County Cork, the largest county in Ireland and a place known throughout the country and further afield as “The Rebel County”, is known for its breathtaking landscapes and the storied history of its people, places and stories.
Cork has produced a wealth of notable individuals, including many Irish sports legends, several Irish Prime Ministers — known as Taoiseach in the Gaelic, meaning “chieftain” — and one of the stars of hit US television series Knight Rider, as well as an array of fascinating landmarks documenting Ireland's past and present.
Here are nine of the most amazing places, people and stories that make County Cork — or the People’s Republic of Cork, as it’s known in some local parlance! — a cornerstone of Irish heritage.
1. Michael Collins and a Legacy of Ambition and Rebellion
Michael Collins was one of the most influential figures in Ireland's fight for independence, and the impact of his 32 short years is still felt and respected today, more than a century after his early death.
Collins, often referred to during his lifetime by the endearing nickname “The Big Fella”, was born in the small town of Clonakilty, in the west of County Cork, in 1890. As a revolutionary leader and director of intelligence for the Irish Republican Army, Collins was instrumental in orchestrating guerrilla tactics against British forces during the Irish War of Independence.
His role in negotiating the Anglo-Irish Treaty led to the establishment of the Irish Free State, although there are many who would suggest that he was played by the politicking of his erstwhile colleague and fellow Irish rebel Eamon de Valera. That split in the Irish camp following the negotiation of the 1921 Treaty, which resulted in the partition of Ireland, led directly to the ambush and assassination of Collins at Béal na Bláth in Cork in 1922, one of the landmark moments of the Irish Civil War.
The Collins legacy endures in Ireland, and especially in his native Cork, with monuments and museums commemorating his life and contributions. Among the most impressive, and also the most poignant, is a new statue unveiled at the Imperial Hotel, Cork in 2023. Before the 1922 assassination, Collins spent his last nights alive in Room 115 at the Imperial. Real Irish’s sister company, Real Irish Travel, makes a three-night stop-off at the Imperial during the regular South By Southwest Tour of Ireland. (The next tour takes place in May 2025, and you can find all the details here.)
The Michael Collins Statue at the Imperial Hotel. (Image credit: Eoin Shortiss / Cork Beo)
Hollywood, courtesy of Irish film director Neil Jordan, gave a powerful treatment of the story in the 1996 biopic Michael Collins, which starred Liam Neeson in the title role.
Michael Collins’s body is interred at Glasnevin Cemetery in Dublin and his life and story remains an inspiration to many throughout Ireland and the world.
Irish revolutionary leader Michael Collins, and his grave at Glasnevin Cemetery in Dublin
2. Charles Fort in Kinsale: A Reminder of Ireland’s Violent Past
Perched on the edge of Kinsale Harbour, Charles Fort is a visually astonishing and imposing star-shaped fort that dates back to the late 17th century.
Constructed in the 1670s and ‘80s during the reign of England’s King Charles II to defend against naval attacks from the Spanish and French — Kinsale had been the site of a Spanish invasion to fight against the English in 1601 — Charles Fort saw significant action in 1690. After a 13-day siege, William of Orange’s men Charles ousted the Jacobite garrison in a key moment of the Williamite War.
Like Béal na Bláth and Michael Collins, Charles Fort was also a central figure in the early years of Irish independence, when it was the stronghold of the Essex Regiment during the War of Independence and was later burned by anti-Treaty forces in 1922.
Despite all that, Charles Fort remains a remarkably well-preserved monument and popular historical site, offering visitors stunning views of Kinsale and a real-life-and-up-close connection to Ireland's military history.
Charles Fort in Kinsale. Image via Wikimedia Commons
3. The Sacred and Splendid Valley of Gougane Barra
Nestled in a remote valley in west Cork, Gougane Barra is a serene and sacred site known for its stunning natural beauty and spiritual significance.
According to tradition, it was the retreat of St. Finbarr, the patron saint of Cork, who established a monastery here in the 6th century. Today, a picturesque chapel stands on the site, surrounded by the tranquil waters of Gougane Barra Lake, the source of the famous River Lee which flows onwards through Cork City to the sea.
This peaceful haven has been a destination for pilgrims and nature lovers alike for centuries, providing a welcome respite from life’s everyday hustle and bustle.
Gougane Barra really comes into its own in the autumn, where it hosts the resplendent transition of nature’s colours from summer to winter. St Finbarr’s feast day takes place on September 25th each year, and a pilgrimage mass celebrated outdoors takes place on the Sunday following that day.
4. Nano Nagle - A Pioneer of Education
Born in 1718 in Ballygriffin near Mallow in the north of the county, Nano Nagle is one of Ireland's most revered figures in education and social reform.
She was the founder of the Presentation Sisters and dedicated her life to providing education to the poor in defiance of the notorious Penal Laws, a series of acts of the UK parliament enacted between 1695 and 1728 which expressly prohibited Catholic education in Ireland, ensuring that the Protestants would remain in the ascendancy by only allowing rights to property and public office to those who swore to the Oath of Supremacy.
In her way, Nano Nagle was an inspiration and role model for Daniel O’Connell, the Kerry native who was known as the Catholic Emancipator in the 1800s for his work in freeing the Irish Catholics from the disabling impositions of British rule.
Nagle’s work laid the foundations for a network of schools that would spread across the world and influenced the education of countless young women. Nano Nagle Place in the center of Cork city stands as a vibrant cultural center, celebrating her life, legacy and vision of empowerment and inclusion through education.
5. Cobh’s Titanic Connection
Cobh, a charming harbor town in County Cork, is forever linked to the tragic story of the Titanic, the famous ocean liner which was constructed at Belfast in the north before sinking on its ill-fated maiden voyage in 1912.
Known as Queenstown at the time — the town was renamed to Cobh, a Gaelic-ization of the English word Cove, following Ireland’s independence — it was the final port of call for the ill-fated ship in 1912 before it embarked on its doomed voyage across the Atlantic.
Over 100 passengers boarded the Titanic at Cobh, many of them in the third class compartments, and the town has since become a poignant memorial to the event. While students of the Titanic’s history will be familiar with the famous Titanic Experience museum and quarter in Belfast, visitors to Cobh can also explore the Titanic Experience in Cobh, which offers a comprehensive look at the ship's journey and the lives of those who embarked from this small Cork town.
6. From a Cork Village to Global Renown
Just down the road from Cobh, there’s another timeless American connection, although this time an altogether happier one.
William Ford was born in the little village of Ballinascarty, approximately 40 miles from Cobh and 30 from Cork city, in or around the year 1826. He left Ireland in 1847 along with the rest of his family, just a few of the million people forced to emigrate due to the Great Famine of the 1840s. Sixteen years after his arrival in Detroit, Michigan came another arrival, a boy who would become one of the most famous men in all the world: Henry Ford.
Henry would become one of the most influential people not only in the burgeoning automotive industry, but also throughout the civilized world, from his Ford Quadricycle in 1896, starting the company in 1901 that would become Cadillac and eventually establishing the Ford Motor Company in 1903 and, five years later, came the Model T Ford, the world’s first mass produced motorcar which would sell almost 500,000 vehicles in 1916.
More than a century on, Ford remains one of the most celebrated automobile companies in the world, worth $42 billion at the time of writing and producer of 4.4 million vehicles sold in 2023.
One piece of Ford-related Internet ephemera concerns the Ford logo, specifically the little twirl on the F which, when you peer closely, looks just like a small letter ‘e’. The Ford name in Ireland would have had an ‘e’ at the end, but like many emigrants experiences over the centuries, the spelling changed when official paperwork was being processed in the U.S. There are suggestions that this little logo twirl is a subtle homage to the origins of the Ford name in Ireland, although it’s hard to find any firm evidence of this. The logo has sparked plenty of rabbit-holing from Internet sleuths, many of whom say this e-like flourish has become an example of the so-called “Mandela Effect”, a strange phenomena when many different people incorrectly remember the same thing. (See this Reddit discussion on the Ford logo.)
Back to Cork, and in the year 2000, the village of Ballinascarty, Ford’s ancestral home, commissioned a fitting memorial with artist Kevin Holland brought in to create a commemorative sculpture: an impressive life-sized silver sculpture of the iconic Model T.
The Model T Ford sculpture at Ballinascarty. Picture: Denis Minihane / Irish Examiner
7. Mizen Head, Ireland's Most Southerly Point
Mizen Head is a dramatic and rugged headland that marks the southernmost tip of Ireland. Famous for its spectacular cliffs, wild Atlantic views, and a historic signal station, it has long been a vital point for maritime navigation.
The Mizen Head Visitor Centre tells the story of the area’s rich maritime history, from shipwrecks to lighthouse keepers. For those who are not faint of heart, there’s a breathtaking footbridge over a deep chasm between the cliffs which offers one of the most exhilarating coastal walks in Ireland.
Mizen is also the standard starting point for what’s often termed the “Mizen to Malin” route, which is Ireland’s equivalent of the famous “Landsend to John O’Groats” in Britain. Just short of 300 miles as the crow flies, the Mizen to Malin route is often cycled or walked by groups or individuals — either for charity fundraiser or just for the conquering of a personal challenge.
The world-famous Mizen Head footbridge
8. One of the World’s Most Trailblazing Surgeons — and Holder of a Lifelong Secret
One of the most fascinating figures in medical history is James Barry, who was born in Cork in 1789. Barry was a pioneering surgeon in the British Army and carried out one of the first ever successful Caesarean sections in which both mother and child survived.
Having been educated at the University of Edinburgh Medical School and served in the British Army all over the British Empire, Barry rose to the rank of Inspector General in charge of military hospitals, the second-highest medical office in the entire British Army.
However, it wasn’t until after Barry’s death that the world learned their greatest secret — Barry was born a girl, named Margaret Anne, and chose to cover up her identity to live her entire adult life as a man, firstly in order to pursue an education and later to take up a role in medicine and the military. Barry's anatomy and lifelong secret only became known after a post-mortem examination following her death at the age of 75 in 1865.
9. Spike Island — Monastery, Fort and Prison
Spike Island, located in Cork Harbour, has served many roles over the centuries. Originally the site of an early monastic settlement it later became a British fort but it is most infamously remembered now as a prison.
Often referred to as “Ireland's Alcatraz” in deference to the famous prison island of San Francisco Bay, Spike Island housed thousands of prisoners during the 19th century, many of whom were deported to Australia.
The island continued as a prison into modern times until it finally closed in 2004. Today, Spike Island is a tourist attraction, offering guided tours that take visitors through its complex history.
Spike Island (right) is to the southeast of Haulbowline island and south of Great Island (rear ground) in Cork Harbour
10. The Character Who Gave the World Michael Knight and K.I.T.T.
Michael Knight was the role that made a superstar of David Hasselhoff — later of Baywatch, and known throughout the world as “The Hoff”.
In that famous American television series of the 1980s — in which Knight, decades before Tesla, drove a car with a mind of its own — Knight’s boss Devon Miles was played by the suave and sophisticated Edward Mulhare.
K.I.T.T., an acronym for Knight Industries Two Thousand, was an artificial intelligence which made Knight’s car, a Pontiac Firebird, a star in its own right and a four-wheeled hero for TV-viewing children all over the world.
Mulhare’s voice and presence had become famous during his career in the US, where he was also a star of the popular TV series The Ghost & Mrs Muir. He got his start in acting in a play at the Cork Opera house in 1942 when he was just 19.
Edward Mulhare (left) and David Hasselhoff and the car forever known as K.I.T.T. from Knight Rider
11. Skibb’s Golden Olympians
Nestled away in west Cork, alongside the various inlets of the Atlantic Ocean, Skibbereen has long been a proud town.
That pride has only grown over the past decade as it has become Ireland’s very own Olympic center of excellence through the exceptional achievements of various members of the Skibbereen Rowing Club.
Brothers Gary and Paul O’Donovan were the first to really put Skibb’s rowers on the map, winning a silver medal at the Rio Olympics in 2016. That was just the beginning, however — Paul has since won back to back gold medals alongside fellow Skibbereen man Fintan McCarthy at the Tokyo and Paris Olympics, and Paul went onto to win a third world single sculls rowing championship in August 2024, just a couple of weeks after the Olympics.
Two more Skibbereen rowers, Aoife Casey and Emily Hegarty, also represented Ireland at Paris 2024. To put their achievements into context, Paul O’Donovan is the first Irish Olympian ever to win medals at three different Olympic Games, and topped a poll run by the Irish Independent to find Ireland’s greatest ever Olympian.
Not that he is one to bask in the glory. Asked about his third medal in successive Olympics in a television interview straight after his record-breaking gold in 2024, Paul said, “I think that’s a bit of a fluke to be honest!”
County Cork's vast landscape — vast, in an Irish context anyway; Cork’s almost 3000 square miles of land still makes it the size of about one and a half Delawares — and its rich history are filled with stories of innovation, rebellion, spirituality, culture and sporting and entrepreneurial endeavor.
From the revolutionary spirit of Michael Collins to the tranquil sanctuary of Gougane Barra to the global conquests of Olympians and car-makers alike, Cork has always been a place where greatness comes alive.
Its contributions to Ireland's national story are legion, making it a must-visit destination for anyone eager to explore the heart and soul of Ireland.
Here at Real Irish, we are proud to stock products from a range of crafts producers, artists and artisans from Cork, including Wild Goose Studio, Lee River Leather, Athena Knitwear and Grange Crafts.
