Ballinhassig () is a village in

County Cork County Cork () is the largest and the southernmost Counties of Ireland, county of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, named after the city of Cork (city), Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

, situated south of

Cork City Cork ( ; from , meaning 'marsh') is the second-largest city in Republic of Ireland, Ireland, the county town of County Cork, the largest city in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and the List of settlements on the island of Ireland ...

just off the N71 Bandon road and near the source of the River Owenabue (''Abhainn Bui'', meaning "Yellow River"). Traditionally an agricultural area, Ballinhassig has seen some growth as a

commuter Commuting is periodically recurring travel between a place of residence and place of work or study, where the traveler, referred to as a commuter, leaves the boundary of their home community. By extension, it can sometimes be any regular o ...

area, being close to Cork city. This growth saw the construction of new houses during the Irish construction boom of the early 21st century.

History

There are a number of prehistoric

ringfort Ringforts or ring forts are small circular fortification, fortified settlements built during the Bronze Age, Iron Age and early Middle Ages up to about the year 1000 AD. They are found in Northern Europe, especially in Ireland. There are ...

s around Ballinhassig. Mountjoy, the

Lord Deputy of Ireland The Lord Deputy was the representative of the monarch and head of the Irish executive (government), executive under English rule, during the Lordship of Ireland and then the Kingdom of Ireland. He deputised prior to 1523 for the Viceroy of Ireland ...

, camped locally with his army of 4,000 troops on the night before the

Battle of Kinsale The siege of Kinsale (), also known as the battle of Kinsale, was the ultimate battle in England's conquest of Gaelic Ireland, commencing in October 1601, near the end of the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, and at the climax of the Nine Years' War� ...

in 1601. On 30 June 1845, 11 people (10 men and 1 woman) were reportedly killed by the

Royal Irish Constabulary The Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC, ; simply called the Irish Constabulary 1836–67) was the police force in Ireland from 1822 until 1922, when all of the island was part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom. A sep ...

during a

riot A riot or mob violence is a form of civil disorder commonly characterized by a group lashing out in a violent public disturbance against authority, property, or people. Riots typically involve destruction of property, public or private. The p ...

in the village. During the

War of Independence Wars of national liberation, also called wars of independence or wars of liberation, are conflicts fought by nations to gain independence. The term is used in conjunction with wars against foreign powers (or at least those perceived as foreign) ...

there were a number of actions in the area, including on 3 February 1921, when the

3rd Cork Brigade The 3rd Cork Brigade, also known as Third (West) Cork Brigade, was a unit of the Irish Republican Army that operated in the western areas of County Cork during the Irish War of Independence. The unit was commanded by Tom Barry for most of the co ...

of the

Irish Republican Army The Irish Republican Army (IRA) is a name used by various Resistance movement, resistance organisations in Ireland throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. Organisations by this name have been dominantly Catholic and dedicated to anti-imperiali ...

ambushed and killed three British Soldiers on the Tulligbeg side of the village in what was known as the Toureen ambush. Two soldiers of the Essex Regiment died there; Lt Dixon and Pte Charles Reid, Sergeant Thomas Bennet died of wounds the next day. That night, British soldiers retaliated by burning much of the village and homes in the Ballinaboy area, and arresting and imprisoning a number of local citizens.

Amenities

There are three primary schools in Ballinhassig (Ballyheada N.S and Goggins Hill N.S and Ballygarvan), several public houses, a number of shops, three churches, a Marian Hall, and a co-op. A steam rally club is situated in Halfway, 2.5 km from Ballinhassig village, a village so named as it is halfway between Cork and Bandon. Ballinhassig GAA has a Senior

hurling Hurling (, ') is an outdoor Team sport, team game of ancient Gaelic culture, Gaelic Irish origin, played by men and women. One of Ireland's native Gaelic games, it shares a number of features with Gaelic football, such as the field and goa ...

team and was founded in 1886. The Marian Hall in Ballinhassig is used as a training venue for a local

taekwondo Taekwondo (; ; ) is a Korean martial art and combat sport involving primarily kicking techniques and punching. "Taekwondo" can be translated as ''tae'' ("strike with foot"), ''kwon'' ("strike with hand"), and ''do'' ("the art or way"). In ad ...

club. There is also a soccer club in Ballinhassig called Ballinhassig AFC.

Transport

The Gogginshill Tunnel at Ballinhassig, opened in 1851, is now the longest abandoned railway tunnel in the Republic of Ireland. It was a part of the

Cork, Bandon and South Coast Railway The Cork, Bandon and South Coast Railway (CB&SCR) was an Irish gauge () railway in Ireland. It opened in 1849 as the Cork and Bandon Railway (C&BR), changed its name to Cork Bandon and South Coast Railway in 1888 and became part of the Great S ...

. Ballinhassig railway station itself was opened on 1 August 1849, and closed on 1 April 1961.

References

{{County Cork Towns and villages in County Cork

History

Amenities

Transport

See also

References