havisham House of

Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian er ...

Great Expectations ''Great Expectations'' is the thirteenth novel by Charles Dickens and his penultimate completed novel. It depicts the education of an orphan nicknamed Pip (Great Expectations), Pip (the book is a ''bildungsroman''; a coming-of-age story). It ...

, having been abandoned following a ruined wedding. Bloomfield House was connected to a notorious libel case between the prominent Cork Pike and Beamish families, in which the judge, who ruled in favour of Pike in ''Pike v Beamish'', was given the house upon announcement of the verdict by the mother of the plaintiff. Windsor House was occupied by Lord Bandon, Sir Abraham Sutton and the

Kiltegan Fathers St. Patrick's Society for the Foreign Missions (Latin language, Latin ''Societas Sancti Patritii pro Missionibus ad Exteros''; also known as the Kiltegan Fathers) is a Catholic Church, Catholic society of apostolic life of pontifical right for me ...

, before being redeveloped as the Rochestown Park Hotel. Ballybrack House was occupied by the Lane family, also of Vernon Mount, and is the birthplace of art dealer

Sir Hugh Lane Sir Hugh Percy Lane (9 November 1875 – 7 May 1915) was an Irish art dealer, collector and gallery director. He is best known for establishing Dublin's Municipal Gallery of Modern Art (the first known public gallery of modern art in the w ...

. It received frequent visits from

Lady Gregory Isabella Augusta, Lady Gregory (''née'' Persse; 15 March 1852 – 22 May 1932) was an Irish dramatist, folklorist and theatre manager. With William Butler Yeats and Edward Martyn, she co-founded the Irish Literary Theatre and the Abbey Theatre, ...

, a close relation of the family. High Court, built in 1720 and later known as Westgrove, was the birthplace of playwright and

Abbey An abbey is a type of monastery used by members of a religious order under the governance of an abbot or abbess. Abbeys provide a complex of buildings and land for religious activities, work, and housing of Christian monks and nuns. The conce ...

director Lennox Robinson. Grange House was home of the Conron family, descended from

Sir Christopher Hatton Sir Christopher Hatton KG (1540 – 20 November 1591) was an English politician, Lord Chancellor of England and a favourite of Elizabeth I of England. He was one of the judges who found Mary, Queen of Scots guilty of treason. Early years Sir ...

, for over 300 years. Douglas Hall, one of the few remaining examples of a slate-fronted house in Ireland, was home to Rev. Dr. Francis Moylan,

Bishop of Cork The Bishop of Cork was a separate episcopal title which took its name after the city of Cork in Ireland. The title is now united with other bishoprics. In the Church of Ireland it is held by the Bishop of Cork, Cloyne and Ross, and in the Roman C ...

, who was made a

freeman Freeman, free men, or variant, may refer to: * a member of the Third Estate in medieval society (commoners), see estates of the realm * Freeman, an apprentice who has been granted freedom of the company, was a rank within Livery companies * Free ...

for his rhetorical opposition to the French invasion at

Bantry Bay Bantry Bay ( ga, Cuan Baoi / Inbhear na mBárc / Bádh Bheanntraighe) is a bay located in County Cork, Ireland. The bay runs approximately from northeast to southwest into the Atlantic Ocean. It is approximately 3-to-4 km (1.8-to-2.5 mil ...

during the

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

Vernon Mount Vernon Mount (sometimes Vernon Mount House or Mount Vernon) is a ruined Georgian manor house in Cork, Ireland. It was built between the 1780s and early 1790s to designs attributed to Abraham Hargrave. Originally built for the merchant Hayes fam ...

, which was built for a wealthy merchant family in the late 18th century, was occupied by Sir Henry Browne Hayes, who was sentenced to penal servitude in

Botany Bay Botany Bay (Dharawal: ''Kamay''), an open oceanic embayment, is located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, south of the Sydney central business district. Its source is the confluence of the Georges River at Taren Point and the Cook ...

after attempting to abduct an heiress for forced marriage. Other prominent Big Houses included Ravenscourt House, Old Court, Norwood Court, Ballybrack House, Donnybrook House, Montpelier House, Grange Erin, Castletreasure House, Bellvue House, Tramore House (home of the philanthropic Reeves family), and Maryborough House (now the Maryborough House Hotel, with an earlier late-17th century lodge). Douglas was made a separate

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

parish sometime before 1768. St Columba's (Roman Catholic) church was built in 1814 by the Rev. Thomas Barry, according to local legend using the stones of the ruined castle of Castletreasure. A Douglas "Chapel of Ease" to the

parish of Carrigaline was established on 17 September 1786, with the establishment of a full separate parish in February 1875. In 1855, the Protestant population of the parish was reported as having been 310, with 150 children attending the parish school. The 1785 church was rebuilt and reconsecrated on 27 August 1875 as St Luke's church, however, following the death of the resident Canon in 1886, as well as the principal architect, the church remained without a spire until 1889, with the church bell and tower clock donated by Mary Reeves of Tramore House, with the stipulation that the clock face towards her front door. Notable parishioners interred at St Luke's include the poet Richard Alfred Milliken and librarian Richard Caulfield; in addition, a plaque was erected in the memory of art collector

, deceased in the sinking of the

Lusitania Lusitania (; ) was an ancient Iberian Roman province located where modern Portugal (south of the Douro river) and a portion of western Spain (the present Extremadura and the province of Salamanca) lie. It was named after the Lusitani or Lusita ...

. The nearby parish of St Finbar's opened a chapel of ease in Frankfield in 1838, later known as the Holy Trinity, on ground donated by Samuel Lane. An additional graveyard, located on Carr's Hill, was opened in 1848 on land donated by the Master of the

Workhouse In Britain, a workhouse () was an institution where those unable to support themselves financially were offered accommodation and employment. (In Scotland, they were usually known as poorhouses.) The earliest known use of the term ''workhouse'' ...

, George Carr, to deal with the increase in deaths from the Great Famine. In 1898, the

Cork Electric Tramways and Lighting Company The Cork Electric Tramways and Lighting Company operated a passenger tramway service in Cork between 1898 and 1931. History Origins The Cork Electric Tramways and Lighting Company was a subsidiary of British Thomson-Houston, a major electrica ...

built a route from Cork city centre to Douglas. This operated until 1932 when it was replaced by a bus service.

Later developments (20th-21st century)

In the second half of the twentieth century, Douglas underwent major changes as it became a full-fledged

suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a larger city/urban area or as a separate ...

of Cork. New housing was built and the area between Douglas and Cork City became built-up. Schools, shopping centres and other amenities developed to serve this new population. Douglas Community School was built in 1968, and the original Douglas Shopping Centre was completed in 1972. This shopping centre underwent a significant redevelopment at the turn of the 21st century (although, as of 2020, was closed following a fire). A second shopping centre, Douglas Court Shopping Centre, was built in the late 1980s and a 5-screen

multiplex Multiplex may refer to: * Multiplex (automobile), a former American car make * Multiplex (comics), a DC comic book supervillain * Multiplex (company), a global contracting and development company * Multiplex (assay), a biological assay which measu ...

cinema (since demolished) was also built. Several hotels, including the Rochestown Park Hotel and Maryborough House Hotel, were also developed. Following the release of the

MacKinnon Report The MacKinnon Report, officially titled Report and recommendations: Blue Ribbon Panel on Alberta’s Finances, is the official report documenting the findings and conclusions of Blue-ribbon committee, Blue-Ribbon Panel on Alberta's Finances into t ...

in 2017, covering a possible extension of Cork city's boundary, it was proposed that the Douglas area (including Douglas, Frankfield,

Grange Grange may refer to: Buildings * Grange House, Scotland, built in 1564, and demolished in 1906 * Grange Estate, Pennsylvania, built in 1682 * Monastic grange, a farming estate belonging to a monastery Geography Australia * Grange, South Austral ...

and Donnybrook) would be moved to the administrative area of

Cork City Council Cork City Council ( ga, Comhairle Cathrach Chorcaí) is the authority responsible for local government in the city of Cork in Ireland. As a city council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001. Prior to the enactment of the 2001 Act, ...

. This, if implemented, would move all of Douglas to the city, ending the divide of the town between the city and county. The boundary change (incorporating parts of Ballincollig, Douglas, Glanmire, and Rochestown within the city boundary) occurred in late May 2019.

Residential areas

From the late 19th and into the 20th century, there was an expansion of

residential area A residential area is a land used in which housing predominates, as opposed to industrial and commercial areas. Housing may vary significantly between, and through, residential areas. These include single-family housing, multi-family residen ...

s in the Douglas catchment. Housing developments (mostly private, with some

social housing Public housing is a form of housing tenure in which the property is usually owned by a government authority, either central or local. Although the common goal of public housing is to provide affordable housing, the details, terminology, def ...

) were built in Grange, Frankfield, Donnybrook, Maryborough, Rochestown, Mount Oval and along the two main roads connecting Douglas to the city centre, the Douglas Road and the South Douglas Road. Donnybrook, for example, is south of Douglas village, and has a small supermarket, snooker club, football club (

College Corinthians College Corinthians A.F.C. is an Irish association football club based in Douglas, County Cork. Their senior men's team play in the Munster Senior League Senior Premier Division. They also regularly compete in the FAI Cup, the FAI Intermediate ...

) and forested walkway (at Ballybrack Woods) which serve as amenities for the residential developments in the Donnybrook Hill area. Grange and Frankfield (encompassed by Frankfield/Grange parish) lie to the west of Douglas village, and are mainly residential areas served by retail outlets (including SuperValu and

Aldi Aldi (stylised as ALDI) is the common company brand name of two German multinational family-owned discount supermarket chains operating over 10,000 stores in 20 countries. The chain was founded by brothers Karl and Theo Albrecht in 1946, when t ...

), schools (like Scoil Nioclais primary school) and other services (including an office of Douglas credit union). The residential development at Mount Oval has a bar, Spar, and a pharmacy.

Amenities

Amenities and green-spaces in the area include Douglas Community Park (a 5-acre park close to the centre of Douglas which includes a playground), and Ballybrack Woods (a wooded area south of Douglas village which is known locally as 'Mangala'). Douglas has two golf facilities, Douglas Golf Club at Maryborough Hill and a driving range at Frankfield Golf Club. There have been calls to build a pedestrian and cycle trail through the woods around

, carried by an overbridge across the South Ring Road to Tramore Valley Park.

Shopping and business

The village centre of Douglas has two principal commercial streets, East Douglas Street and West Douglas Street, which are situated approximately 300m apart. Retail activity is also centred around two shopping centres, Douglas Court Shopping Centre and Douglas Village Shopping Centre. "Douglas Court" (anchored by

Dunnes Stores Dunnes Stores is an Irish multinational retail chain that primarily sells food, clothes and household wares. In addition to its main customer base in Ireland, the chain also has operations in Spain, and formerly in England and Scotland. The fo ...

) was built in the early-1990s, and "Douglas Village" (anchored by

Tesco Tesco plc () is a British multinational groceries and general merchandise retailer headquartered in Welwyn Garden City, England. In 2011 it was the third-largest retailer in the world measured by gross revenues and the ninth-largest in th ...

, Marks and Spencer and

TK Maxx TK Maxx is a subsidiary of the American apparel and home goods company TJX Companies based in Framingham, Massachusetts. The stores operate throughout the United Kingdom, Australia, Ireland, Germany, Poland, Austria and the Netherlands, totalli ...

) was originally developed in the mid-1970s and was the second shopping centre ever built in Ireland. Douglas was formerly the site of the headquarters of Cork and Limerick Savings Bank. However, this bank was merged into Trustee Savings Bank in 1992. The former headquarters was initially still used for regional administration, but this function was transferred to a new building in

Cork Airport Business Park 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 ...

. A farmers market is held every Saturday morning outside the Douglas Village Shopping Centre entrance.

Demographics

In the 2011 census, the percentage of Irish nationals living in Douglas was 88.8%. UK nationals accounted for 1.7%; Polish nationals 3.2%; Lithuanians 0.6%; other EU nationals 2.1%; other nationals 2.9%; and 0.7% did not state their nationality. In the 2016 census, 78.6% of residents of the Douglas

electoral division An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger state (a country, administrative region, or other poli ...

identified as

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 ...

, 8% were members of other religions, 12% had no religion and less than 1% did not state a religion. In the same census, 86.2% of electoral division residents identified as white Irish, 8.3% were other whites, 1% were black, 1.7% Asian or Asian Irish, 1.4% were of other ethnicities, and 1% did not state an ethnicity.

Sport

GAA

Raonaithe Nemo club building (geograph 4530285)

GAA clubs in the area include the

Douglas GAA Douglas GAA is a Gaelic Athletic Association club located in Douglas, County Cork, Ireland. The club participates at different levels in hurling, Gaelic football, camogie and ladies football. The club is part of the Seandún division of Cork ...

and

Nemo Rangers Nemo Rangers Hurling & Football Club is a Cork-based Gaelic Athletic Association club on the southside of Cork city, Ireland. The club was founded in 1922 and is involved in Gaelic football, hurling, Ladies football and Camogie. History Nemo R ...

hurling and football clubs. Nemo Rangers were historically associated with Turners Cross, but moved to a new location in the Trabeg area of Douglas in the 1990s. In the 2004, 2007 and 2012 under-10 (u10)

Community Games Aldi Community Games is an Irish independent voluntary organisation and National Governing Body providing opportunities for children and young people to grow and develop in a positive and healthy way while experiencing a wide range of sporting and ...

, Douglas won the Cork Community Games, the Munster Community Games and the all-Ireland Community Games.

Association football

Local

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

clubs include

Tramore Athletic F.C. Tramore Athletic F.C. is an List of association football clubs in the Republic of Ireland, Irish association football club based in Douglas, County Cork. Their senior men's team currently plays in the Munster Senior League (association football) ...

, Grangevale AFC,

and Douglas Hall AFC.

Golf

There are also local golf (and pitch and putt) clubs, including Douglas Golf Club, Frankfield Golf Club and Douglas Pitch and Putt Club.

Rugby union

Douglas has representation in

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 ...

, and Douglas RFC was founded in 1902 as one of the earliest Cork rugby clubs. While this original club drew members from the workforce of St Patrick's Woollen Mills in Douglas (which closed in the 1970s), the club in its current form was founded in 1979.

Other sports

Other sports clubs include tennis (Douglas Tennis Club), basketball (Fr. Mathews Basketball Club), gymnastics (Douglas Gymnastics Club), martial arts (at Elite Fitness Centre), cricket and hockey clubs (

Cork Harlequins Cork Harlequins Hockey and Cricket Club is a multi-sports club based in the Douglas area of Cork in Ireland. The club was founded in 1925. Although Harlequins is best known for its field hockey and cricket teams, during its history the club has ...

and Church of Ireland Hockey Club).

Transport

Road

The N40 passes through Douglas, but it is not possible to turn onto it in an eastbound direction and westbound traffic may not leave the road. Fuller access is available via the N28 from nearby

. Douglas is served by a number of R-standard roads, including the R609 (which links to the N28 at Maryborough), R610 (

Passage West Passage West (locally known as "Passage"; ) is a port town in County Cork, Ireland, situated on the west bank of Cork Harbour, some 10 km south-east of Cork city. The town has many services, amenities and social outlets. Passage West was ...

to Cork city centre), R851 (Cork city centre to the N27), and R853 (to Ballinlough).

Bus

Bus services are provided by

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 ...

, and the routes which pass through Douglas include numbers 206 (

to the city centre), 207 ( Donnybrook to

Ballyvolane Ballyvolane () is a townland and suburb of Cork on the north side of the city, that borders Mayfield, White's Cross, Glenheights and Dublin Hill. The townland of Ballyvolane is in the civil parish of St. Anne's Shandon. Ballyvolane is within the ...

), 216 ( Monkstown to

Cork University Hospital Cork University Hospital ( ga, Ospidéal na hOllscoile Corcaigh) is a large university teaching hospital in Wilton, Cork in Ireland. Its academic partner is University College Cork. It is the only Level 1 Trauma Centre in Ireland. It is a public ...

), 219 (

Munster Technological University Munster Technological University (MTU; ga, Ollscoil Teicneolaíochta na Mumhan) is a public technological university consisting of six campuses located in Cork and Kerry. The university was established in January 2021, the result of a merger b ...

Bishopstown Campus to Mahon), 220 ( Ovens - Grange Manor to

Carrigaline Carrigaline () is a town and civil parish in County Cork, Ireland, situated on the River Owenabue. Located about south of Cork city, and with a population of 15,770 people, it is one of the largest commuter towns of the city. The R611 regiona ...

and Camden Fort), and 223 ( Cork City Centre to

Haulbowline Haulbowline ( ga, Inis Sionnach; non, Ál-boling) is an island in Cork Harbour off the coast of Ireland. The world's first yacht club was founded on Haulbowline in 1720. The western side of the island is the main naval base and headquarters f ...

Rail

The nearest active railway station is

Cork Kent railway station Kent Station ( ga, Stáisiún Cheannt) is an Iarnród Éireann railway station in Cork (city), Cork, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Originally opened in 1893, the station operates as a hub for Intercity services to Dublin Heuston railway stati ...

, approximately 5 km away. Until 1932, Douglas was served by the Blackpool-Douglas route of the

Religious congregations

As of the 2016 census, 78.6% of the population of the Douglas electoral division identified as

, with St Columbas as the first Catholic parish church in the area, dating to 1814. From the 1960s, with housing developments and population growth in Douglas, overcrowding in St Columbas prompted a decision to build a new Catholic church in the Grange/Frankfield area. This new church (the Church of the Incarnation) was consecrated in 1976, and was a chapel-of-ease to the Douglas parish before being separating into its own parish in 1982. St Patrick's Catholic church serves the Rochestown area, and dates to 1991. Other religious congregations serving the Douglas population include St Lukes (

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

) church which was consecrated in 1875, the Wesley Chapel (

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 on the Douglas Road, Douglas

Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only (believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compete ...

congregation (which meets at Douglas Community School), Radical Life (

Pentecostal Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a Protestant Charismatic Christian movement

) church, the Holy Trinity (Anglican) church in Frankfield which dates to 1838, and the Inspiration House ( RCCG) in Frankfield.

Education

Primary schools A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ed ...

serving the area include St Columba's GNS and St Columba's GNS (Catholic girls and boys national schools respectively), Scoil An Athair Tadhg Ó Murchú (a mixed-gender

gaelscoil A Gaelscoil (; plural: ''Gaelscoileanna'') is an Irish language-medium school in Ireland: the term refers especially to Irish-medium schools outside the Irish-speaking regions or Gaeltacht. Over 50,000 students attend Gaelscoileanna at primary an ...

), St Luke's National School (a

mixed-gender school) and Scoil Nioclais (a mixed-gender Catholic primary school in Grange). Other nearby schools include Eglantine (a Catholic girls school in Ballinlough) and Rochestown Educate Together National School and Rochestown National School (both mixed-gender schools in

Douglas Community School Douglas Community School, also known as Douglas Com, The Com or DCS, is an all-boys community school in Douglas, Cork, Ireland. It was founded as Coláiste Muire by the Presentation Brothers in 1926 as a juniorate (i.e. for lower-cycle secon ...

(boys) and Regina Mundi College (girls) are secondary schools in Douglas.

Notable residents

* John Bainbridge, first-class cricketer and

rear-admiral *

John Dunlay John Dunlay Victoria Cross, VC (1831 – 17 October 1890), also known as John Dunley or John Dunlea was an Irish recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to ...

, recipient of the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...

Jack Gleeson Jack Gleeson (born 20 May 1992) is an Irish actor who played Joffrey Baratheon on the HBO television series ''Game of Thrones'' (2011–2014). Following this role, Gleeson took a hiatus from acting, but has since taken part in independent th ...

, film and stage

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

Gerald Goldberg Gerald Yael Goldberg (12 April 1912 – 31 December 2003) was an Irish lawyer and politician who in 1977 became the first Jewish Lord Mayor of Cork. Goldberg was the son of Lithuanian Jewish refugees; his father was put ashore in Cork with oth ...

, first Jewish Lord Mayor of Cork *

Rob Heffernan Robert Heffernan (born 28 February 1978) is an Irish race walker. Career At the 2000 Olympics he finished in 28th place, and at the 2004 Olympics he was disqualified, both in the 20 km race walking discipline. At the 2008 Olympic Games ...

, Irish Olympian *

Cillian Murphy Cillian Murphy (; born 25 May 1976) is an Irish actor. Originally the lead singer, guitarist, and lyricist of the rock band The Sons of Mr. Green Genes, he turned down a record deal in the late 1990s and began acting on stage and in short an ...

, film and stage

Billy O'Callaghan Billy O'Callaghan (born 9 December 1974) is an Irish short fiction writer and novelist. He is best known for his short-story collection ''The Things We Lose, The Things We Leave Behind'', which was awarded the Bord Gáis Energy Irish Book Award ...

Irish short story The Irish short story has a distinctive place in the modern Irish literary tradition. Many of Ireland's best writers, both in English and Irish, have been practitioners of the genre. Origins It is possible that the Irish short story evolved nat ...

writer *

Donncha O'Callaghan Donncha O'Callaghan (born 24 March 1979) is an Irish retired rugby union player. He spent most of his career with his home province Munster, spending 17 seasons with the province and winning five major trophies, before finishing his career with ...

, former professional

player *

Ronan O'Gara Ronan John Ross O'Gara ( ga, Rónán Ó Gadhra; born 7 March 1977) is an Irish former rugby union player and current coach. O'Gara played as a fly-half and is Ireland's second most-capped player and highest ever points scorer. He is currently ...

, former professional rugby player and coach *

Lennox Robinson Esmé Stuart Lennox Robinson (4 October 1886 – 15 October 1958) was an Irish dramatist, poet and theatre producer and director who was involved with the Abbey Theatre. Life Robinson was born in Westgrove, Douglas, County Cork and raised in ...

, dramatist, poet and director of the

Abbey Theatre The Abbey Theatre ( ga, Amharclann na Mainistreach), also known as the National Theatre of Ireland ( ga, Amharclann Náisiúnta na hÉireann), in Dublin, Ireland, is one of the country's leading cultural institutions. First opening to the pu ...

* Chiedozie Ogbene, football player from Grange

Notes and references

{{Authority control Geography of Cork (city) Towns and villages in County Cork