Monard () is a largely rural

townland A townland (; Ulster-Scots: ''toonlann'') is a traditional small land division used in Ireland and in the Western Isles of Scotland, typically covering . The townland system is of medieval Gaelic origin, predating the Norman invasion, and mo ...

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. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

of Whitechurch to the north-west 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 ...

in Ireland.

Population and land use

At the turn of the 20th century, the townland had a population of approximately 200 people. By the early 21st century, it was proposed to develop a planned settlement on "greenfield agricultural land" in the area. Covering and containing 5,000 dwellings, schools, a medical centre and other facilities, this settlement was proposed to service a population of 13,000 people. Similar in concept to

Adamstown, Dublin Adamstown () is a planned town and suburban development in County Dublin, Ireland. Located approximately 16 km from Dublin city centre, it is in the jurisdiction of South Dublin County Council. The first planned town to be developed in Ireland ...

, the planning application called for the settlement to be based on three villages and a town centre, built around a new railway station. Due to the fallout from the

Irish property bubble The Irish property bubble was the speculative excess element of a long-term price increase of real estate in the Republic of Ireland from the early 2000s to 2007, a period known as the later part of the Celtic Tiger. In 2006, the prices peaked ...

and planning challenges, the development was significantly delayed, with approval only finally given in June 2016. As of the 2011 census, Monard townland had a population of 196 people.

Train station

The 2001 planning proposal called for a railway station, serving the projected residential development, to be located at the Rathpeacon siding on the Dublin-Cork mainline. In June 2016, the planning authority, ''

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 Ireland. As of 2007, An Bord Pleanála directly decided major strategic infra ...

'', stated that construction on housing within the 'Monard Strategic Development Zone' could not commence until the completion of this proposed station. , no works on the proposed Monard train station had commenced, with no funding allocated in the

National Development Plan National Development Plan (NDP, ) is the title given by the Irish Government to a scheme of organised large-scale expenditure on (mainly) national infrastructure. The first five-year plan ran from 1988 to 1993, the second was a six-year plan f ...

for the period 2018-2027. The Cork Metropolitan Area Draft Transport Strategy 2040, a public consultation document published by the National Transport Authority in May 2019, included Monard as one of several potential locations for future stations in the area.

References

{{County Cork Townlands of County Cork