Welcome » Cloyne

Welcome

Welcome to Cloyne. A town with long and rich heritage – home to bishops, resting kings, sporting legends and illustrious thinkers since the 6th century. Visit Cloyne’s Stone Age remains, 1000-year-old Round Tower and grand Cathedral or a hotly contested hurling match. Or explore the majesty of Cork harbour, the varied delights of the English Market, the Titanic Experience, the famous Jameson Distillery, Ballycotton bay and many other family-friendly attractions while staying in some of the finest hotels in the country – all within some 20 miles of the town.

Cloyne is situated on a low hill 7 kilometres south-east of Midleton in a broad fertile valley in east Cork. The Irish name is Cluain Uamha, meaning ‘The Meadow of the Caves’.

A Storied History…

Learn more about the long history of Cloyne – stories of saints, scholars, underground caves and sporting legends.

Cluain Uamha

Cluain Uamha

There is evidence for a town in Cloyne as far back as the 13th century. It can be seen in...

George Berkeley, Bishop of Cloyne/Philosopher

George Berkeley, Bishop of Cloyne/Philosopher

George Berkeley, born near Thomastown, Co. Kilkenny in 1685, was one of the great philosophers of the early modern period....

Pilgrim Cross of Cloyne

Pilgrim Cross of Cloyne

The Cloyne Cross was given to the National Museum, Dublin in 1885 (where it can still be seen today) by...

Meadow of the Caves

Meadow of the Caves

Cloyne is derived from the Irish word cluain which means 'meadow'. This of course is only half a name. The...

St. Colman of Cloyne

St. Colman of Cloyne

According to the Book of Leinster, Colman, son of Lenin, was a descendant of Mogh Nuadha, King of Munster in...

Cathedral town

Cathedral town

The diocese of Cloyne was founded in 560 AD by St. Colman and the Cathedral is still in use today...

Round Tower

Round Tower

Cloyne is fortunate in possessing an 11th century Round Tower in a very good state of preservation. Although it is...

John Brinkley, Bishop of Cloyne/Astronomer

John Brinkley, Bishop of Cloyne/Astronomer

John Mortimer Brinkley was born in Woodbridge, Suffolk and baptised there in 1763. He graduated Bachelor of Arts in 1788,...

The Commons

The Commons

The people of the locality had the rights of grazing cattle in summer and cutting turf on the common. The...

Castle Mary

Castle Mary

There is no record of how the name Castle Mary originated but it may be that the first Longfield called...

Cynthia Longfield, entomologist

Cynthia Longfield, entomologist

Cynthia Longfield was 94 when she died at Castle Mary, Cloyne, the place she had always considered home. In those...

Mineral Company

In the Cloyne Valley there are two distinct materials referred to locally as clay. The one we have been discussing...

Litton Fountain

Now that most people have mains water in or near their homes, it is hard to imagine a time when...

Troubled Times in Cloyne

The period between 9th February 1920 and 8th May 1920 was an uneventful one for the IRA around Midleton, except...

Christy Ring, hurler

Christy Ring, hurler

Christy Ring was a native of Cloyne and one of Ireland's greatest ever hurlers. The memorial in the village was...

Map

Local attractions, places to stay or eat and other sites of interest…

Visitor info

From tall ships to tall tales, castles and cathedrals, forts and convict prisons, cruise liners to beautiful beaches, open golf to open arms, emigration to outdoor adventure, Heritage towns to walking trails, sunken ships to sinking pints, maritime to monkeys, stately homes to farmers markets.

For full listings and info, see the Ring of Cork.