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County Cork

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"Cork, a county of Ireland, in the province of Munster, 80 m. long and 50 broad; bounded on the W by the Kerry and the Atlantic, N by Limerick, E by Waterford, and S by St George's channel. It sends 8 members to parliament, is divided into 232 parishes, and has about 702,000 inhabitants. It is very fertile, and has two considerable rivers, the Blackwater and the Lee." [From The New London Gazetteer (1826)]

"COUNTY CORK, a maritime county in the province of Munster, in the S.W. of Ireland, bounded on the E. by the counties of Tipperary and Waterford, on the N. by Limerick, on the W. by Kerry, and on the S. by the Atlantic Ocean It is the largest county in Ireland, both in extent of surface and of arable land, extending from 9° 45' to 10° 3' W. long., and from 51° 12' to 52° 13' N. lat. Its length from Dursey Island, its most westerly point, to Youghal, E.N.E., is about 110 miles, and its greatest breadth from N. to S. is 70 miles, with an average breadth of 34 miles, comprising an area of 2,885 square miles, or 1,846,333 acres, of which 1,308,882 are arable, 465,889 uncultivated, 52,180 in plantations, 6,515 in towns, and 12,867 under water. The population in 1851 amounted to 649,308, but in 1861 had decreased to 544,818, showing a diminution of 104,490 persons.....More" [Description from The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland (1868) Transcribed by Colin Hinson ©2018]

"CORK, a county, of the province of MUNSTER, and the largest in Ireland, bounded on the east by the counties of Tipperary and Waterford, on the north by that of Limerick, on the west by that of Kerry, and on the south-west, south, and south-east by St. George's Channel: it extends from 51° 12' to 52° 13' (N. Lat.), and from 9° 45' to 10° 3' (W. Lon.); and comprises, according to the Ordnance survey, 1,725,100 statute acres, of which 1,024,340 are cultivated, and 700,760 are occupied by mountains, bogs, &c. The population, in 1821, was 629,786, and in 1831, 700,359, of which latter number, 407,935 were in the East, and 292,424 in the West Riding.....More [Transcription from A Topographical Dictionary of Ireland - Samuel Lewis - 1837 Mel Lockie ©2013]..

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Archives & Libraries

Cork Public Libraries

Cork Local Studies department is situated on the top floor at the front of the Central Library

Cork City & County Archives

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Biography

Pike's Contemporary Biographies (1911) 'Contemporary biographies', edited by W.T. Pike, was published in Cork and County Cork in the Twentieth Century by Richard J. Hodges (Brighton, 1911). The biographies are a type of ‘who’s who’ of the nobility and gentry of Cork city and county at the beginning of the twentieth century. It includes photographs redolent of that time.  - Cork City Council

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Cemeteries

Cork Graveyards (& Published Transriptions) by Civil Parishes - on the Internet Archive

Cork Cemetery Records - on IGP

Cork Headstone Photos - on IGP

County Cork Cemetery Records - on interment.net

Cemetery Records online -  at Cork City & County Archives

  • St.Finbarr's Cemetery Cork City 1867-1896
  • St. Joseph's Cemetery Registers (Cork City) 1877-1917
  • Cobh/Queenstown Cemetery Records 1879-1907
  • Dunbullogue Cemetery Records 1896-1908
  • Rathcooney Cemetery Records 1896-1941
  • Old Kilcully Cemetery Records 1931 - 1974
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Census

National Censuses/Substitutes, list - on fianna

The following items can be viewed on IGP

  • Kingwilliamstown Crown Estate Census, September 24, 1834
  • 1842 Parish Census, Midleton  (14 separate lists)
  • 1901 Census Index - Mallow (heads of household)
  • 1901 Census Ballymartle - Assorted
  • 1901 Census, The townlands of Ballinure, Dundanion and Mahon (PDF)
  • Census: CORK, Assorted 1901 Census, Templemichael   
  • Assorted 1901 Census, Skibbereen and Baltimore area    
  • Assorted 1911 Census, Templemichael (notes)
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Church Records

Cork Church Records - on IGP

Cork Roman Catholic records - on Irish Ancestors

County Cork; Church of Ireland Records, dates - on fianna

County Cork; Presbyterian Records, dates - on fianna

County Cork; Quaker Records, dates - on fianna

County Cork; Roman Catholic Records, dates, locations - on fianna

McDonnell's Index of Births, Deaths and Marriages - 1828  - Cork City Council

Green's Index to Marriage Licence Bonds - Cloyne. "Published in 1899-1900, and continuing posthumously Herbert Webb Gillman's work of indexing marriage licence bonds made in Cork, Green's book contains an index of marriage licence bonds made in the diocese of Cloyne between the years 1630 and 1800."  - Cork City Council

Gillman's Index to Marriage Licence Bonds - Cork and Ross "Published in 1896-7, Herbert Webb Gillman's Index to the Marriage Licence Bonds of the Diocese of Cork and Ross contains an index of marriage licence bonds made in Cork and Ross between the years 1623 and 1750. ." - Cork City Council

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Civil Registration

Cork Vital Records (BMD)  - on IGP

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Description & Travel

Cork City Council

Cork Images (places) - on IGP

County Cork - on wikipedia

"Besides the city of Cork, which, with an extensive surrounding district, forms a county of itself, Cork contains the boroughs, market, and seaport towns of Youghal and Kinsale; the boroughs and market towns of Bandon and Mallow; the seaports and market towns of Cove or Queenstown, and Bantry; the market and post towns of Fermoy, Skibbereen, Macroom, and Dunmanway; the ancient disfranchised boroughs of Baltimore, Castlemartyr, Charleville, Clonakilty, Doneraile, Midleton, and Rathcormack; and the small towns or villages of Ballincollig, Buttevant, Castle-Lyons, Castletown-Bearhaven, Castletown-Roche, Cloyne, Crookhaven, Innishannon, Kanturk, Kildorrery, Kilworth, Liscarrol, West Millstreet, Mitchelstown, Passage, Rosscarbery, and Timoleague, all of which are post towns."

"The principal railways are the Great Southern and Western, connecting Cork city with Dublin, and the Eastern Coast, with branches to Fermoy and Killarney, which leave the main line at Mallow; the Cork and Bandon railway, which is to be extended to Dunmanway and Skibbereen; the Cork and Limerick direct line; the Cork, Youghal, and Queenstown direct line; and the Cork, Blackrock, and Passage railway, connecting Cork city with Cork Harbour, from whence steamers leave for America, Eng land, Scotland, and various ports of Ireland. The chief lines are the British and North American Royal Mail steamships, from Queenstown to Boston, calling at Halifax; the Liverpool, New York, and Philadelphia Steamship Company's vessels, from Queenstown to New York. The steamers for England and Scotland sail to the several ports of Bristol, Cardiff, Glasgow, Liverpool, Milford, Newport, and London (calling at Plymouth); there are also steamers from Cork to Waterford, and from Cork to Queenstown, calling at Glenbrook and Monks town and another line to Aghada;these two last lines are the Citizen's River Steamers. "

[Descriptions from The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland (1868) Transcribed by Colin Hinson ©2018]

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Directories

1824 Pigot & Co. Directory - Cork City - on IGP

Directories, list - on fianna

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Emigration & Immigration

Cork Emigration / Immigration Records - on IGP

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Gazetteers

The transcription for this county from the National Gazetteer (1868), provided by Colin Hinson.

The transcription for this county from A Topographical Dictionary of Ireland - Samuel Lewis - 1837 Mel Lockie ©2013].

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Genealogy

The Fianna website's pages for County Cork provide important addresses and extensive information about online and other genealogy resources.

The Ireland Genealogy Project's County Cork page, and its listing of the Project's available Cork Records.

The Irish Ancestors website (subscription) has the following types of records: State Registration of Births, Marriages & Deaths, Census returns, Land records, Church records, Genealogical Office records, Gravestone inscriptions, Directories, Newspapers, Wills, Deeds, and Occupations.

Irish Ancestors' extensive County Cork website.

The LDS FamilySearch Wiki's Ireland Online Genealogy Records.

Roots Ireland (subscription) "offers access to a unique database of more than 20 million Irish records". Its Cork (North and East) coverage includes Baptismal/Birth Records, Marriage Records, Burial/Death Records, Gravestone Inscriptions, Griffith's Valuation (Free Access), and Census Substitutes.

WorldGenWeb - Cork

The irishgenealogy.ie website, a free service of the National Archives of Ireland, provides church records for Parishes in western and north-western areas of County Cork.

Cork Images (people) - on IGP

Index to O'Kief, Coshe Mang - Cork material - on Cork City Council

The Gravestone Inscriptions of County Cork  - on the Cork City Council site - "Who do you think you are? ...........nearly all Cork folk are not quite sure from what division of any sept that they are descended. Their birth certificates tell them who their parents were and their parents’ marriage certificates who their grandparents were, but earlier than that for the great majority, the past is as dark as Erebus. To illuminate that darkness it becomes necessary to have recourse to the records. Eventually contact is made with the Ten Great Pillars of Pedigreeing.  They are;-The Fiants of the 16th and 17th centuries; The 1659, 1901 and 1911 Censuses; The 1766 Religious Census; Wills and Administrations, 1700-1900; Tithe Applotment Records; Griffith’s Valuation Records; Baptism & Marriage Church Registers; Directories and Newspapers; Registers of Births, Deaths and Marriages; Gravestone Inscriptions."

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Historical Geography

"By the statute of the 4th George IV. cap. 93, this large county was divided, for the purpose of more frequent holding of general sessions of the peace, into two districts, called the East and West Ridings; these have been again subdivided for quarter sessions purposes, the former into three, the latter into two districts. The East Riding contains the baronies of Barretts, Barrymore, Condons and Clangibbon, Cork, Duhallow, Fermoy, Imokilly, Kerrycurrihy, Kinalea, Kinnatal-loon, part of East Muskerry, Orrery and Kilmore, Kinsale, and Youghal liberties The West Riding contains the baronies of Bantry, Bear, East and West Carbery, Ibane and Barryroe, Kinalmeaky, West Muskerry, part of East Muskerry, and Courceys." [Description from The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland (1868) Transcribed by Colin Hinson ©2018]

Cork civil parishes - on Irish Ancestors

See the county Cork page on logainm.ie which has links to its civil parish pages

    "The Placenames Database of Ireland was created by Fiontar & Scoil na Gaeilge in collaboration with The Placenames Branch (Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht). This is a comprehensive management system for data, archival records and placenames research conducted by the State. It is a public resource for Irish people at home and abroad, and for all those who appreciate the rich heritage of Irish placenames."

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History

These items can be seen  - on IGP

  • Kinsale Loyalty Petition 1792 
  • Oaths of Allegiance 1775

A petition from the Protestants Tradesman of the Town, 1610 & 1640. (Youghal) - on IGP

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Land & Property

Listing of Landowners, 1876 - Mallow Archaeological & Historical Society

List of Landowners in 1870's - on IGP

Cork Land Records (various estate records) - on IGP

Griffiths Valuation 1847/64 on the Ask about Ireland site. Use the search box to bring up entries showing Barony/Parish/Townlands and lists of Occupants

Tithe Applotment Books for county Cork and its  parishes are available online on the National Archives of Ireland website (free).

  • The Tithe Applotment Books were compiled between 1823 and 1838 as a survey of land in each civil parish to determine the payment of tithes (a religious tax). Unlike Griffith's Valuation they do not cover cities or towns.
McCarthy, T. and Cadogan, T. Guide to Tracing your Cork Ancestors, Glenageary, Co. Dublin, Ireland, Flyleaf Press 118 p. [ISBN 0 9508466 6 8]

Tithe Applotment Books for county Cork and its  parishes are available online on the National Archives of Ireland website .

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Law & Legislation

"A depot for convicts has been established at Spike Island, where persons sentenced to transportation are retained; instead, of being sent as formerly to Western Australia and Van Dieman's Land. The county gaol and house of correction are situated in the city of Cork, besides which there are seventeen bridewells in different parts of the county." [Description from The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland (1868) Transcribed by Colin Hinson ©2018]

These items can be seen - on IGP

  • Debtors in Cork City Marshalsea & County Gaol. 1730-1730 
  • Deputy Keeper - Proclamations (Cork) 1661-1827
  • Persons Transported for Crime 1773-1806   
  • Persons Executed for Crime 1767-1806
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Military Records

Cork Military & Constabulary Records  - on IGP

  • Appointees to the Irish Constabulary  1822-1835 +
  • Irish Constabulary with native county of Cork 1840 +
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Monumental Inscriptions

Cork Headstone Photos - on IGP

The Gravestone Inscriptions of County Cork  - on the Cork City Council site - "Who do you think you are? ...........nearly all Cork folk are not quite sure from what division of any sept that they are descended. Their birth certificates tell them who their parents were and their parents’ marriage certificates who their grandparents were, but earlier than that for the great majority, the past is as dark as Erebus. To illuminate that darkness it becomes necessary to have recourse to the records. Eventually contact is made with the Ten Great Pillars of Pedigreeing.  They are;-The Fiants of the 16th and 17th centuries; The 1659, 1901 and 1911 Censuses; The 1766 Religious Census; Wills and Administrations, 1700-1900; Tithe Applotment Records; Griffith’s Valuation Records; Baptism & Marriage Church Registers; Directories and Newspapers; Registers of Births, Deaths and Marriages; Gravestone Inscriptions."

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Names, Personal

Surnames of County Cork

Cork Surnames found in Ireland 1100 thru 1600 - on IGP

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Newspapers

The Cork Examiner - electronic edition

Cork Newspaper Records - on IGP

  • Dublin Journal 30 June 1730 -Prisoners for Debt (mostly Cork)
  • A rent roll for the County of Cork, 1st Nov. 1748  
  • Freemans Journal - 1765 Ruling on Servants
  • Freemans Journal - 1765 Sale of Estate of Rathcormick. BARRY v TOWNSEND
  • Cork Evening Post -1768 Reward - Richard RADLEY   
  • ARMSTRONG, Anthony estate mention 1783 
  • Clonmel Gazette, Country News - HEYDEN, FOWLUE, 1787
  • Fugitives for Debt - Cork 1730-31, BAILY, RADFORD  
  • 1800-1820
  • Freemans Journal - Cork Assizes 1817
  • 1830's
  • Insolvents in Ireland - Cork December 1836  
  • Freeman's Journal, 9-Dec-1836 - Tithe Prisoners in Cork  
  • 1840's
  • Freemans Journal, 16 Nov 1844 - O'CONNELL Tribute (Supporters)
  • 1850's
  • The Wreck of the Royal Adelaide Steamer - 7 Apr 1850  
  • 1860's
  • Country News: Neenan, Neil, Wallis, Dolman Nash, Andrews - 1860
  • Jan. 28th 1860 From the Times, M'CARTHY vs KEANE
  • Ejectment of Daniel HANLON of Dromhoe - 1869   
  • 1880's
  • Evictions from the Times 1887   
  • Eviction of Richard MORRISON & Mrs. DRISCOLL - 1887  
  • Eviction of John SULLIVAN of Curramore - 1889
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Obituaries

Cork Memorial Cards - on IGP

Cork Obituaries & *Funeral Entries - on IGP

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Occupations

"The soils may be classed under four heads 1. The calcareous, found in the limestone tracts, which are very fertile and produce good wheat crops. 2. The loamy, not calcareous, generally resting on clay-slate; these lands are next in fertility to the calcareous, and comprise the less elevated tracts in the S. 3. The light and shallow soils, resting upon gravel or rubble, which in wet seasons produce good corn crops; but are better fitted for pasture, the herbage being short and sweet, and in dry seasons subject to drought 4. The moorland or peat, the usual substratum of which is a hard rock or coarse retentive clay, rendering tillage difficult; these lands when susceptible of cultivation are planted in oats, potatoes, or grass."

"The principal minerals are iron, which was largely smelted whilst wood was obtainable for fuel; copper, worked principally at the Allahies mines, where 1,500 to 2,000 hands are employed; coal (anthracite), found near Dromagh and Lisnacon; quartz, on the hills round Cork, Ross, Queenstown, and Youghal; veined marble, occasionally in the limestone near Bantry; limestone, fuller's-earth, and brick-clay." [Description from The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland (1868) Transcribed by Colin Hinson ©2018]

Sale of Spirits in Premises under the Annual Value of 10£, 1832  - on IGP

Merchants & Traders of Youghal 1720-1723 - on IGP

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Periodicals

From Fianna:

Ardmore Journal (annual),
Mr. J.J. Quain, Garry Rhu, Windsor Hill, Glounthane, Co. Cork

Ballincollig Community School Local History Society Journal (annual)
Ballincollig, Co. Cork

Bandon HIstorical Journal (annual),
Mr. P. Cunniffe, Bandon Local HIstory Society, Bawnishal, Hare Hill,
Bandon, Co. Cork

Cork Historical and Archaeological Society Journal (annual),
Mr. P Holohan, Ballysheey Lodge, Cloigheen, Co. Cork

Cork Holly Bough (annual),
The Manager, Cork Examiner, 95 Patrick Street, Cork

Kinsale Historical Journal (annual),
Mrs. N. Hickey, Church Square, Kinsale, Co.Cork

Mallow Field Club Journal (annual),
The Secretary, Mallow Field Club, Mallow, Co. Cork

Seanchas Duthalla Diarmuid Uas Us Cadhla,
Cullen, Mallow, Co. Cork

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Politics & Government

"The county returns eight members to parliament, which are divided as under:-two for the county, two for Cork city, and one for each of the boroughs of Youghal, Bandon, Kinsale, and Mallow. Before the Union the county sent twenty-four members to the Irish parliament, of which two were for the county, two for the county of the city of Cork, and two for each borough. The constituency for the county in 1859 numbered 15,716, and the county members are elected at the court-house in the city of Cork, though each riding constitutes a separate jurisdiction for the purposes of registration. " [Description from The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland (1868) Transcribed by Colin Hinson ©2018]

These items can be seen  - on IGP

  • LIST of Non-resident Freemen, County of the City of Cork, with those who Voted at the Election of 1837 marked off -
  • LIST of Non-resident Freemen, County of the City of Cork, with those who Voted at the Election of 1837 marked off
  • LIST OF REGISTERED VOTERS WITH A STATEMENT OF VALUE [5£ to 10£] OF THEIR PREMISES and Date of Registry According to the the judgement of and submitted by Mr. John Young
  • A LIST OF Poor Places in the City of Cork exempted from City rate by the Grand Jury at July Assizes 1837 [Named by Churchwardens and Grand Jury in Parishes]  St. Anne's & St. Mary's
  • A  LIST OF Poor Places in the City of Cork exempted from City rate by the Grand Jury at July Assizes 1837 [Named by Churchwardens and Grand Jury in Parishes]  St. Peter's & St. Nicholas
  • Several LISTS Of Poor and WASTE Concerns in several Parishes in the City of Cork 1837 [St. Anne Shandon and St. Mary Shandon]
  • Several LISTS Of Poor and WASTE Concerns in several Parishes in the City of Cork 1837 [St. Peter's and St. Nicholas]
  • Several LISTS Of Poor and WASTE Concerns in Four Parishes in the City of Cork 1837 [and Allowed by the Grand Jury]
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Probate Records

Wills  for UNAK, GEORGE, GERALD - 1577-1618  From the Corporation Book of Youghal  -- on IGP

Cork Wills - on IGP

Indexes to Irish Wills - Volume II: Cork & Ross, Cloyne. "Published in 1910, Indexes to Irish Wills - Volume II: Cork & Ross, Cloyne contains references to an estimated 6,400 wills. The references date from as early as 1548 to 1800; however, the vast majority are from the 17th and 18th centuries, with about 25 references to wills made in the 16th century...."  - Cork City Council

A Guide to copies and abstracts of Irish wills (volume 1)  by Rev. Wallace Clare - Cork City Council

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Religion & Religious Life

"The majority, of the population, however, are Roman Catholics; there being, according to the census of 1861, only 26,736 members of the Church of England in the diocese of Cork, 11,746 in the diocese of Cloyne, 4,746 in that of Ross, and 6,424 in the part of Ardfert comprised within the county of Cork. " [Description from The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland (1868) Transcribed by Colin Hinson ©2018]

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Social Life & Customs

Members of the Dunhallow Hunt - 1801 - on IGP

Culture in Cork

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Voting Records

List of Voters who are Marksmen & Heads, Freeholders, Freemen 1837/8 - on IGP