Charleville, County Cork

Charleville Ráth Luirc
—  Town  —
Charleville town centre
Charleville Location in Ireland
Coordinates: 52°21′18″N 8°41′02″W / 52.355°N 8.684°W / 52.355; -8.684Coordinates: 52°21′18″N 8°41′02″W / 52.355°N 8.684°W / 52.355; -8.684
Country	Ireland
Province	Munster
County	County Cork
Elevation	100 m (328 ft)
Population (2006)[1]
- Urban	2,984
Irish Grid Reference	R530230

Charleville or Ráth Luirc (Ráth Luirc or An Ráth in Irish) is a town in north County Cork, Ireland, situated in Ireland's Golden Vale, near the border with County Limerick. It is located on the "Glen" tributary river, which flows into the Maigue River in Co. Limerick. It is the second largest town between Limerick and Cork (Mallow is the largest), and is located on the N20 road. The Roman Catholic parish of Charleville is situated in the Diocese of Cloyne. Significant industries in the town include Kerry Co-Op and the construction and services sectors.

History

Charleville was founded in 1661 by Roger Boyle, 1st Earl of Orrery. The name 'Charleville' is French for 'Charles Town'. Roger Boyle had been a supporter of Oliver Cromwell in the English Civil War. When King Charles II was restored in 1660, he had to prove his loyalty to the crown. He did this by naming Charleville after the English king. The Irish version 'Ráth Luirc' was given official recognition in the 1920s by the Irish Free State. This name in its shortened form 'An Ráth', meaning 'the Fort' in English, is represented by the use of a fort in the crest of local sports teams. Iarnród Éireann ceased to use the name Ráth Luirc as the sole official name of the station in the 1980s; although it is still retained (as at all Irish railway stations) in the bilingual station signs.

The villages of Brohill and Rathgoggin, who in their former guise preceded the formation of the town of Charleville in the area, fell under the rule of the following political entities: the Eoganeachta of southern Munster, at some point by the Hiberno-Norman Lordships of Ireland 1169-1541 although this rule was nominal rather than actual and subsequently by the Kingdom of Desmond 1118 - 1596.

The lands of Broghill and Rathgogan were purchased by Roger's father Richard Boyle as a part of the Plantations of Munster and Roger subsequently established his residency there after the founding of Charleville.

During the time of the Penal Laws, practising the Catholic faith was illegal. As a result, the parish of Charleville was amalgamated with the parishes Bruree and Colmanswell, both in the Diocese of Limerick. In 1704, Fr. Daniel Mac Namara of Bruree was registered as the Catholic priest for this very large pastoral area.^[2] The fact that Catholics had to attend Mass secretly meant that the old chapel in Holy Cross cemetery was abandoned. The remains of this church - now overgrown with ivy - are still to be seen in the centre of the graveyard. Indeed, like so many other pre-1700 churches, the old church of Holy Cross literally became part of the surrounding graveyard, in that several gravestones, both marked and unmarked, are to be found within the building itself. Upon one such gravestone is a Latin epithaph to none other than Seán Clárach Mac Domhnaill (1691-1754), who was, in his time, the Chief Poet of Munster, as well as a native of Charleville.

Townscape

Parks

Charleville avails of a large town park with a well equipped children's playground attached.

Plaza

Charleville has a plaza since 2008, in front of the Library, making it a focal point for the town

Geography

Charleville is geographically located at 'the heart of Munster', within the Golden Vale region. It is 50 km from Cork city to the south and 35 km from Limerick city to the north.

Because of its strategic location, Charleville has become an ideal location for distribution centres for the Munster region. In 2007, Lidl set up their Munster distribution centre here.

Traditions

Charleville is a centre for the food processing industry, with brands such as Charleville Cheese and Golden Vale produced by Kerry Co-Op.

Economy

Tourism

A new luxury hotel, Charleville Park Hotel, opened in February 2008. http://www.charlevilleparkhotel.com Charleville Park Hotel

Retail

Charleville has a strong retail sector,^{[citation needed]} It is home to retailers such as Murrays, Morans, Bridgets and Noonans Sports. Dunnes Stores recently opened a store in the town center. Charleville is also home to Cavanaghs of Charleville Ford & Hyundai Dealership, voted by the SIMI as Ireland's best Franchise Dealership in 2010.

Engineering

Numerous spin-offs both in the town of Charleville and the surrounding area were created when Golden Vale Engineering closed its doors in 1983. The largest amongst these were BCD Engineering, Diamond Engineering and Sapphire Engineering. BCD is the second largest employer in Charleville.^{[citation needed]}

Cheese

Golden Vale (part of the Kerry Group) continue to make cheese products in the town. Golden Vale is the largest employer in Charleville.^{[citation needed]}

Social

Charleville has numerous pubs and also two nightclubs, as well as two theatre facilities and is home to the North Cork Drama Festival which is held in the Parochial Hall. The second facility is the Schoolyard Theatre which is home to the Shoestring Theatre group.

Transport

The Irish railway network also connects to Cork Tralee and Dublin, with the Cork–Dublin line running by. Formerly there was a junction at Charleville, for trains running directly from Limerick via Croom (see Irish railway history). Charleville railway station opened on 19 March 1849 and was closed for goods traffic travelling to Limerick on 6 September 1976.^[3]

Charleville is on the main Cork - Limerick - Galway bus route and has hourly connections with these 3 cities for most of the day

Charleville is situated on the R515 regional road which connects Newcastle West, Co. Limerick with Tipperary Town in County Tipperary.

Education

Secondary:

• CBS Charleville
• St. Mary's Secondary School (Charleville)
• Mannix College

Sport

• Charleville AFC
• Ráth Luirc GAA Club
• Charleville Camogie Club
• Charleville RFC
• Charleville Golf Club
• Charleville Pitch and Putt Club
• Ráth Luirc GAA Sports Centre(Squash, badminton and tennis facilities)
• Handball Court

Youth Groups

Charleville Scout Group

24th/65th Cork Scout group operates out of it own hall located in the town park. The group has a very active leadership catering for male youths in the town in different sections. Activities include Cinema, Swimming, Bowling, Water Activities, hiking, rock climbing, abseiling, bouldering, caving, Camping and much more.

Places of interest

• Charleville Library - is an example of a historic building which has been put into use again after years of neglect. It was formally the Protestant Church of the Parish but went into disrepair in the 1950/1960s when the Protestant population of the area declined.

Politics

Charleville has a Community Council and a Chamber of Commerce

Media and the Arts

Broadcast

• Ballyhoura Community Radio - BCRadio.ie

Will commence broadcasting on 92.6fm within an 8 km radius of the town in September 2010.

Print

Newspapers:

• The Vale Star

Arts

• The Schoolyard Theatre
• North Cork Drama Festival

Climate

People

• Birthplace of Seán Clárach Mac Domhnaill (1691–1754), Chief Poet of Munster
• Birthplace of William Reeves (1815–1892), antiquarian, bishop, and President of the Royal Irish Academy
• Birthplace of Con Leahy (April 27, 1876 – December 18, 1921); an Irish athlete, who won Olympic medals at the 1906 and 1908 Games.
• Birthplace of Eliza Lynch, former first lady of Paraguay.^[4]

International relations

Main article: List of twin towns and sister cities in the Republic of Ireland

Twin towns — sister cities

Charleville is twinned with the town Plouaret-Vieux-Marche, Brittany, France.

See also

• List of towns and villages in Ireland
• Market Houses in Ireland
• Charleville (Parliament of Ireland constituency)

External links

Business Website: Charleville

Charleville Chamber

References

1. ^ "Census 2006 – Volume 1 – Population Classified by Area" (PDF). Central Statistics Office Census 2006 Reports. Central Statistics Office Ireland. April 2007. http://www.cso.ie/census/documents/census2006_volume_1_pop_classified_by_area.pdf. Retrieved 2011-06-14. 
2. ^ 'From Bruree to Corcomohide' by Mainchín Seoighe
3. ^ "Charleville station". Railscot - Irish Railways. http://www.railscot.co.uk/Ireland/Irish_railways.pdf. Retrieved 2007-08-31. 
4. ^ Tom Hennigan: "Life of Cork woman and heroine in Paraguary to be featured in TV drama", Irish Times, 14 May 2011. (confirmed by baptismal certificate)