Tower (), Ordnance Survey Ireland name Model Village, is a village within the administrative area of

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' ...

in Ireland. It is located to the northwest of the city, approximately 3 km from the town of

Blarney Blarney () is a suburban town within the administrative area of Cork City in Ireland. It is located approximately north-west of the city centre. It is the site of Blarney Castle, home of the legendary Blarney Stone. Blarney is part of the Dáil ...

on the R617 road. Together with Blarney, Tower is a satellite or

dormitory town A commuter town is a populated area that is primarily residential rather than commercial or industrial. Routine travel from home to work and back is called commuting, which is where the term comes from. A commuter town may be called by many o ...

of Cork city. Tower is part of the Dáil constituency of Cork North-Central. As of the 2016 census of Ireland, the village had a population of 3,421.

History

The 1845 Ordnance Survey map shows a hamlet called Tower Village at the junction 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 ...

s of Coolflugh, Kilnamucky, and Cloghphilip in 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 Matehy. By 1902, the

Cork and Muskerry Light Railway The Cork and Muskerry Light Railway was a narrow gauge railway in County Cork, Ireland. The first part of the railway opened in 1887 and closed in 1934. A major reason for building the railway was to exploit tourist traffic to Blarney Castle. ...

(CMLR) branch line to Blarney had a station at Tower Bridge. This prompted development of a

model village A model village is a type of mostly self-contained community, built from the late 18th century onwards by landowners and business magnates to house their workers. Although the villages are located close to the workplace, they are generally phys ...

by O'Mahony builders along what is now the Model Village Road. There was further growth in the

Celtic Tiger The "Celtic Tiger" ( ga, An Tíogar Ceilteach) is a term referring to the economy of the Republic of Ireland, economy of Ireland from the mid-1990s to the late 2000s, a period of rapid real economic growth fuelled by foreign direct investment. ...

era, with the population growing by 216% (from 1,402 to 3,032 people) between the censuses of 1991 and 2002. It grew more slowly thereafter, reaching 3,306 in 2011. Originally located within the administrative area of

Cork County Council Cork County Council ( ga, Comhairle Contae Chorcaí) is the authority responsible for local government in County Cork, Ireland. As a county council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001. The council is responsible for housing and co ...

, as part of the

2019 Cork boundary change The boundary between Cork city and County Cork, under the local jurisdiction of Cork City Council and Cork County Council respectively, was changed in mid 2019 when the Local Government Act 2018 came into force after the 2019 local elections, wit ...

, Tower (together with other "satellite towns" like Blarney and Glanmire) was brought within 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, ...

in mid-2019. A health treatment facility, "St Ann's Hydropathic Establishment", was founded in the area in the 1840s. It was served by St. Anne's railway station on the CMLR, and described as having extensive grounds with "facilities for tennis, billiards, golf and fishing". It is "now in ruins".

Features

Tower is in the Roman Catholic parish of

Inniscarra Inniscarra () is a civil parish in the barony of Muskerry East, County Cork, Ireland. It is located about 15km west of Cork city. The local GAA club is Inniscarra GAA and Dripsey GAA. Inniscarra is located on the north side of the River Lee. ...

. There are two pubs in the village (The Huntsman and Aunties Bar), and a SuperValu store.

References

Towns and villages in County Cork Model villages Geography of Cork (city) {{cork-geo-stub

History

Features

See also

References