Drimoleague (historically ''Drumdalege'', ) is a village on the R586 road at its junction with the R593 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 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 ...

. It lies roughly halfway between the towns of

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 ...

and

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 ...

, within the

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 ...

of Dromdaleague. As of the 2016 census of Ireland, Drimoleague had 451 residents.

History

Drimoleague 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 administrative area of Cork County Council, and includes the towns of Bantry, Castletownber ...

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 ...

s of Baurnahulla and Dromdaleague. Evidence of ancient settlement within these townlands includes a number of ecclesiastical,

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 ...

holy well A holy well or sacred spring is a well, spring or small pool of water revered either in a Christian or pagan context, sometimes both. The water of holy wells is often thought to have healing qualities, through the numinous presence of its gua ...

and fulacht fia sites. Other archaeological sites include the

Clodagh Standing Stones Clodagh Standing Stones is a pair of standing stones forming a stone row and National Monument located in County Cork, Ireland. Location Clodagh Standing Stones stand northeast of Drimoleague. History The stones probably date to the Br ...

, a Stone Age site, which lies to the northeast. Castle Donovan, a ruined Irish

tower house A tower house is a particular type of stone structure, built for defensive purposes as well as habitation. Tower houses began to appear in the Middle Ages, especially in mountainous or limited access areas, in order to command and defend strateg ...

, is situated approximately to the north. Drimoleague is the start for one of the five

Pilgrim Paths of Ireland Pilgrim Paths Ireland (PPI) is a non-denominational representative body for Ireland's medieval pilgrim paths. PPI was founded in 2013 to oversee the development and promotion of Ireland's medieval pilgrimage paths, and consists of 12 community gr ...

, St. Finbar's Pilgrim Path, which ends 35-kilometers away in

Gougane Barra Gougane Barra () is a scenic valley and heritage site in the Shehy Mountains of County Cork, Ireland. It is near Ballingeary in the Muskerry ''Gaeltacht''. Gougane Barra is at the source of the River Lee and includes a lake with an oratory built ...

. The village's Anglican (Church of Ireland) church was built in 1790, and is now in ruin. The local Methodist church was built . In 1956, a new Catholic church was completed on the site of an older church. Designed by architect

Frank Murphy William Francis Murphy (April 13, 1890July 19, 1949) was an American politician, lawyer and jurist from Michigan. He was a Democrat who was named to the Supreme Court of the United States in 1940 after a political career that included serving ...

, it is credited as being West Cork's first building in the

modernist Modernism is both a philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new forms of art, philosophy, an ...

style. Drimoleague railway station opened in 1877 on the

Cork, Bandon and South Coast 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 South ...

line. It closed in the early 1960s. The TV series '' Holding'', based on the similarly titled book by

Graham Norton Graham William Walker (born 4 April 1963), better known by his stage name Graham Norton, is an Irish actor, author, comedian, commentator, and presenter. Well known for his work in the UK, he is a five-time BAFTA TV Award winner for his comedy ...

, was filmed in the village and surrounding area in 2021.

Amenities

Local amenities include four public houses, a pitch & putt course, tennis courts, and a children's playground. The local national (primary) school, Drimoleague National School, had an enrollment of 59 pupils as of 2021. Clann na nGael GAA club has facilities at Páirc Tadhg Na Samhna in Drimoleague.

Gallery

Drimoleague_Station.jpg, Former railway station that led to the foundation of Drimoleague Drimoleague Junction Station geograph-2230230-by-Ben-Brooksbank.jpg, Drimoleague railway station in 1955

References

{{Reflist Towns and villages in County Cork