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Skibbereen

Coordinates: 51°32′55″N 9°15′49″W / 51.5486°N 9.2636°W / 51.5486; -9.2636
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For the song, see Skibbereen (song).

Skibbereen
An Sciobairín
Town
New Bridge over the River Ilen
New Bridge over the River Ilen
Skibbereen is located in Ireland
Skibbereen
Skibbereen
Location in Ireland
Coordinates: 51°32′55″N 9°15′49″W / 51.5486°N 9.2636°W / 51.5486; -9.2636
CountryIreland
ProvinceMunster
CountyCounty Cork
Population
 (2016)[1]
 • Total2,778
Time zoneUTC±0 (WET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+1 (IST)
Eircode routing key
P81
Telephone area code+353(0)28
Irish Grid ReferenceW119334
Websitewww.skibbereen.ie

Skibbereen (/ˌskɪbəˈriːn/; Irish: An Sciobairín)[2] is a town in County Cork, Ireland. It is located in West Cork on the N71 national secondary road. The name "Skibbereen" (sometimes shortened to "Skibb") means "little boat harbour".[citation needed] The River Ilen runs through the town; it reaches the sea about 12 kilometres away, at the seaside village of Baltimore. As of the Census of Ireland 2011, the population of the town (not including the rural hinterland) was 2,568.[3] Skibbereen is in the Cork South-West (Dáil Éireann) constituency, which has three seats.

History

Prior to 1600, most of the land in the area belonged to the native MacCarthy Reagh dynasty - today McCarthy remains the town's most common surname.[citation needed] The town charter dates back to 1657 and a copy can be seen in the town council chambers. In 1631, Skibbereen received an influx of refugees fleeing from the Sack of Baltimore. The "Phoenix Society" was founded in Skibbereen in 1856 and was a precursor to the Fenian movement.[4]

1798 memorial

A statue, the 'Maid of Erin' erected in 1904, sits on top of a memorial to commemorate four failed uprisings against British rule, the dates of which are engraved on each side of the plinth: 1798, 1803, 1848, 1867.[citation needed]

Skibbereen was once a stop on the West Cork Railway, which scheduled trains from West Cork to Cork City. The construction of the railways took place between 1851 and 1893 and by 1961, all West Cork railway lines were closed. The original railway bridge is still visible by the West Cork Hotel.[citation needed]. Skibbereen also had a separate terminus station on the narrow-gauge Schull and Skibbereen Tramway and Light Railway.

Famine

Skibbereen 1847; a sketch by Cork artist James Mahony (1810–1879) commissioned for Illustrated London News 20 February 1847

The region around Skibbereen experienced a significant famine in the years 1845–52, a time referred to as The Great Hunger or Great Famine (Irish: an Gorta Mór). The Skibbereen Heritage Centre estimates that 8,000 to 10,000 victims of the Famine are buried in the famine burial pits of Abbeystrewery cemetery close to the town.[5] While there is some question on the accuracy of census data from the famine era,[6] records indicate a drop of population from 58,335 in 1841 to 32,412 in 1861.[7]

Site of Famine Burial Pits at Abbeystrowery

Skibbereen is also the name of a song about the Famine, and the impact it and the British Government had on the people of Ireland. The song, known as Dear Old Skibbereen, takes the form of a conversation between a father and a son, in which the son asks his father why he fled the land he loved so well.

A permanent exhibition to commemorate the memory of the victims of the Great Famine is sited at the Skibbereen Heritage Centre.[8] Skibbereen was also the focal point of Ireland's first National Famine Memorial Day on 17 May 2009. The town was selected as it was in one of the areas worst affected by the Great Famine.[9] The National Famine Commemoration Committee agreed that the centrepiece of the memorial day would rotate between the Four Provinces on an annual basis.[10]

Media

High Street, Skibbereen

The Skibbereen Eagle, a newspaper founded in 1857, published both local and international stories. For example, it published an editorial that "told Lord Palmerston that it had 'got its eye both upon him and on the Emperor of Russia'."[11] And a 1914 article said "We give this solemn warning to Kaiser Wilhelm: The Skibbereen Eagle has its eye on you."[12] This newspaper was superseded by the Southern Star, which was founded in Skibbereen in 1889.[13][14]

Sport

O'Donovan Rossa GAA is the local Gaelic Athletic Association club. The local secondary school St. Fachtna's was a finalist in 1982 and a winner in 1991 of the Hogan Cup for Gaelic football.

Skibbereen Rowing Club is situated on the outskirts of the town, and is one of the most successful clubs in Ireland.[15] Club members Paul and Gary O'Donovan won silver at the 2016 summer Olympics in the men's lightweight double sculls,[16] the first Olympic medal won by Irish rowers.[17] Paul O'Donovan and fellow club member Fintan McCarthy subsequently won gold at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.

A.F.C.Skibbereen is the local association football (soccer) club, with other sports clubs including Skibbereen Golf Club,[18] Skibbereen Rugby Club, and Skibbereen Athletics Club.[19]

Education

There are four primary schools located in the town, including Abbeystrewry National School (a mixed school), Gaelscoil Dr O'Suilleabhain (a mixed Irish-speaking school), St. Patrick's Primary School (boys), and Scoil Naomh Seosamh (girls)

Until 2016, there were three secondary schools: Rossa College (mixed sex), St Fachtna's De la Salle (boys), and Mercy Heights (girls). The three schools merged into one school called Skibbereen Community School which opened in September 2016.[20]

Demographics

As of the 2016 census, in terms of ethnicity, the Skibbereen Urban and Skibbereen Rural electoral divisions were 75.6% white Irish, 18.8% other white ethnicities, 0.6% black, 1.2% Asian, 1% of other ethnicity, and 2.9% with no stated ethnicity.[21][22] As of 2016, 5.4% of Skibbereen's urban population identified with a UK nationality,[23] compared to an average of 2.6% for the county as a whole.[24]

In terms of religion, the 2011 census returns recorded the population as being 79% Catholic, 11.5% other stated religion, 7% with no religion, and 1.5% not stated.[25]

Notable people

Culture and leisure

Arts Festival

The Skibbereen Arts Festival occurs annually, taking place at the end of July and including community-based projects as well as a mix of national and international films, theatre, visual art and music acts.[28]

Agricultural Festival

The Carbery Show takes place on the third Thursday of July each year.[citation needed] The show includes agricultural, horticultural, livestock, craft, bakery and other competitions, as well as a pet show, and trade exhibition. The first Carbery Show took place in 1836.[29]

Music

A number of different music events are held each year, with several bars and venues in town (including "Baby Hannah's") hosting musical acts.[citation needed] Skibbereen has also hosted the Cork X Southwest Music & Arts Festival over several years. The 2011 festival was held at Liss Ard Estate and featured Patti Smith, Echo & the Bunnymen, Balkan Beat Box, Fred and others across a two-day lineup.[30]

Beaches

Just outside Skibbereen is Tragumna beach, and the town's location near the coast means that sea fishing, scuba diving, sailing, and kayaking are possible locally.

See also

References

  1. ^ "Census 2016 - Sapmap Area - Settlements - Skibbereen". CSO. 2016. Archived from the original on 18 August 2018. Retrieved 18 August 2018.
  2. ^ "An Sciobairín/Skibbereen". Placenames Database of Ireland (logainm.ie). Retrieved 28 November 2021.
  3. ^ "Census 2011 – Population Classified by Area" (PDF). Central Statistics Office. Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 November 2013.
  4. ^ "Book pays tribute to towns fine patriots". The Southern Star. 23 June 2015. Archived from the original on 21 August 2016. Retrieved 11 August 2016.
  5. ^ "Skibbereen Heritage Centre - Great Famine Commemoration Exhibition". Skibbheritage.com. Archived from the original on 26 July 2016. Retrieved 11 August 2016.
  6. ^ JJ Lee (1981). JM Goldstrom and LA Clarkson (ed.). "On the accuracy of the Pre-famine Irish censuses Irish Population". Economy and Society: 54.
  7. ^ "Census of Ireland 1861: Part I, Area, Population, and Number of Houses, by Townlands and Electoral Divisions Provinces of Leinster and Munster". Enhanced British Parliamentary Papers on Ireland. 1861. p. 164. Archived from the original on 31 January 2016. Retrieved 24 January 2016.
  8. ^ "Skibbereen Heritage Centre". Skibbheritage.com. Archived from the original on 26 July 2016. Retrieved 11 August 2016.
  9. ^ "National Famine Memorial Day". Littleshamrocks.com. Archived from the original on 5 September 2009. Retrieved 6 September 2009.
  10. ^ "Skibbereen to be focal point of Famine Memorial Day". BreakingNews.ie. Archived from the original on 22 February 2012. Retrieved 11 August 2016.
  11. ^ Cobham Brewer, E (1898). Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. London: Cassell, and Co. Ltd.
  12. ^ Philip Howard (2000). "The Press Gang - The World in Journalese" (PDF). Institute for Cultural Research. p. 15. Archived (PDF) from the original on 23 March 2016. Retrieved 11 August 2016.
  13. ^ "Southern Star Newspaper". Archived from the original on 17 August 2016. Retrieved 11 August 2016.
  14. ^ "About Us - History". southernstar.ie. Archived from the original on 22 December 2014.
  15. ^ "Skibbereen Rowing Club". Archived from the original on 4 August 2016. Retrieved 12 August 2016.
  16. ^ "Ireland's O'Donovan brothers become web sensations after medal win". The Guardian. 14 August 2016. Archived from the original on 12 January 2017. Retrieved 16 August 2016. [...] Paul, who trains with his brother at Skibbereen Rowing Club, agreed [...]
  17. ^ "Silver for Ireland! The O'Donovan brothers do the country proud with amazing Olympic rowing final race". Irish Independent. 12 August 2016. Archived from the original on 31 March 2017. Retrieved 16 August 2016. It is the first ever Olympic medal for Irish rowing
  18. ^ "Skibbereen & West Carbery Golf Club, Co Cork, Ireland". Skibbgolf.com. Archived from the original on 29 July 2016. Retrieved 11 August 2016.
  19. ^ "Skibbereen Athletic Club". Skibbac.com. Archived from the original on 2 August 2016. Retrieved 11 August 2016.
  20. ^ "Skibbereen's impressive new Community School takes shape". Southern Star. 16 October 2015. Archived from the original on 1 November 2016. Retrieved 31 October 2016.
  21. ^ "Census 2016 Sapmap Area: Electoral Division Skibbereen Urban". Census 2016. Central Statistics Office. Archived from the original on 8 September 2017. Retrieved 7 September 2017.
  22. ^ "Census 2016 Sapmap Area: Electoral Division Skibbereen Rural". Census 2016. Central Statistics Office. Archived from the original on 7 September 2017. Retrieved 7 September 2017.
  23. ^ "Census 2016 Sapmap Area: Electoral Division Skibbereen Urban". Census 2016. Central Statistics Office. Archived from the original on 8 September 2017. Retrieved 7 September 2017. Of 2,663 Skib Urban residents, 143 indicated a UK nationality. Or 5.37%
  24. ^ "Census 2016 Sapmap Area: County Cork County". Census 2016. Central Statistics Office. Archived from the original on 18 November 2018. Retrieved 7 September 2017. Of 412,826 Cork County residents, 10,774 indicated a UK nationality. Or 2.61%
  25. ^ "Skibbereen Urban And Rural". AIRO - Census Mapping Module: Cork County. MaynoothUniversity.ie. Archived from the original on 25 August 2017. Retrieved 24 July 2017.
  26. ^ "News & Events | National University of Ireland". Nui.ie. Archived from the original on 30 January 2016. Retrieved 11 August 2016.
  27. ^ "Deaths". Ireland Newspaper Extracts. Retrieved 8 October 2015.
  28. ^ "Official Website Skibbereen Arts Festival". Skibbereenartsfestival.com. 11 August 2016. Archived from the original on 12 August 2021. Retrieved 25 September 2021.
  29. ^ "About". carberyshow.ie. Carbery Show Website. Retrieved 9 February 2020.
  30. ^ "Cork X South West Festival website". Corkxsw.com. Archived from the original on 13 March 2011.
Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Skibbereen.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Skibbereen.
Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article "Skibbereen".
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