Come To Cork

History

Cork has a reputation of being something of a rebel county – a reputation it is proud of.

The city has roots as far back as the 7th century when St Fin Barre founded a monastic settlement on a site on the River Lee beside what is now the city centre. This development grew slowly and steadily for about two hundred years until the Viking invasions, which began in the 9th century.

Gradually, the invaders from Scandinavia integrated with the native Celtic population and Cork first started to emerge as a vibrant merchant city, trading goods across Europe – an image that still defines Cork today.

In the middle of the 12th century, a new group of settlers arrived, this time the Normans, who had defeated England in battle a century earlier and now had their sights set on strategic Irish coastal cities. By the middle of the 13th century, most of Ireland – Cork included – was under Anglo-Norman rule.

Under Norman rule, Cork received its first Royal Charter from King John of England in 1185. This gave it city status and the 800th anniversary of this occasion was celebrated in Cork in 1985.

By the 14th century, much of the county of Cork had reverted to the rule of the Gaelic Irish and relations between the native population and the Anglo-Normans worsened.

This struggle between the two groups characterised much of Cork’s history right up to the struggle for independence in the 19th and early 20th centuries. The War of Independence and the Civil War, which followed the signing of the Anglo-Irish Treaty in 1921, were fought unsparingly in Cork as it lived up to its Rebel County reputation.

However, in recent decades, Cork’s story has been a somewhat happier one and it is now a prosperous and vibrant city, drawing on the richness and variety of its heritage. Now, as it enters the 21st century Cork is thriving and looking forward to a future as one of Europe’s most successful modern cities.

Useful Links

History of Cork
History of the Cork region