Ringaskiddy () is a village 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. It is located on the western side of

Cork Harbour Cork Harbour () is a natural harbour and river estuary at the mouth of the River Lee in County Cork, Ireland. It is one of several which lay claim to the title of "second largest natural harbour in the world by navigational area" (after Port Ja ...

, south of

Cobh Cobh ( ,), known from 1849 until 1920 as Queenstown, is a seaport town on the south coast of County Cork, Ireland. With a population of around 13,000 inhabitants, Cobh is on the south side of Great Island in Cork Harbour and home to Ireland's ...

, and is 15 kilometres from

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 ...

city, to which it is connected by the N28 road. The village is a port with

passenger ferry A ferry is a ship, watercraft or amphibious vehicle used to carry passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A passenger ferry with many stops, such as in Venice, Italy, is sometimes called a water bus or water tax ...

, with two bi-weekly sailings to

Roscoff Roscoff (; br, Rosko) is a commune in the Finistère département of Brittany in northwestern France. Roscoff is renowned for its picturesque architecture, labelled (small town of character) since 2009. Roscoff is also a traditional departure ...

in France. A ferry service to Swansea in

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

closed in 2012. During the 20th century, Ringaskiddy changed from a fishing village to a centre of transport and industrial activity. It is now one of the largest employment hubs in the pharmaceuticals sector in the region. The village is close to a number of tourist areas, including

Crosshaven Crosshaven () is a village in County Cork, Ireland. It is located in lower Cork Harbour at the mouth of the River Owenabue, across from Currabinny Wood. Originally a fishing village, from the 19th century, the economy of the area became more re ...

Curraghbinny Curraghbinny (), also sometimes spelled Currabinny or Currabinney, is a townland in County Cork, Ireland. Located on Cork Harbour near Ringaskiddy and with an area of , it is a townland in the barony of Kerrycurrihy. As of the 2011 census, Cur ...

and Monkstown. A motorway project, to connect Cork city with Ringaskiddy, was given the "green light" by the supreme court in March 2021.

Places of interest

Barnahely Castle, later known as Warren's Castle, is located near Ringaskiddy. Originally the site of an Anglo-Norman castle, a new fortification was built here during the 15th or 16th century. In 1796, the site was bought and a mansion house (incorporating the remnants of the earlier castle) was built by the Warren family. The remaining ruins of the castle include a rectangular

bawn A bawn is the defensive wall surrounding an Irish tower house. It is the anglicised version of the Irish word ''bábhún'' (sometimes spelt ''badhún''), possibly meaning "cattle-stronghold" or "cattle-enclosure".See alternative traditional sp ...

. A

Martello tower Martello towers, sometimes known simply as Martellos, are small defensive forts that were built across the British Empire during the 19th century, from the time of the French Revolutionary Wars onwards. Most were coastal forts. They stand u ...

sits on a hilltop at Ringaskiddy, and is one of several other forts and towers designed to protect

. It is accessed via the Loughbeg road and overlooks the harbour. There are two beaches near Ringaskiddy: Lough beach (also known locally as Luc beach) and Gobby beach. Lough beach, a sandy beach with shallow water, is served by an access path and seasonal toilet facilities. Gobby beach is a rocky beach with direct views over Spike Island. In mid-2020, a Ringaskiddy Tidy Towns group was set up.

Economy

Industry

Ringaskiddy is an important industrial centre, particularly for pharmaceutical companies such as

Centocor Janssen Pharmaceuticals is a pharmaceutical company headquartered in Beerse, Belgium, and wholly-owned by Johnson & Johnson. It was founded in 1953 by Paul Janssen. In 1961, Janssen Pharmaceuticals was purchased by New Jersey-based American ...

GlaxoSmithKline GSK plc, formerly GlaxoSmithKline plc, is a British multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology company with global headquarters in London, England. Established in 2000 by a merger of Glaxo Wellcome and SmithKline Beecham. GSK is the tent ...

Hovione Hovione is a Portuguese multinational company that produces active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) and conducts drug product intermediates development and compliant manufacture. It is a Contract Development and Manufacturing Company (CDMO) de ...

Novartis Novartis AG is a Swiss-American multinational pharmaceutical corporation based in Basel, Switzerland and Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States (global research).name="novartis.com">https://www.novartis.com/research-development/research-lo ...

Pfizer Pfizer Inc. ( ) is an American multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology corporation headquartered on 42nd Street in Manhattan, New York City. The company was established in 1849 in New York by two German entrepreneurs, Charles Pfize ...

, and Recordati. Most of the world's supply of the

erection An erection (clinically: penile erection or penile tumescence) is a physiological phenomenon in which the penis becomes firm, engorged, and enlarged. Penile erection is the result of a complex interaction of psychological, neural, vascular, a ...

-treatment drug

Viagra Sildenafil, sold under the brand name Viagra, among others, is a medication used to treat erectile dysfunction and pulmonary arterial hypertension. It is unclear if it is effective for treating sexual dysfunction in women. It is taken by ...

is manufactured there. As of 2021, more than 3,800 people were reportedly employed in the Ringaskiddy area. The

Port of Cork The Port of Cork () is the main port serving the South of Ireland, County Cork and Cork City. It offers all six shipping modes (i.e. Lift-on Lift-off, Roll-on Roll-off, Liquid Bulk, Dry Bulk, Break Bulk and Cruise). In 2015, over 11 million ton ...

facilities at Ringaskiddy handle much of the vehicle imports for the southern part of Ireland, with 34,000 trade vehicles imported through Cork in 2017.

Incinerator proposal

An application to build a domestic waste incinerator in Ringaskiddy was rejected by

An Bord Pleanála (; meaning "The Planning Board"; ABP) is an independent, statutory, quasi-judicial body that decides on appeals from planning decisions made by local authorities in the Republic of Ireland. As of 2007, An Bord Pleanála directly decided majo ...

in 2011. The incinerator's proposed owners, Indaver Ireland, said the facility would relieve pressure on landfill, while locals and environmentalists feared the incinerator would impact on public health and the environment in the area. Indaver Ireland said that they had not abandoned their plans, and in 2018 were granted planning permission for the plant. However, this decision was subject to a legal challenge and, as of 2021, the High Court was due to rule on whether An Bord Pleanála could reconsider its permission decision, or if the entire planning process had to be restarted.

Amenities

Amenities in Ringaskiddy, and nearby

Shanbally Shanbally (Irish: ''An Seanbhaile'', meaning "the old town/homestead") is a small village located in south east County Cork on the N28 road. Shanbally is home to a Catholic church, a primary school, a pub, a shop and Shamrocks GAA club. The vi ...

, include a church, primary school, shop, preschool and community centre. The local

Gaelic Athletic Association The Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA; ga, Cumann Lúthchleas Gael ; CLG) is an Irish international amateur sporting and cultural organisation, focused primarily on promoting indigenous Gaelic games and pastimes, which include the traditional ...

club is Shanbally GAA. Ringaskiddy also has a café (Perry Street Café) and bar/restaurant (the Ferry Boat Inn). The

National Maritime College of Ireland The National Maritime College of Ireland ( ga, Coláiste Náisiúnta Mara na hÉireann, NMCI) is a public maritime college located in Ringaskiddy, County Cork, Ireland. It is a constituent college of the Munster Technological University. F ...

was officially opened in Ringaskiddy in 2006, and has drawn a student population to the village. The college provides the only training in Ireland of Merchant Navy personnel, and the

Irish Naval Service The Naval Service ( ga, An tSeirbhís Chabhlaigh) is the maritime component of the Defence Forces of Ireland and is one of the three branches of the Irish Defence Forces. Its base is in Haulbowline, County Cork. Though preceded by earlier ma ...

also carry out their non-military training there. The

base at

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 ...

is 3 kilometres from Ringaskiddy on the L2545

local road The road hierarchy categorizes roads according to their functions and capacities. While sources differ on the exact nomenclature, the basic hierarchy comprises freeways, arterials, collectors, and local roads. Generally, the functional hierarc ...

References