Mitchelstown (Irish: Baile Mhistéala)[7] is a town in County Cork, Ireland with a population of approximately 3,740. Mitchelstown is situated in the valley to the south of the Galtee Mountains, 12 km south-west of the Mitchelstown Caves, 28 km from Cahir, 50 km from Cork, 59 km from Limerick and 10 km from Fermoy. The River Gradoge runs by the town into the River Funshion, which in turn is a tributary of the River Blackwater.
The town is best known as a centre for cheese production. Mitchelstown is within the Cork East Dáil constituency.
Name
The name of Mitchelstown originates from the Anglo-Norman family called 'St Michel' who founded a settlement close to the site of the present town in the thirteenth century. The parish was originally known as 'Villa Michel'.[8] The modern name comes from the anglicized version of the later Irish derived Ballyvisteala or Ballymistealy. A nearby earlier settlement was established in the townland of Brigown (from IrishBrí Ghabhann, meaning 'slope / hillock of the smiths'),[9] it was known by this name and had monastic origins founded in the seventh century by Fionnchú — Saint Fanahan,[10] a warrior monk known in medieval times for his fiery temper.[citation needed] The anglicised Fanahan name evolved from Fionnchon, the genitive case of Fionnchú (or 'fair hound'), as in Tobar Fhionnchon (Saint Fionnchú's Well).[11]
History
The town evolved from a huddle of cabins and lane-ways beside Mitchelstown Castle. Evidence would suggest that the castle was built first and that the village and town came later, probably in the late-thirteenth or early-fourteenth centuries. In the 1770s, the medieval town was replaced by the present town that is situated east and south of King Square. The town was laid out in a grid pattern of two main streets intersected by a number of smaller streets. The medieval town was demolished, and the then owners of Mitchelstown — Robert, Viscount Kingsborough (later 2nd Earl of Kingston) and his wife Caroline — built a new palladian styled mansion to replace the earlier castle that had stood on the site. Mary Wollstonecraft, known for her revolutionary views and writings including Vindication of the rights of woman, briefly worked as a governess to their three daughters.[citation needed] Parts of Mitchelstown's streetscape, including its "Georgian Quarter", derive from plans laid-out during the Georgian period.[12] Some of its streets are named after members of the King family, namely Robert, George, Edward, James, Thomas and King (the family name). The other streets of the Georgian town are Church Street, Baldwin Street, Alley Lane, Chapel Hill, Convent Hill, King Square, New Square and Mulberry Lane.
The layout established by the second and third Earls of Kingston between 1776 and 1830 utilised the natural features of the site to give panoramic views of the Galty Mountains. This is best illustrated by how George Street was designed with Saint George's Arts and Heritage Centre (formerly Saint George's Church) closing the view on the southern end, and the northern view being terminated by Kingston College and Temple Hill on the Galty Mountains. Mitchelstown Castle was rebuilt between 1823 and 1825 by the third Earl of Kingston. His new house was the biggest in Ireland. During the Irish Civil War in 1922 the castle was occupied by the Republican Army. During six weeks of occupation, its contents were looted and the building was burnt on 13 August 1922 — ostensibly to prevent it from being used by the Irish Free State Army. However, there is no evidence to support that claim. The real motive for the fire seems to have been an attempt to cover up the looting as well as wanton destruction. The ashlar limestone of the house stood as a ruin until about 1930 when it was bought by the monks of Mount Melleray Abbey who used it to build their new monastery in County Waterford.
Mitchelstown massacre
Between 1879 and 1881, and again between 1886 and 1888, local tenantry, led by John Mandeville and William O'Brien, MP, organised a rent strike on the Mitchelstown Estate, then owned by Anna, Dowager Countess of Kingston and her second husband, William Downes Webber. On 9 September 1887, a protest was held later in the day in New Market Square outside the Market House where Mandeville and O'Brien were being tried. Neither man appeared in court. After the court ended, approximately 8,000 demonstrators paraded into New Square. As the speeches began from a wagon in the square, the police attempted to get an official police notetaker closer to the platform so that he could hear and record what was being said. Their motives were misunderstood, and they were held back by the crowd. They retreated, returning moments later with fifty reinforcements. This time, they fixed bayonets and used the butts of their rifles to hit horses that had been placed around the edge of the crowd to prevent their access to the wagon. In the melee that followed, hand-to-hand combat involving police being beaten with sticks and stones being thrown at them. The police retreated to their barracks, which was on a house that overlooked part of the square. As the last constable arrived at the barracks, he drew his revolver and fired a single shot into the air. This created confusion amongst the police inside the barracks, who by that time had been placed at the upstairs windows with carbine rifles. Several shots were fired into the crowd. Three men were killed and several more injured. The dead men were John Shinnick of Fermoy, John Casey of Kilbehenny and Michael Lonergan of Galbally, County Limerick.[13] The incident generated considerable international attention and became known as the "Mitchelstown Massacre". The phrase "Remember Mitchelstown" (first coined by William Gladstone) became a rallying cry for Irishmen at home and abroad. The memorial to Mandeville that stands in Market Square was unveiled in 1906 by William O'Brien MP. It also commemorates the names of the three men killed in 1887.
Up to 1989, Mitchelstown was the headquarters for Mitchelstown Co-operative Agricultural Society Ltd, one of the largest co-operatives in Ireland. This farmers co-op was founded in 1919. Between 1919 and 1989, Mitchelstown Co-op Creameries became the largest dairy processing business on the island of Ireland. While it became known for its processed cheese brands, it was better known in overseas dairy industry circles for its natural cheeses, which were exported around Europe and for which it earned several international prizes.[citation needed]
In the 1930s, the co-op promoted the introduction of intensive pig production in the area as another source of farm income, and several of Ireland's largest industrial pig farms were subsequently based in the Mitchelstown area.[citation needed]
In 1989, Mitchelstown Co-operative merged with Ballyclough Co-operative (based in Mallow, County Cork) to create an enlarged Dairygold Co-Operative. The co-op is now the largest farmer owned co-operative in Ireland and has its headquarters in Mitchelstown.[citation needed] The first manager of Mitchelstown Creameries was Eamon Roche, a Dairy Science Diploma graduate of the Albert College in Dublin who had been active in the Irish War of Independence. Following his death in 1952, Roche was succeeded by J.J. Lynch who was, in turn, succeeded by John McCarthy.[citation needed]
Retail
Mitchelstown has a number of retail outlets, including Tesco, Lidl, Aldi+ Aldi Distribution Centre, Super Valu, Centra and Dealz.[citation needed] Mitchelstown also has a number of smaller shops, butchers, cafes and restaurants.[citation needed]
Transport
Road
Cantilever sign for access to Mitchelstown from the M8, 3 km south of the town.
Road transport dominates in Mitchelstown. The town is situated close to the M8 Dublin to Cork motorway, which runs to the east and can be accessed from Junctions 12 and 13.
A relief road located to the west of the town serves to filter N73 traffic towards Mallow and R513 traffic towards Limerick. The construction of the relief road to the west and north, and its connection in 2009 to the M8 to the east of Mitchelstown means that the town has become the smallest in Ireland to have a full 360-degree ring road. Prior to the opening of the relief road in 2006, the N8 ran through Mitchelstown itself, seriously congesting the main street. The R665 road connects Mitchelstown to Clonmel, while the former N8 now redesignated as the R639 provides an alternative route from Mitchelstown to Cork, Fermoy and Cahir.
Bus
Bus Éireann runs frequent intercity services through the town providing a service to both Dublin and Cork. Since late 2022 there is an expanded bus service between the town and Limerick city, which serves several intermediate towns and villages.[citation needed]
Rail
Mitchelstown railway station opened on 23 March 1891, closed to passenger and goods traffic on 27 January 1947, and closed on 1 December 1953.[14]
Air
The nearest airport is Cork Airport, which is 57 km away.
The Mitchelstown Caves are limestone caves located near the R639, between Mitchelstown and Cahir. One cave, Mitchelstown Cave itself, is privately owned and has been developed as a show cave, with a number of caverns open to the public through a guided tour. Some of the speleothems are noteworthy including the Tower of Babel formation. Various other stalactites, stalagmites and rock formations are also named for their unique structures.[citation needed]
Events
Indiependence, an annual three-day festival weekender, typically takes place on the outskirts of Mitchelstown over the August Bank Holiday. The event has previously hosted acts like Editors, Bastille, Lewis Capaldi, Hozier, Public Enemy, Picture This, The Coronas, Ash, and Feeder.[citation needed]
^Lee, JJ (1981). "On the accuracy of the Pre-famine Irish censuses". In Goldstrom, J. M.; Clarkson, L. A. (eds.). Irish Population, Economy, and Society: Essays in Honour of the Late K. H. Connell. Oxford, England: Clarendon Press.
^freespiral2016 (12 February 2017). "Fionnchú: The White Hound". Holy Wells of Cork. Archived from the original on 25 March 2017. Retrieved 24 March 2017.((cite web)): CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
^Email on 25 November 2022 from Dr Conchubhar Ó Crualaoich, Chief Placename Officer at the Placenames Branch of the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, to John J. Mullins.[verification needed]
^Bill Power, 'White Knights Dark Earls, the rise and fall of an Anglo-Irish dynasty,' (The Collins Press, 2000); W.E. Vaughan, 'A New History of Ireland VI: Ireland Under the Union, 1870-1921'(Oxford, 2010), p. 72
^"Mitchelstown station"(PDF). Railscot – Irish Railways. Archived(PDF) from the original on 2 March 2011. Retrieved 4 November 2007.
