Charleville ( ga, Ráth Luirc or ''An Ráth'') is a town in north

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 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 in the Golden Vale, on a tributary of the

River Maigue A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wa ...

, near the border with

County Limerick "Remember Limerick" , image_map = Island_of_Ireland_location_map_Limerick.svg , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Republic of Ireland, Ireland , subdivision_type1 = Provinces of Ireland, Province , subd ...

. Charleville is 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) is ...

and is the second-largest town between

Limerick Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2016 ...

and

Cork Cork or CORK may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container ***Wine cork Places Ireland * Cork (city) ** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...

, the largest being Mallow. The Roman Catholic parish of Charleville is within the Diocese of Cloyne. Significant industries in the town include Kerry Co-Op and the construction and services sectors.

Names

The old name for the place was Rathcogan, later Rathgogan or Rathgoggan, the last ( ga, Ráth an Ghogánaigh) still the name of 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 authorit ...

around the town. The name means Cogan's ''rath'' ( ringfort), after the family of

Miles de Cogan Milo de Cogan ( fl. 1170–1182) was an Anglo-Norman knight from Glamorgan who played a significant role in the Norman conquest of Ireland under Richard de Clare, 2nd Earl of Pembroke; a man better known to Irish history as ''Strongbow''. Origins ...

, granted lands there after the 12th-century Norman invasion. The new town begun by

Roger Boyle, 1st Earl of Orrery Roger Boyle, 1st Earl of Orrery (25 April 1621 – 16 October 1679), styled Lord Broghill from 1628 to 1660, was an Anglo-Irish soldier and politician who sat in the House of Commons of England at various times between 1654 and 1679. Boyle fough ...

in 1661 was named Charleville after Charles II, who had been restored to the throne the previous year. Later Irish speakers referred to the town as An Ráth "the rath", a short form of the older Irish name. The name Lorc's ''rath''"was first attached to Charleville in an 1849 collection of 18th-century Irish-language poems with English translations. The translation of an '' aisling'' by Conchúbhar Máistir Ó Ríordáin interpreted as denoting the town of Charleville.

T. F. O'Rahilly Thomas Francis O'Rahilly ( ga, Tomás Ó Rathile; 11 November 1882 – 16 November 1953)Ó Sé, Diarmuid.O'Rahilly, Thomas Francis (‘T. F.’). ''Dictionary of Irish Biography''. (ed.) James McGuire, James Quinn. Cambridge, United Kingdom: C ...

felt that , like the more common , was a poetic name for Ireland.

D. A. Binchy Daniel Anthony Binchy (1899–1989) was a scholar of Irish linguistics and Early Irish law. He was educated at Clongowes Wood College (1910–16), University College Dublin (UCD), and the King's Inns (1917–20), after which he was called t ...

felt the term, also used by

Aogán Ó Rathaille Aodhagán Ó RathailleVariant Irish spellings of his name include ''Aogán'' and ''Ua Rathaille'' or Egan O'Rahilly (c.1670–1726), was an Irish language poet. He is credited with creating the first fully developed Aisling. Early life It is tho ...

, did refer to a specific place, but likely somewhere in

Muskerry Muskerry ( ga, Múscraí) is a central region of County Cork, Ireland which incorporates the baronies of Muskerry West After the 1920 local elections,

Sinn Féin Sinn Féin ( , ; en, " eOurselves") is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active throughout both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur G ...

-dominated councils loyal to the self-proclaimed

Irish Republic The Irish Republic ( ga, Poblacht na hÉireann or ) was an unrecognised revolutionary state that declared its independence from the United Kingdom in January 1919. The Republic claimed jurisdiction over the whole island of Ireland, but by ...

often sought to replace placenames having British monarchic allusions with older Gaelic names. Although ''Rathgoggan'' was mooted by Charleville Rural District Council, Risteárd Ó Foghladha Fiachra Eilgeach"advised that ''Ráth Luirc'' was the old name, and it was changed to Rathluirc in 1920. Ó Foghladh claimed Lorc was an ancient king of Munster; in fact

Lóegaire Lorc Lóegaire Lorc, son of Úgaine Mor, was, according to medieval Irish legend and historical tradition, a High King of Ireland. The ''Lebor Gabála Érenn'' says he succeeded directly after his father was murdered by Bodbchad, although Geoffrey Ke ...

was a mythical High King of Ireland. The Placenames Commission was established in the 1940s to systematically determine the authentic Irish names of places, and based on its advice that ''An Ráth'' was the commonly used name among the last generations of local Irish speakers, this was legally made the Irish name in 1975. Thus the town had the anomalous position that its English-language legal name was an Irish name different from its Irish-language legal name. The name "Charleville" remained in common use. In December 1989, a

plebiscite A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of ...

of residents under the Local Government Act 1946 voted on four names: of 2200 electors, 1500 voted (over 90%) for ''Charleville''. Official documents before and after 1989 have often used "Rathluirc (Charleville)" or similar formulations. Local sports teams have a ''rath'' or fort in their crest, reflecting the Irish name.

History

Charleville was founded in 1661 by

. Roger Boyle had been a supporter of

Oliver Cromwell Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English politician and military officer who is widely regarded as one of the most important statesmen in English history. He came to prominence during the 1639 to 1651 Wars of the Three K ...

in the

English Civil War The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians (" Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I ("Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of England's governance and issues of re ...

. When King Charles II was restored in 1660, he had to prove his loyalty to the crown. He did this by naming Charleville after the English king. The villages of Brohill and Rathgoggin, who in their former guise preceded the formation of the town of Charleville in the area, fell under the rule of the following political entities: the Eoghanachta of southern Munster, at some point by the Hiberno-Norman Lordships of Ireland 1169–1541 although this rule was nominal rather than actual and subsequently by the Kingdom of Desmond 1118 – 1596. The lands of Broghill and Rathgogan were purchased by Roger's father Richard Boyle as a part of the

Plantation of Munster Plantations in 16th- and 17th-century Ireland involved the confiscation of Irish-owned land by the English Crown and the colonisation of this land with settlers from Great Britain. The Crown saw the plantations as a means of controlling, an ...

and Roger subsequently established his residency there after the founding of Charleville. Meadowvale Dairy Company, Charleville

During the time of the Penal Laws, practising the

Catholic faith 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 ...

was illegal. As a result, the parish of Charleville was amalgamated with the parishes

Bruree Bruree () is a village in south-eastern County Limerick, Ireland, on the River Maigue. It takes its name from the nearby ancient royal fortress, the alternative name of which from the earliest times into the High Middle Ages was ''Dún Eochair M ...

and Colmanswell, both in the Diocese of Limerick. In 1704, Fr. Daniel Mac Namara of Bruree was registered as the Catholic priest for this very large pastoral area. The fact that Catholics had to attend Mass secretly meant that the old chapel in Holy Cross cemetery was abandoned. The remains of this church – now overgrown with ivy – are still to be seen in the centre of the graveyard. Indeed, like so many other pre-1700 churches, the old church of Holy Cross literally became part of the surrounding graveyard, in that several gravestones, both marked and unmarked, are to be found within the building itself. Upon one such gravestone is a Latin epitaph to none other than Seán Clárach Mac Domhnaill (1691–1754), who was, in his time, the Chief Poet of Munster, as well as a native of Charleville.

Geography

Charleville is geographically located at 'the heart of Munster', within the Golden Vale region. It is 60 km from

city to the south and 40 km from

city to the north. Charleville lies within the Cork North-West Dáil constituency.

Economy

Charleville is a centre for the food processing industry, with brands such as Charleville Cheese and Golden Vale produced by Kerry Co-Op.

Retail

Charleville has a strong retail sector, It is home to retailers such as Eurogiant, Murrays, Morans, Bridgets, charisma fashions and Noonans Sports.

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 f ...

recently opened a store in the town center. Charleville is also home to stores and restaurants such as

Lidl Lidl Stiftung & Co. KG (; ) is a German international discount retailer chain that operates over 11,000 stores across Europe and the United States. Headquartered in Neckarsulm, Baden-Württemberg, the company belongs to the Schwarz Group, whi ...

, Supervalu,

Centra Centra is a convenience shop chain that operates throughout Ireland. The chain operates as a symbol group owned by Musgrave Group, the food wholesaler, meaning the stores are all owned by individual franchisees. The chain has three different ...

Supermacs Supermac's is an Irish fast food restaurant chain first opened in 1978. The first restaurant was located in Ballinasloe, County Galway, in the West of Ireland. As of 2019, the chain consists of a total of 118 restaurants spread throughout Irelan ...

Elverys Sports Intersport Elverys is a sports store chain in Ireland. Founded in 1847, it is Ireland's oldest sports store. Intersport Elverys sell sports clothes and equipment, both third-party and own brand goods. History Elverys was founded in 1847, 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 ...

and

Amber Amber is fossilized tree resin that has been appreciated for its color and natural beauty since Neolithic times. Much valued from antiquity to the present as a gemstone, amber is made into a variety of decorative objects."Amber" (2004). In ...

Engineering

Numerous spin-offs both in the town of Charleville and the surrounding area were created when Golden Vale Engineering closed its doors in 1983. The largest amongst these were BCD Engineering, Diamond Engineering and Sapphire Engineering. BCD is the second largest employer in Charleville.

Cheese

Golden Vale (part of the

Kerry Group Kerry Group plc is a public food company headquartered in Ireland. It is quoted on the Dublin ISEQ and London stock exchanges. Given the company's origins in the co-operative movement, farmer-suppliers of the company retain a significant in ...

) continue to make cheese products in the town. Golden Vale is the largest employer in Charleville.

Social

Charleville has numerous pubs as well as two theatre facilities and is home to the North Cork Drama Festival which is held in the Parochial Hall. The second facility is the Schoolyard Theatre which is home to the Shoestring Theatre group.

Transport

Charleville is at the junction of the N20 national road and the R515 regional road. The N20 runs north–south from

cities, the R515 east–west from

Tipperary town Tipperary Town (; ) is a town and a civil parish in County Tipperary, Ireland. Its population was 4,979 at the 2016 census. It is also an ecclesiastical parish in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cashel and Emly, and is in the historical baron ...

to near

Abbeyfeale Abbeyfeale (; ) is a historic market town in County Limerick, Ireland, near the border with County Kerry. The town is on the N21 road from Limerick to Tralee, some south-west of Newcastle West and south-east of Listowel and north-east of Tr ...

. The R578 runs from Charleville to

Ballydesmond Ballydesmond (), formerly Kingwilliamstown, is a rural village in County Cork, Ireland. It lies on the Blackwater River (near its source in Menganine) on the Cork-Kerry border. The Ballydesmond quarry is an area of geological interest, containi ...

. Charleville is on Bus Éireann routes 51 (Cork – Limerick –

Shannon Airport Shannon Airport ( ga, Aerfort na Sionainne) is an international airport located in County Clare in the Republic of Ireland. It is adjacent to the Shannon Estuary and lies halfway between Ennis and Limerick. The airport is the third busiest ai ...

–

Galway Galway ( ; ga, Gaillimh, ) is a city in the West of Ireland, in the province of Connacht, which is the county town of County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay, and is the sixth most populous city on ...

) and 320 (Limerick – Charleville). It is 65 km from both

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 Cros ...

and Shannon Airport.

Charleville railway station Charleville railway station is a station on the Cork to Dublin Railway line. It is located a mile outside the town of Charleville mostly in North County Cork, Ireland though the border with County Limerick, Ireland crosses the track alig ...

is on the

Dublin–Cork railway line The Dublin–Cork Main Line is the main InterCity railway route in Ireland between Dublin Heuston and Cork Kent. In 2018, 3.46 million passengers travelled on the line, a 10% increase from 2017 figures. About The line is one of the longest in ...

. It opened in 1849 on the Great Southern and Western Railway. The former Cork–Limerick line branched off the Cork–Dublin line at Charleville, continuing via

Croom Croom () is a village in County Limerick, Ireland. It is located just off the N20 (which has bypassed the town since 2001) on the River Maigue. It is 8 km southeast of Adare on the N20. History Cromadh (now Croom) was a village in th ...

; the final goods train ran in 1976, since when

Limerick Junction Limerick Junction ( ga, Gabhal Luimnigh) is the interchange railway station for trains originating in , , , , and stations. The station opened on 3 July 1848. The station was highly noted for its layout which prior to 1967 required every t ...

, already the junction for Dublin–Limerick, has also been the junction for Cork–Limerick.

Education

Secondary schools in the area include CBS Charleville,

St. Mary's Secondary School (Charleville) St. Mary's Secondary School (Charleville) is a secondary school located in Charleville, County Cork, Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting o ...

, and Mannix College (which is no longer a secondary School). Other schools include Charleville CBS Primary, St. Anne's, St. Joseph's and the Holy Family School. Charleville's library is located in the former

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 secon ...

church of the parish (which went into disrepair in the 1950/1960s when the

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

population of the area declined).

Sport

Sporting clubs in the area include

Charleville GAA Charleville GAA club is a Gaelic football and hurling club based in the town of Charleville, County Cork, Ireland. The club is affiliated with the Cork GAA county board and the Avondhu divisional board. History Charleville or Rathluirc GAA cl ...

club and Charleville Camogie Club. The Ráth Luirc GAA Sports Centre has

squash Squash may refer to: Sports * Squash (sport), the high-speed racquet sport also known as squash racquets * Squash (professional wrestling), an extremely one-sided match in professional wrestling * Squash tennis, a game similar to squash but pla ...

badminton Badminton is a racquet sport played using racquets to hit a shuttlecock across a net. Although it may be played with larger teams, the most common forms of the game are "singles" (with one player per side) and "doubles" (with two players p ...

and

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

facilities. There is also a handball court in the area. The local rugby club is Charleville RFC, and soccer club is Charleville AFC. Charleville Golf Club and Charleville Pitch and Putt Club are also based locally.

People

Éamon de Valera Éamon de Valera (, ; first registered as George de Valero; changed some time before 1901 to Edward de Valera; 14 October 1882 – 29 August 1975) was a prominent Irish statesman and political leader. He served several terms as head of govern ...

(1882-1975), former Taoiseach and President, was educated at C.B.S Charleville. * Aaron Doran (b.1991), Irish association footballer and 2015 Scottish Cup winner with

Inverness Caledonian Thistle Inverness Caledonian Thistle Football Club, commonly known as Caley Thistle, is a professional football club based in Inverness, Scotland. The team currently competes in the Scottish Championship, the second tier of the Scottish Professional ...

. * Keith Hanley (b.1993), winner of

The Voice of Ireland ''The Voice of Ireland'' is the Irish edition of the international TV franchise '' The Voice'', a reality singing competition created by media tycoon John de Mol. The first series began airing from 8 January 2012 on RTÉ One. The coaches origin ...

series 2 Series 2 could refer to: * Apple Watch Series 2, a smart watch by Apple * Aston Martin Lagonda Series 2, the automobile model * Aston Martin V8 Series 2, the automobile model * BMW 2 Series, the automobile model line * GeForce 2 series, line of nV ...

. * Con Leahy (1876–1921), an Irish athlete who won Olympic medals at the 1906 and 1908 Games, was born here * Eliza Lynch (1833–1886), former first lady of

Paraguay Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to th ...

, was born locally.Tom Hennigan: "Life of Cork woman and heroine in Paraguary to be featured in TV drama",

Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is considered a newspaper ...

, 14 May 2011. (confirmed by baptismal certificate) * Seán Clárach Mac Domhnaill (1691–1754), Chief Poet of Munster who was born in nearby Churchtown, lived in the area *

Daniel Mannix Daniel Patrick Mannix (4 March 1864 – 6 November 1963) was an Irish-born Catholic bishop. Mannix was the Archbishop of Melbourne for 46 years and one of the most influential public figures in 20th-century Australia. Early years and Mayno ...

(1864–1963), Archbishop of Melbourne for 46 years, and one of the most influential public figures in 20th-century Australia, was born near Charleville. * William Reeves (1815–1892), antiquarian, bishop, and President of the Royal Irish Academy, was born in Charleville

Town twinning

Charleville is twinned with

Plouaret Plouaret (; ) is a commune in the Côtes-d'Armor department of Brittany in northwestern France. Plouaret-Trégor station has rail connections to Brest, Rennes, Lannion, Guingamp and Paris. Population Inhabitants of Plouaret are called ''plouaré ...

- Le Vieux-Marché,

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

, in France.

Footnotes

References

External links

Charleville Chamber
{{Authority control Towns and villages in County Cork Articles on towns and villages in Ireland possibly missing Irish place names