Blackrock is a suburb, with a village core, in the southeast 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's ...

, Ireland. Originally a small fishing village about five kilometres from Cork City, the growth of the city over time has meant that the village has become incorporated into the city. It is home to

Blackrock GAA Blackrock National Hurling Club is a Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) club located on the southside of Cork City, Ireland. The club was founded in 1883 and is primarily concerned with the game of hurling. No other Cork-based GAA club has won m ...

club,

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 ...

, a weekly farmers market, and as of 2015 has seen some investment in regeneration projects for the traditional village centre. Blackrock is within the Cork South-Central Dáil constituency.

Places of interest

A short distance from the village is

. There has been a castle on the site since medieval times but the present castle was built in the mid-19th century in mock-baronial style. It now houses an observatory and

planetarium A planetarium ( planetariums or ''planetaria'') is a Theater (structure), theatre built primarily for presenting educational entertainment, educational and entertaining shows about astronomy and the night sky, or for training in celestial navi ...

. The Marina, a tree-lined avenue (not strictly a

marina A marina (from Spanish , Portuguese and Italian : ''marina'', "coast" or "shore") is a dock or basin with moorings and supplies for yachts and small boats. A marina differs from a port in that a marina does not handle large passenger ships or ...

) runs along the southern bank of the

River Lee The River Lee (Irish: ''An Laoi'') is a river in Ireland. It rises in the Shehy Mountains on the western border of County Cork and flows eastwards through Cork, where it splits in two for a short distance, creating an island on which Cork's ...

from Blackrock Village past

Páirc Uí Chaoimh Páirc Uí Chaoimh ( ) is a Gaelic games stadium in Cork, Ireland. It is the home of Cork GAA. The venue, often referred to simply as The Park, is located in Ballintemple and is built near to the site of the original Cork Athletic Grounds. The ...

and is a used for a number of recreational activities such as rowing, walking and cycling. The Atlantic Pond, in the shadow of Páirc Uí Chaoimh, is also used by walkers and is populated by wildlife, mainly ducks and swans.

Dundanion Castle Dundanion Castle () is a Tudor tower house in the Blackrock area of Cork in Ireland. Previously known as Galwey's Castle, the ruin is located on the grounds of the much later "Dundanion House". History Though built on or close to the site of a ...

, overlooking the Marina but difficult to access, is a ruined 16th-century castle. It is from this spot that

William Penn William Penn ( – ) was an English writer and religious thinker belonging to the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), and founder of the Province of Pennsylvania, a North American colony of England. He was an early advocate of democracy a ...

reputedly sailed on his first voyage to America in 1682 before founding the state of Pennsylvania. Blackrock Village hosts a farmer's market every Sunday morning in the village square. A pathway links the village to the relatively new development of Eden in Blackrock, which is a mix of apartments, duplexes and houses along with green spaces built on the former grounds of Blackrock convent. The village square and surrounding area were subject to a €2 million "rejuvenation" scheme between 2015 and 2017.

Transport

Blackrock was formerly served by the narrow gauge

Cork, Blackrock and Passage Railway The Cork, Blackrock and Passage Railway known locally to the locals aThe Black Bridge(CB&PR) was a narrow gauge railway in County Cork, Ireland. The line originally opened in 1850 as a Irish standard gauge railway between Cork and Passage West ...

Blackrock railway station Blackrock railway station ( ga, Stáisiún An Charraig Dhubh) serves Blackrock in Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown, Ireland. It opened publicly on 17 December 1834 and is one of the three original stations on the Dublin and Kingstown Railway (D&KR) ...

opened on 8 June 1850, but finally closed on 12 September 1932. the old railway line is now used by walkers as an amenity. From 1898 to 1931 it was served by 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 ...

. The Number 202, and Number 215 bus routes link Blackrock to the city. The Number 219 bus route links Blackrock to Bishopstown via Douglas on a southern orbital route that avoids the city centre.

Sport

Blackrock is home to

Blackrock National Hurling Club Blackrock National Hurling Club is a Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) club located on the southside of Cork City, Ireland. The club was founded in 1883 and is primarily concerned with the game of hurling. No other Cork-based GAA club has won m ...

(nicknamed ''The Rockies'') which is located on Church Road. The Rockies are one of Ireland's most successful clubs, with 32 Senior Hurling Championship titles, 3

All-Ireland Senior Club Hurling Championship The GAA Hurling All-Ireland Senior Club Championship, known simply as the All-Ireland Club Championship, is an annual inter-county hurling competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). It is the highest inter-county club hurl ...

s, 5 pre-1970 All-Ireland Titles and a number of notable inter-county hurlers over the years. Gaelic Football is played at St Michael's (nicknamed ''The Dazzlers'') which has its playing pitches in Mahon. The Beaumont area of Blackrock is home to the under-age section of Avondale United. Blackrock is also home to Blackrock Karate club and St. Michaels Tennis Club. There is also a lawn and indoor bowls club next to the tennis club's grounds on Church Road. Blackrock has long been a centre of

rowing Rowing is the act of propelling a human-powered watercraft using the sweeping motions of oars to displace water and generate reactional propulsion. Rowing is functionally similar to paddling, but rowing requires oars to be mechanically ...

and is home to Cork Boat Club, with the Lee Rowing Club and Shandon Rowing Club also nearby.

Notable residents

George Boole George Boole (; 2 November 1815 – 8 December 1864) was a largely self-taught English mathematician, philosopher, and logician, most of whose short career was spent as the first professor of mathematics at Queen's College, Cork in ...

, inventor of Boolean algebra (the basis of modern computer arithmetic) lived in Ballintemple during his time as Professor of Mathematics at

University College Cork University College Cork – National University of Ireland, Cork (UCC) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile Corcaigh) is a constituent university of the National University of Ireland, and located in Cork. The university was founded in 1845 as one o ...

. Boole is buried in the grounds of St. Michael's

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 sec ...

on Church Road. Architect

Thomas Deane Sir Thomas Deane (Cork, 1792 – Dublin, 1871) was an Irish architect. He was the father of Sir Thomas Newenham Deane, and grandfather of Sir Thomas Manly Deane, who were also architects. Life Thomas Deane was born in Cork, the eldest son of ...

built a home on the grounds of Dundanion Castle, and his architect son and grandson (

Thomas Newenham Deane Sir Thomas Newenham Deane (1828 – 8 November 1899) was an Irish architect, the son of Sir Thomas Deane and Eliza Newenham, and the father of Sir Thomas Manly Deane. His father and son were also architects. Works attributed to Thomas Newen ...

and

Thomas Manly Deane Sir Thomas Manly Deane (8 June 1851 – 3 February 1933) was an Irish architect, the son of Sir Thomas Newenham Deane and grandson of Sir Thomas Deane, who were also architects. Born at Ferney House, Blackrock, Cork, on 8 June 1851, he was educ ...

) also lived in the area. Labour Party politician Timothy Quill also lived in Blackrock.

References

{{Cork City Geography of Cork (city)