Union Hall, County Cork
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Union Hall (), also Unionhall, is a small
fishing village A fishing village is a village, usually located near a fishing ground, with an economy based on catching fish and harvesting seafood. The continents and islands around the world have coastlines totalling around 356,000 kilometres (221,000 m ...
located 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 ...
, located on the west side of
Glandore Glandore (, meaning ''harbour of the oak trees'') is the name of both a harbour and village in County Cork, Ireland. Glandore is located about an hour's drive south-west of Cork city. The village has several pubs, with traditional music. It i ...
Harbour. Its nearest neighbour to the west is
Castletownshend Castletownshend (, literally "town of the castle") is a village about south-east of Skibbereen, in County Cork, Ireland. The village developed around a small 17th-century castle built by Richard Townsend, whose descendants still reside there. ...
; to the east, Glandore village. It is approximately 10 kilometres south-east of
Skibbereen Skibbereen (; ) is a town in County Cork, Ireland. It 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 administr ...
. As of the 2016 census, 270 people were living in Union Hall. A key source of employment in the area is fishing, and the pier has its own ice plant and fish processing factory run by Glenmar Shellfish Ltd. Tourism is also an economic driver, and among the area's attractions are boat trips to view
whale Whales are a widely distributed and diverse group of fully aquatic placental marine mammals. As an informal and colloquial grouping, they correspond to large members of the infraorder Cetacea, i.e. all cetaceans apart from dolphins and ...
s,
dolphin A dolphin is an aquatic mammal within the infraorder Cetacea. Dolphin species belong to the families Delphinidae (the oceanic dolphins), Platanistidae (the Indian river dolphins), Iniidae (the New World river dolphins), Pontoporiidae (the ...
s and
seal Seal may refer to any of the following: Common uses * Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals, many of which are commonly called seals, particularly: ** Earless seal, or "true seal" ** Fur seal * Seal (emblem), a device to impr ...
s.


Location and access

The coastal village lies on a hill, and has a small harbour for small fishing boats and other small craft. By road it is accessible over the narrow Poulgorm Bridge on the R597 regional road to
Glandore Glandore (, meaning ''harbour of the oak trees'') is the name of both a harbour and village in County Cork, Ireland. Glandore is located about an hour's drive south-west of Cork city. The village has several pubs, with traditional music. It i ...
,
Rosscarbery Rosscarbery () is a village and census town in County Cork, Ireland. The village is on a shallow estuary, which opens onto Rosscarbery Bay. Rosscarbery is in the Cork South-West (Dáil Éireann) constituency, which has three seats. History The ...
and Leap. The bridge is only one lane wide, so traffic must wait for the bridge to be clear before crossing. The bridge was built c.1890, and featured in
David Puttnam David Terence Puttnam, Baron Puttnam, CBE, HonFRSA, HonFRPS, MRIA (born 25 February 1941) is a British film producer, educator, environmentalist and former member of the House of Lords. His productions include ''Chariots of Fire'', which wo ...
's 1994 film " War of the Buttons".


History

Archaeological sites in the immediate area include evidence of a number of
ringfort Ringforts, ring forts or ring fortresses are circular fortified settlements that were mostly built during the Bronze Age up to about the year 1000. They are found in Northern Europe, especially in Ireland. There are also many in South Wales ...
s, a
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 ...
and a
lime kiln A lime kiln is a kiln used for the calcination of limestone (calcium carbonate) to produce the form of lime (material), lime called quicklime (calcium oxide). The chemical equation for this chemical reaction, reaction is :Calcium carbonate, Ca ...
in Ballincolla
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 ...
. Also nearby are the remains of 13th century and 16th century
O'Donovan The O'Donovans are an Irish family. Their patronymic surname derives from Irish ''Ó Donnabháin'', meaning the grandsons or descendants of Donnubán, referring to the 10th century ruler of the Uí Fidgenti, Donnubán mac Cathail. During the ...
castles at Castle Eyre (Listarkin townland) and Raheen Castle (Raheen townland). The Irish name means "rotten strand". An alternative is "strand of sorrow". One tradition says the name originates from the blood split at a battle fought there in the early 16th century between O'Donovan
sept A sept is a division of a family, especially of a Scottish or Irish family. The term is used in both Scotland and Ireland, where it may be translated as ''sliocht'', meaning "progeny" or "seed", which may indicate the descendants of a person ( ...
s of Clancahill and Sliocht Íomhair. The adjoining
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 ...
name Clontaff is likewise explained as "battle meadow", although the official name is . The English name "Union Hall" was originally that of a big house built and named after the
Act of Union 1800 The Acts of Union 1800 (sometimes incorrectly referred to as a single 'Act of Union 1801') were parallel acts of the Parliament of Great Britain and the Parliament of Ireland which united the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Irela ...
by William Somerville Limrick (or Limerick), a
lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...
in the
Madras Army The Madras Army was the army of the Presidency of Madras, one of the three presidencies of British India within the British Empire. The presidency armies, like the presidencies themselves, belonged to the East India Company until the Government ...
of the
East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Southea ...
. The house, later named Unionhall House, was
burnt out ''Burnt Out'' (french: Sauf le respect que je vous dois) is a 2005 French drama film directed by Fabienne Godet. Cast * Olivier Gourmet - François Durrieux * Dominique Blanc - Clémence Durrieux * Julie Depardieu - Flora * Marion Cotillard - L ...
by the
Irish Republican Army The Irish Republican Army (IRA) is a name used by various paramilitary organisations in Ireland throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. Organisations by this name have been dedicated to irredentism through Irish republicanism, the belief tha ...
in the
Irish War of Independence The Irish War of Independence () or Anglo-Irish War was a guerrilla war fought in Ireland from 1919 to 1921 between the Irish Republican Army (IRA, the army of the Irish Republic) and British forces: the British Army, along with the quasi-mil ...
. In July–August 1922, as part of the
Irish Free State offensive The Irish Free State offensive of July–September 1922 was the decisive military stroke of the Irish Civil War. It was carried out by the National Army of the newly created Irish Free State against anti-treaty strongholds in the south and s ...
of the
Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
, national army troops landed at the quay in Union Hall in order to outflank the local Republican forces. In January 2012, the ''Tit Bonhomme'' fishing vessel sank near
Glandore Harbour Glandore (, meaning ''harbour of the oak trees'') is the name of both a harbour and village in County Cork, Ireland. Glandore is located about an hour's drive south-west of Cork city. The village has several pubs, with traditional music. It i ...
, and the people of Union Hall spent several weeks searching for the Irish and Egyptian sailors who died. They were presented with a
People of the Year Award The People of the Year Awards was an annual award show in Ireland. Organised by the Rehab Group, it was televised by Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ). The Awards provided a unique opportunity for the Irish public to honour outstanding contribut ...
in September 2012.


Amenities and tourism

There is a supermarket and a fish shop in the village. There is also a post office and a number of
bed and breakfast Bed and breakfast (typically shortened to B&B or BnB) is a small lodging establishment that offers overnight accommodation and breakfast. Bed and breakfasts are often private family homes and typically have between four and eleven rooms, wit ...
s. Union Hall has a Roman Catholic church (built c.1832 and dedicated to St. Bridget) to the south of the village, and a Church of Ireland church close to the village centre (built c.1840). The area around Union Hall is known for its hills, woodlands, rivers and islands. There are a number of small inlets, bays and beaches.


See also

* List of towns and villages in Ireland


References

{{Reflist Towns and villages in County Cork Fishing in Ireland Lime kilns in Ireland