Ballinacurra, County Cork
Encyclopedia
Ballinacurra is a small harbour village on the outskirts of Midleton
, County Cork
. It is about 20 miles east of Cork
city.
The village grew up around the where the Owenacurra River meets the east channel of Cork Harbour
. It served as the port for the town of Midleton, which is less than 2 km north of Ballinacurra, for centuries and became a loading and unloading point for coal
, timber
, iron
and slate
and later flax
for the linen industry.Local legend has proved to be a very important aspect to Ballinacurra's heritage. Stories such as the flogging of Dave Roe by the Oscar Mikeians crew has proved to stand through the test of time.
The port of Ballinacurra closed in 1962 as it was deemed too expensive to dredge the growing levels of silt and mud at the entrance the small harbour. It is now used almost exclusively for small leisure boats.
Midleton
Midleton, historically Middleton , is a town in south-eastern County Cork, Ireland. It lies some 22 km east of Cork City on the Owenacurra River and the N25 road, which connects Cork to the port of Rosslare...
, County Cork
County Cork
County Cork is a county in Ireland. It is located in the South-West Region and is also part of the province of Munster. It is named after the city of Cork . Cork County Council is the local authority for the county...
. It is about 20 miles east of Cork
Cork (city)
Cork is the second largest city in the Republic of Ireland and the island of Ireland's third most populous city. It is the principal city and administrative centre of County Cork and the largest city in the province of Munster. Cork has a population of 119,418, while the addition of the suburban...
city.
The village grew up around the where the Owenacurra River meets the east channel of Cork Harbour
Cork Harbour
Cork Harbour is a natural harbour and river estuary at the mouth of the River Lee in County Cork, Ireland. It is one of several which lay claim to the title of "second largest natural harbour in the world by navigational area" . Other contenders include Halifax Harbour in Canada, and Poole Harbour...
. It served as the port for the town of Midleton, which is less than 2 km north of Ballinacurra, for centuries and became a loading and unloading point for coal
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
, timber
Timber
Timber may refer to:* Timber, a term common in the United Kingdom and Australia for wood materials * Timber, Oregon, an unincorporated community in the U.S...
, iron
Iron
Iron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. It is a metal in the first transition series. It is the most common element forming the planet Earth as a whole, forming much of Earth's outer and inner core. It is the fourth most common element in the Earth's crust...
and slate
Slate
Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. The result is a foliated rock in which the foliation may not correspond to the original sedimentary layering...
and later flax
Flax
Flax is a member of the genus Linum in the family Linaceae. It is native to the region extending from the eastern Mediterranean to India and was probably first domesticated in the Fertile Crescent...
for the linen industry.Local legend has proved to be a very important aspect to Ballinacurra's heritage. Stories such as the flogging of Dave Roe by the Oscar Mikeians crew has proved to stand through the test of time.
The port of Ballinacurra closed in 1962 as it was deemed too expensive to dredge the growing levels of silt and mud at the entrance the small harbour. It is now used almost exclusively for small leisure boats.
See also
- List of towns and villages in Ireland