Union Hall, County Cork Explained

Union Hall
Native Name Lang:ga
Settlement Type:Village
Pushpin Map:Ireland
Pushpin Label Position:right
Pushpin Map Caption:Location in Ireland
Subdivision Name:Ireland
Subdivision Name1:Munster
Subdivision Name2:County Cork
Subdivision Name3:Skibbereen
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Type1:Province
Subdivision Type2:County
Subdivision Type3:District
Unit Pref:Metric
Population As Of:2016
Population:270
Population Density Km2:auto
Utc Offset1:+0
Timezone1 Dst:IST (WEST)
Utc Offset1 Dst:-1
Coordinates:51.558°N -9.1385°W
Elevation M:0
Blank Name:Irish Grid Reference

Union Hall,[1] also Unionhall, is a small fishing village located in County Cork, Ireland, located on the west side of Glandore Harbour. Its nearest neighbour to the west is Castletownshend; to the east, Glandore village. It is approximately 10 kilometres south-east of Skibbereen. As of the 2016 census, 270 people were living in Union Hall.[2]

A key source of employment in the area is fishing,[3] and the pier has its own ice plant and fish processing factory run by Glenmar Shellfish Ltd.[4] Tourism is also an economic driver, and among the area's attractions are boat trips to view whales, dolphins and seals.[5]

Location and access

The coastal village lies on a hill, and has a small harbour for small fishing boats and other small craft.

By road it is accessible over the narrow Poulgorm Bridge on the R597 regional road to Glandore, Rosscarbery and Leap. The bridge is only one lane wide, so traffic must wait for the bridge to be clear before crossing. The bridge was built c.1890, and featured in David Puttnam's 1994 film "War of the Buttons".[6] [7]

History

Archaeological sites in the immediate area include evidence of a number of ringforts, a souterrain and a lime kiln in Ballincolla townland.[8] Also nearby are the remains of 13th century and 16th century O'Donovan castles at Castle Eyre (Listarkin townland) and Raheen Castle (Raheen townland).[9] [10]

The Irish name Irish: Bréantrá means "rotten strand". An alternative is Irish: Trá an Bhróin "strand of sorrow". One tradition says the name originates from the blood split at a battle fought there in the early 16th century between O'Donovan septs of Clancahill and Sliocht Íomhair.[11] The adjoining townland name Clontaff is likewise explained as Irish: Cluain a Catha "battle meadow",[11] although the official name is Irish: Cluain Cathail.[12]

The English name "Union Hall" was originally that of a big house built and named after the Act of Union 1800 by William Somerville Limrick (or Limerick), a lieutenant colonel in the Madras Army of the East India Company.[11] [13] [14] The house, later named Unionhall House, was burnt out by the Irish Republican Army in the Irish War of Independence.[15] In July–August 1922, as part of the Irish Free State offensive of the Civil War, national army troops landed at the quay in Union Hall in order to outflank the local Republican forces.[16]

In January 2012, the Tit Bonhomme fishing vessel sank near Glandore Harbour, and the people of Union Hall spent several weeks searching for the Irish and Egyptian sailors who died. They were presented with a People of the Year Award in September 2012.[17]

Amenities and tourism

There is a supermarket and a fish shop in the village. There is also a post office and a number of bed and breakfasts.

Union Hall has a Roman Catholic church (built c.1832 and dedicated to St. Bridget) to the south of the village, and a Church of Ireland church close to the village centre (built c.1840).[18] [19]

The area around Union Hall is known for its hills, woodlands, rivers and islands. There are a number of small inlets, bays and beaches.

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Bréantrá/Unionhall . Placenames Database of Ireland (logainm.ie) . 29 November 2021.
  2. Web site: Sapmap Area: Settlement - Unionhall . Central Statistics Office . Census 2016 . 4 October 2017 . 5 October 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20171005051014/http://census.cso.ie/sapmap2016/Results.aspx?Geog_Type=ST2016&Geog_Code=04627894-D559-40EE-B434-8DCBB82C3DB1#SAPMAP_T1_100 . live .
  3. Web site: Fisheries - Union Hall . Fáilte Ireland . discoverireland.ie . 19 November 2018 . Union Hall has a proud connection with the sea and fishing is major local industry . 19 November 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20181119173626/https://www.discoverireland.ie/Activities-Adventure/union-hall/15946 . live .
  4. Web site: Lisavaird Co-op shells out €10m in Glenmar Shellfish seafood business takeover . Irish Examiner . irishexaminer.com . 5 December 2015 . 19 November 2018 . 19 November 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20181119214324/https://www.irishexaminer.com/business/lisavaird-co-op-shells-out-10m-in-glenmar-shellfish-seafood-business-takeover-369917.html . live .
  5. Web site: Whale & Dolphin Watching . Union Hall . unionhall.ie . 19 November 2018 . 10 April 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180410134149/http://www.unionhall.ie/whales.html . live .
  6. Web site: W2135 : Poulgorm Bridge Unionhall . Geograph . geograph.ie . 18 November 2018 . 19 November 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20181119091903/http://www.geograph.ie/photo/499531 . live .
  7. Web site: Poulgorm Bridge, County Cork . National Inventory of Architectural Heritage . buildingsofireland.ie . 18 November 2018 . 19 November 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20181119091955/http://www.buildingsofireland.ie/niah/search.jsp?type=record&county=CO&regno=20914212 . live .
  8. Book: Archaeological Inventory of County Cork. Volume 1: West Cork . Dublin . Irish Government Stationery Office. 1992 . Sites in Ballincolla townland: Ringfort (CO142-060001-): "Circular, slightly raised area / enclosed by earthen bank / stone-faced inparts / souterrain in interior". Souterrain (CO142-060002-) "NE quadrant ringfort". Ringfort (CO142-062----) "Roughly circular area / defined by low arc of collapsed wall". Lime kiln (CO142-061----): Built against N-facing slope overlookin Glandore Harbour and adjacent to high sea cliffs" .
  9. Web site: Local History . Union Hall . unionhall.ie . https://web.archive.org/web/20180313115432/http://www.unionhall.ie/localhistory.html . 13 March 2018 .
  10. Web site: Raheen Tower House . Megalithic Ireland . megalithicireland.com . 19 November 2018 . 19 November 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20181119173649/http://www.megalithicireland.com/Raheen%20Castle,%20Cork.html . live .
  11. Burke . James M. . West Cork place names (contd) . Journal of the Cork Historical & Archaeological Society . 0010-8731 . October–December 1916 . 22 ser 2 . 112 . 188 .
  12. Web site: Cluain Cathail/Clontaff . logainm.ie . 16 June 2022 . en.
  13. Denny . H. L. L. . The family of Limrick, of Schull, Co. Cork . Journal of the Cork Historical & Archaeological Society . 0010-8731 . July–September 1907 . 13 ser 2 . 75 . 124 .
  14. Book: Dodwell . Edward . Alphabetical list of the officers of the Madras army: with the dates of their respective promotion, retirement, resignation or death, whether in India or in Europe; from the year 1760, to the year 1834 inclusive, corrected to September 30, 1837 . 1838 . Longman . London . 102–103 .
  15. Web site: Points of Interest; Village Walk . Union Hall Walks . 16 June 2022.
  16. Book: The Irish Civil War 1922–23 . Peter Cottrell . Bloomsbury Publishing . 2014 . 9781472810335 . 180 men on the [SS] Alexandra landed at Union Hall, Glandore, in the face of small-arms fire from Republicans in fishing boats. By the time they had managed to unload their armoured car and three armoured personnel carriers, the IRA had melted away and the town was secured.
  17. News: Heroes at national and community levels honoured in emotional ceremony. 17 September 2012. 27 September 2012. 17 September 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20120917081413/http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2012/0917/1224324092423.html. live.
  18. Web site: St. Bridget's Roman Catholic Church, Unionhall, County Cork . National Inventory of Architectural Heritage . buildingsofireland.ie . 19 November 2018 . 19 November 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20181119132902/http://www.buildingsofireland.ie/niah/search.jsp?type=record&county=CO&regno=20914242 . live .
  19. Web site: Myross Parish Church, County Cork . National Inventory of Architectural Heritage . buildingsofireland.ie . 19 November 2018 . 19 November 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20181119132947/http://www.buildingsofireland.ie/niah/search.jsp?type=record&county=CO&regno=20914229 . live .

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