The Diocese of Cloyne is located in the County of Cork in the South of Ireland. It has its beginnings in the monastic settlement of St. Colman at Cloyne in East Cork. A round tower and pre-reformation Cathedral still stand at this site. Cloyne was later to become the center of an extensive diocese in Munster. For eight centuries it was the residence of the Bishops of Cloyne and the setting for the Cathedral in Cobh.
Colman, son of Lenin, lived from 522 to 604 A.D. He had been a poet and bard at the court of Caomh, King of Munster at Cashel. It was St. Brendan of Clonfert that induced Colman to become Christian. He embraced his new faith eagerly and studied at the monastery of St. Jarleth in Tuam. He later preached in East Cork and established his own monastic settlement at Cloyne about 560 A.D. His Feast Day is celebrated on November 24th.
The troubled history of Ireland from the Norman to the Penal Times was reflected in the affairs of the Church. The Diocese of Cloyne and Cork were united from 1429 to 1747. From 1747 to 1850 the Diocese of Cloyne and Ross were united. Since 1769 the Bishops of Cloyne, with the exception of Dr. Murphy, resided at Cóbh (formerly Queenstown) on the north side of Cork Harbour. When the Diocese of Cloyne and Ross were separated in 1850 Bishop William Keane planned a cathedral for Cóbh to replace the inadequate parish Church of the time. Cóbh Cathedral was begun in 1868.
The name of the county is derived from that of the city, being a shortened form of the Gaelic word Corcagh which signifies a marsh. The present county clearly corresponds with the ancient sub kingdom of Desmond or south Munster. Corka Laigdhe (pronounced Corkalee) the old territory of the O’ Driscolls comprised all the district from Courtmacsherry Bay to Bantry Bay, and the peninsula between Roaring Water Bay and Dunmanus Bay was the ancient Iveagh, the territory of the O’Mahoney’s. On the point of Dursey island are three sea rocks called in English, the Bull, the Cow and the Calf; they are celebrated in legendary history as the place where Donn one of the Milesian brothers perished in a storm with the crew of his ship. Several of the old territories are represented in name and position by baronies. Thus the old district of Beanntraighe is the Barony of Bantry; Cairbre the Baronies of Carbery; Muscraighe the Baronies of Muskerry; Duthaighe-Eada the Barony of Duhallow; Feara-Muighe the Barony of Fermoy called in later ages, the Roches country.
Cork City is located slightly upstream on the River Lee on the northwest corner of Cork Harbour. Several of the city's suburbs, including Blackrock, Mahon, Douglas and Rochestown lie on Lough Mahon or the Douglas Estuary, both of which are parts of Upper Cork Harbour. Mahon is an area to the eastern side of Cork City. It was once a peninsula of lush green fields and estates. The Lower Harbour has many towns around its shores. Passage West, Monkstown, Ringaskiddy and the smaller village of Raffeen are found on the western shore. On the southwestern shore is Crosshaven. Great Island, which forms the norther shore of the lower harbour houses the town of Cobh. The eastern shore is less densely populated, but has two villages Whitegate and Aghada. In addition to the city of Cork, it includes the towns of Ballincollig, Blarney, Carrigaline, Carrigtwohill, Cobh, Douglas, Glanmire, Glounthaune and Midleton. The Cathedral Parish of the Diocese of Cloyne is Cobh. This consists of the entire Great Island in Cork Harbour], including Rushbrooke & Ballymore. The second mensal parish is Fermoy.
Originally called Cove of Cork, the town was renamed Queenstown when Queen Victoria visited in 1849. It was named Cóbh in 1922. The locality, which had had several different Irish-language names, was first referred to as Cove ("the Cove of Cork") in 1750. Cóbh is located on the south shore of the Great Island in Cork Harbour, on slopes overlooking the harbour. On its highest point stands the Cóbh Cathedral,St. Colman's, seate of the diocese of Cloyne. One of the major transatlantic Irish ports, Cóbh was the departure point for 2.5 million of the 6 million Irish people who emigrated to North America between 1848 and 1950. The first steamship to sail from Ireland to England left Cove in 1821 and the Sirius, the first steamship to cross the Atlantic, left Cove in 1838. Cóbh is famed for being the last port of call for the ill-fated "Titanic" which sank after striking an iceberg on Sunday 14th April 1912.
Islands of Cork Harbor
GREAT ISLAND (Oileann Mor an Barraigh in Irish) is the name of an island in Cork Harbour, just outside Cork city, at the mouth of the River Lee. The island's name comes from the Irish, meaning "Great island of the Barrys", referring to a powerful Norman family who settled in the area. The original name of the island was Oilean Ard na Neimhad, the "High (or important) island of Neimhad". One of the first colonists of Ireland was Neimheidh, who landed in Cork Harbour over 1000 years b.c. He and his followers were wiped out in a plague, but the Great Island was known in Irish as Oilean Ard Neimheadh because of its association with him. Later it became known as Crich Liathain because of the Lehane tribe who were rulers of it. It subsequently became known as Oilean Mor An Barra, (the Great Island of Barry & Barrymore) after the Barry family who inherited it.
The town of Cóbh is situated on the island, which is connected by causeway to Fota Island to the north, which in turn is connected by causeway to the mainland. A railway line runs out through both islands to Cóbh. Monkstown (Baile an Mhanaigh in Irish) is a village in County Cork, Ireland, situated southeast of Cork city. The village is on the estuary of the River Lee, facing Great Island and looking onto Monkstown Bay.
Great Island is the name of a few islands in the U.S. state of Massachusetts, one of which is a part of the Cape Cod National Seashore. A waterway, of southeast Massachusetts connecting Buzzards Bay with Cape Cod Bay, the southern part of Massachusetts Bay. The canal was built (1910–1914) to shorten the water route between New York and Boston. Towns on Cape Cod include Barnstable; Provincetown, site of the Pilgrims' first landing (1620); Falmouth. From the beachfront on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, it includes nearly 40 miles (60 km) of seashore along the Atlantic-facing eastern edge of Cape Cod, in the towns of Provincetown, Truro, Wellfleet, Eastham, Orleans and Chatham. The first fortifications were built in Cork Harbour in the 17th century, although these were primarily to protect Cork City. In the 18th century, fortifications were built on Haulbowline Island to protect the anchorage in Cobh. Fort Camden and Fort Carlisle at opposite sides of the harbour entrance were built during the American War of Independence.
BULL ISLAND or North Bull Island is an island located in Dublin Bay in Ireland, lying roughly parallel to the shore. It is less than two centuries old, having been formed by sand building up after the North Bull Wall was built in the 19th century to shelter Dublin Port. The island is connected to the mainland by a wooden road bridge at the southern (Clontarf) end, and by a causeway approximately half way along. It is predicted that within the next half-century continued deposition will lead to Bull Island's merging with the mainland at Sutton.
FOTA ISLAND is a small island in Cork Harbour, Ireland, just north of the larger island of Cóbh. The island lies just off the N25 road from Cork to Waterford.
LITTLE ISLAND is an industrial and residential area to the east of Cork City. The Shag Rocks are barren rocks in Massachusetts Bay, within the city limits of Boston. The rocks are northeast of Little Brewster Island and west of Great Brewster Island. The Shag Rocks are 6 small islands in the westernmost extreme of South Georgia, 240 kilometers West of the main island of South Georgia and 1000 kilometers east of the Falkland Islands. The Shag Rocks and Black Rock are claimed by Argentina as part of Tierra del Fuego province.
HAULBOWLINE Haulbowline is an island in Cork Harbour. The island was fortified in 1602. The naval dockyard on the island was built during the Napoleonic Wars. At this time, the naval dockyard on Haulbowline Island was constructed as well as a fort on Spike Island (later to become Fort Westmoreland) and a number of Martello Towers around the harbour.
SPIKE ISLAND,County Cork, Ireland, is a small island in the approaches to Cork. It was significant in the French intervention following the Glorious Revolution.