Bandon (/ˈbændən/; Irish: Droichead na Bandan) is a town in County Cork, Ireland. It lies on the River Bandon between two hills. The name in Irish means 'Bridge of the Bandon', a reference to the origin of the town as a crossing point on the river. In 2004 Bandon celebrated its quatercentenary. The town, sometimes called the Gateway to West Cork, had a population of 8,196 at the 2022 census.[2] Bandon is in the Cork South-West (Dáil Éireann) constituency, which has three seats.
Bandon
Droichead na Bandan | |
|---|---|
Town | |
 Oliver Plunkett Street | |
| Motto(s): | |
  Bandon Location in Ireland | |
| Coordinates: 51°44′46″N 8°44′06″W / 51.746°N 8.735°W | |
| Country | Ireland |
| Province | Munster |
| County | Cork |
| Area | |
| • Urban | 4.1 km2 (1.6 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 30 m (100 ft) |
| Population | |
• Town | 8,196 |
| • Density | 1,999.0/km2 (5,177/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC±0 (WET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+1 (IST) |
| Eircode routing key | P72 |
| Telephone area code | +353(0)23 |
| Irish Grid Reference | W488551 |
| Website | bandon |
History
edit
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
|---|---|---|
| 1821 | 10,179 | — |
| 1831 | 9,917 | −2.6% |
| 1841 | 9,049 | −8.8% |
| 1851 | 6,909 | −23.6% |
| 1861 | 6,243 | −9.6% |
| 1871 | 6,131 | −1.8% |
| 1881 | 3,997 | −34.8% |
| 1891 | 3,488 | −12.7% |
| 1901 | 2,830 | −18.9% |
| 1911 | 3,122 | +10.3% |
| 1926 | 2,830 | −9.4% |
| 1936 | 2,839 | +0.3% |
| 1946 | 2,613 | −8.0% |
| 1951 | 2,527 | −3.3% |
| 1956 | 3,821 | +51.2% |
| 1961 | 3,735 | −2.3% |
| 1966 | 3,815 | +2.1% |
| 1971 | 4,071 | +6.7% |
| 1981 | 4,630 | +13.7% |
| 1986 | 4,926 | +6.4% |
| 1991 | 4,741 | −3.8% |
| 1996 | 5,612 | +18.4% |
| 2002 | 5,161 | −8.0% |
| 2006 | 5,822 | +12.8% |
| 2011 | 6,640 | +14.1% |
| 2016 | 6,957 | +4.8% |
| 2022 | 8,196 | +17.8% |
| [3][4][5][6][7][8][2] | ||
In September 1588, at the start of the Plantation of Munster, Phane Beecher of London acquired, as Undertaker, the seignory of Castlemahon. It was in this seignory that the town of Bandon was formed in 1604 by Phane Beecher's son and heir Henry Beecher, together with other English settlers John Shipward, William Newce and John Archdeacon. The original settlers in Beecher's seignory came from various locations in England. Originally the town proper was inhabited solely by Protestants, as a by-law had been passed stating "That no Roman Catholic be permitted to reside in the town".[9] A protective wall extended for about a mile around the town. Written on the gates of Bandon at this time was a warning "Entrance to Jew, Turk or Atheist; any man except a Papist".[10] A response was scrawled under the sign noting: "The man who wrote this wrote it well, for the same thing is writ on the gates of hell."[11]
Buildings sprang up on both sides of the river and over time a series of bridges linked both settlements. Like other towns in Cork, it benefitted greatly from the patronage of Richard Boyle, 1st Earl of Cork, although he was not, as he liked to claim, its "founder". Christ Church, Kilbrogan, is the oldest church in Bandon, and also the oldest purpose-built post-Reformation Protestant church in Ireland.[12] In 1689 it was the scene of a clash between Jacobite and Williamite forces during the War of the Two Kings. After an uprising by Protestant inhabitants who expelled the Irish Army garrison, a larger force under Justin McCarthy, Viscount Mountcashel arrived and retook the town.
Sir John Moore, who was later leader of the British Army and was killed at the Battle of Corunna in Spain in 1809, was governor of the town in 1798.
In the 19th century, the town grew as a leading industrial centre which included brewing, tanning, distilling, corn and cotton milling.[13] The now closed Allman's Distillery produced at one point over 600,000 gallons of whiskey annually.[14] The Industrial Revolution in the 1800s and the advent of the railways had a profound effect on the socioeconomic and cultural ecosystem of the area. Local weaving operations could not compete with mass-produced cheap imports. St Peter's Church was built in 1847, and Bandon Town Hall was completed in 1862.[15]
Major General Arthur Ernest Percival was commander of the British garrison in Bandon in 1920–21 during the Irish War of Independence. He was subsequently the commanding officer of the British troops who surrendered Singapore to the Japanese forces in 1942. In 1945 he was invited by Douglas MacArthur to witness the surrender of Japanese forces in Tokyo in 1945 which ended the Second World War. Irish army leader Michael Collins was killed in an ambush at Béal na Bláth, about 9.6 km (6.0 mi) outside Bandon.
Between 1911 and 1926, the non-Catholic population of Bandon dropped from 688 (22% of the population) to 375 (13% of the population), a decline of 45.5%.[16][17] Peter Hart argued, in The IRA and its Enemies (1998), that during the Irish War of Independence, Bandon's Protestant population, which was largely unionist, suffered from Irish Republican Army (IRA) reprisals. In particular, ten Protestant men were shot over 27–29 April 1922 (two months before the start of the Civil War), "because they were Protestant."
Niall Meehan argued, however (2008,[18] 2014[19]), that Hart was mistaken. The killings were not "motivated by either land agitation or by sectarian considerations." In Peter Hart, the Issue of Sources, Brian Murphy noted a British intelligence assessment, A Record of the Rebellion in Ireland in 1920–1921, that Hart cited selectively.[20][18] Hart wrote, "the truth was that, as British intelligence officers recognised, "in the south the Protestants and those who supported the Government rarely gave much information because, except by chance, they had not got it to give".”.[21] Murphy observed, "Hart does not give the next two sentences from the official Record which read":
an exception to this rule was in the Bandon area where there were many Protestant farmers who gave information. Although the Intelligence Officer of the area was exceptionally experienced and although the troops were most active it proved almost impossible to protect those brave men, many of whom were murdered while almost all the remainder suffered grave material loss.
Murphy, therefore, concluded in a 1998 review of Hart's research, "the IRA killings in the Bandon area were motivated by political and not sectarian considerations". He amended this in 2005 to "Possibly, military considerations, rather than political, would have been a more fitting way to describe the reason for the IRA response to those who informed."[22][18] In 2013 Bandon Mayor Gillian Coughlan described a song about these historical events by Professor David Fitzpatrick of TCD as "insulting to the memory of people who fought and to people who died".[23]
Castle Bernard, the seat of Lord Bandon, was also burned in the Irish War of Independence.
Twin city
editBandon has a twin city agreement with Bandon, Oregon, in the United States. That city was founded in 1873 by Lord George Bennet, a native of the Irish Bandon who named the American one after it, and who is known especially for having introduced gorse into the US ecology with some disastrous results.
Transport
editBandon is 27 km southwest of Cork City, on the N71 national secondary road, and served by Bus Éireann bus services from Cork City. The nearest airport is Cork Airport.
Sport
editSports clubs in the area include Bandon Rugby Football Club (inaugural winners of the 1886 Munster Senior Rugby Cup), Bandon Association Football Club (whose men's senior team play in the Munster Senior League Senior Premier Division),[24] and Bandon GAA (affiliated to the Carbery GAA division of Cork GAA).
Bandon AC is an athletics club based in the area.[25] There are also a number of martial arts clubs in the town, including karate, taekwondo, Brazilian jiu-jitsu and other clubs.[26][27][28]
Bandon Golf Club is an 18-hole golf course on the grounds of Castle Bernard.[29]
Education
editThere are four secondary schools in Bandon. One of these, Bandon Grammar School, is a fee-paying Church of Ireland-ethos boarding school. The other schools are Hamilton High School, St. Brogan's College, and Coláiste na Toirbhirte (formerly known as Presentation Sisters College).[30] Bandon Grammar School and St. Brogan's College are both mixed schools, Hamilton High School is a boys only school,[31] and Coláiste na Toirbhirte is a girls only school.[32]
People
editPeople from or associated with Bandon include :
- Graham Norton, BBC chat show host, lived in Bandon and attended Bandon Grammar School. His mother still resides there.[33]
- Nicholas Brady, a poet known for the Tate and Brady collaboration on a new version of the Psalms, was born in Bandon in 1659.[34]
- George Bennett was born in Bandon in 1822. His 'History of Bandon' was published in 1869, and he founded the town of Bandon, Oregon in 1873.[35]
- Henry Gosnold, Chief Justice of Munster and friend of Francis Bacon, spent much of his life in Bandon, of which he became a burgess in 1612.[36]
- Attiwell Wood (c.1728-1784), a barrister and member of the Irish House of Commons, came from an old Bandon family.[37]
- Margaret Wolfe Hungerford, an author who wrote several Victorian era novels, lived in Bandon until her death of in 1897.[38]
- Eugene O'Keefe (1827–1913), a brewer and businessman, emigrated to Toronto and established the O'Keefe Brewery[39]
- Cornelius O'Sullivan, a brewer's chemist, was born in Bandon in 1842 and in 1866 appointed assistant brewer and chemist to Bass & Co.[40]
- Sir George Strickland Kingston, who emigrated to Australia and became a civil engineer, architect and politician, was born in Bandon in 1807.[41]
- Sir Richard Cox, Lord Chancellor of Ireland, was born in Bandon, 25 March 1650[42]
- Joseph Brennan (1887–1963), Chairman of the Currency Commission and Governor of the Central Bank of Ireland[43]
- Rev. James Long, an Anglican priest and orientalist who published the first English translation of the Bengali play Nil Darpan[citation needed]
- Lloyd Jones (socialist), Cooperative Society activist, four times President of the Co-operative Congress, was born in Bandon in 1811[44]
- Robert Baldwin Sullivan, second mayor of Toronto (1834–1839).[45]
- Brian Crowley, Fianna Fáil MEP for the South (European Parliament constituency).[46]
- Graham Dwyer, grew up in Bandon. He was convicted in 2015 of the murder of Dublin social worker Elaine O'Hara.[citation needed]
- Conor Hourihane, footballer and midfielder at Aston Villa F.C.[47]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Bandon". www.bandon.ie. Archived from the original on 24 November 2014. Retrieved 11 April 2018.
- ^ a b c "Interactive Data Visualisations: Towns: Bandon". Census 2022. Central Statistics Office. Retrieved 26 September 2023.
- ^ "Server Error 404 - CSO - Central Statistics Office". www.cso.ie. Archived from the original on 20 September 2010. Retrieved 11 April 2018.
- ^ "Histpop.org". Archived from the original on 7 May 2016.
- ^ "NISRA – Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (c) 2013". Nisranew.nisra.gov.uk. 27 September 2010. Archived from the original on 17 February 2012. Retrieved 3 February 2014.
- ^ Lee, J. J. (1981). "On the accuracy of the Pre-famine Irish censuses". In Goldstrom, J. M.; Clarkson, L. A. (eds.). Irish Population, Economy, and Society: Essays in Honour of the Late K. H. Connell. Oxford, England: Clarendon Press.
- ^ Mokyr, Joel; Ó Gráda, Cormac (November 1984). "New Developments in Irish Population History, 1700–1850". The Economic History Review. Volume. 37 (4): 473–488. doi:10.1111/j.1468-0289.1984.tb00344.x. hdl:10197/1406. Archived from the original on 4 December 2012.
- ^ "F1015: Population and Average Age by Sex and List of Towns (number and percentages), 2022". Census 2022. Central Statistics Office. April 2022. Retrieved 29 June 2023.
- ^ Tom Barry: IRA Freedom Fighter by Meda Ryan (ISBN 1-85635-480-6), page 25
- ^ "Evangelical Magazine and Missionary Chronicle". Volume 24. 1816. Retrieved 16 September 2013.
- ^ Moczar, Diane (2013). The Church Under Attack: Five Hundred Years That Split the Church and Scattered the Flock. Manchester, New Hampshire: Sophia Institute Press. ISBN 9781933184937. Archived from the original on 25 September 2021. Retrieved 7 November 2016.
- ^ "Christ Church, COOLFADDA, Bandon, CORK". NIAH. 3 June 2009. Archived from the original on 30 September 2021. Retrieved 2 November 2021.
- ^ "Map of Historic Bandon with brief history" (PDF). Cork County Council. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 January 2017. Retrieved 4 April 2017.
- ^ "An Amazing Past". Bandon.ie. Archived from the original on 29 December 2011. Retrieved 24 December 2011.
- ^ "Bandon Town Hall, North Main Street, Coolfadda, Bandon, County Cork". National Inventory of Architectural Heritage. Retrieved 24 January 2024.
- ^ "Server Error 404 - CSO - Central Statistics Office" (PDF). www.cso.ie. Archived (PDF) from the original on 11 April 2018. Retrieved 11 April 2018.
- ^ "HISTPOP.ORG - Search > Results > Census > General report, Ireland, 1911 Page Page 222". histpop.org. Archived from the original on 11 April 2018. Retrieved 11 April 2018.
- ^ a b c Murphy, Brian P; Meehan, Niall (2008). Troubled History - a tenth anniversary critique of Peter Hart's 'The IRA and its Enemies'. Aubane Historical Society. ISBN 978-1-903497-46-3. Archived from the original on 25 September 2021.
- ^ Meehan, Niall (2014). "Examining Peter Hart". Field Day Review 10.)
- ^ "A Record of the Rebellion in Ireland in 1920–1921", Jeudwine Papers, 72/8212, Imperial War Museum
- ^ Hart, pp.305, 306
- ^ "Irish Political Review". Irish Political Review. 20 (7): 10–11. July 2005. ISSN 0790-7672.
- ^ Justine McCarthy (17 February 2013). "Lecturer Ballad insults victims of Dunmanway". Sunday Times. Retrieved 23 November 2018.
- ^ "Bandon AFC". Bandonafc.ie. Archived from the original on 14 February 2014. Retrieved 20 October 2018.
- ^ McCarthy, Kieran (4 June 2024). "Bandon Athletic Club's new home will be a 'game changer for West Cork'". Southern Star. Retrieved 11 August 2024.
- ^ "Bandon Shotokan Karate Club". ski-ireland.com. Archived from the original on 9 December 2018. Retrieved 8 December 2018.
- ^ "Bandon Tae Kwon Do - Warrior Martial Arts". warrior.ie. Archived from the original on 9 December 2018. Retrieved 8 December 2018.
- ^ "Studio Galera". studiogalera.com. Archived from the original on 9 December 2018. Retrieved 8 December 2018.
- ^ "Bandon Golf Club". discoverireland.ie. Retrieved 11 August 2024.
- ^ "Coláiste na Toirbhirte – Presentation College, Bandon, Co. Cork". presbandon.ie. Archived from the original on 17 June 2016. Retrieved 6 June 2016.
- ^ "Hamilton High School – Ardscoil Uí Urmoltaigh". Hamiltonhighschool.ie. 28 September 2017. Archived from the original on 29 November 2014. Retrieved 20 October 2018.
- ^ "Bandon Parish". Archived from the original on 10 September 2011. Retrieved 7 October 2011.
- ^ "The life and loves of a boy from Bandon". Independent.ie. 27 October 2014. Archived from the original on 21 October 2018. Retrieved 20 October 2018.
- ^ Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Brady, Nicholas". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 4 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 375.
- ^ "Bandon Museum - George Bennett". Bandonhistoricalmuseum.org. Archived from the original on 27 January 2021. Retrieved 20 October 2018.
- ^ Costello, Kevin (2011). The Irish Court of Admiralty 1575-1839. Four Courts Press. p. 15.
- ^ Bennett, George (1862). The History of Bandon. Henry and Coghlan. p. 202.
- ^ "Margaret Wolfe Hungerford". The Irish Story. 13 January 2016. Archived from the original on 21 October 2018. Retrieved 20 October 2018.
- ^ "Bandon, County Cork". Dictionary of Canadian Biography (online ed.). University of Toronto Press. 1979–2016.
- ^
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Lee, Sidney, ed. (1912). "O'Sullivan, Cornelius". Dictionary of National Biography (2nd supplement). London: Smith, Elder & Co.
- ^ Prest, Jean (1967). "'Kingston, Sir George Strickland (1807–1880)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Vol. 2. Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. ISBN 978-0-522-84459-7. ISSN 1833-7538. OCLC 70677943. Retrieved 21 October 2018.
- ^ "Cox, Richard (1650-1733)". Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900.
- ^ "Minister for Finance". General Michael Collins. Archived from the original on 21 October 2018. Retrieved 20 October 2018.
- ^ Holyoake, George Jacob (1892). "Jones, Lloyd". In Lee, Sidney (ed.). Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 30. London: Smith, Elder & Co.
- ^ Russell, Victor Loring; Fraser, Robert Lochiel; Cross, Michael S. (1985). "Sullivan, Robert Baldwin". In Halpenny, Francess G (ed.). Dictionary of Canadian Biography. Vol. VIII (1851–1860) (online ed.). University of Toronto Press.
- ^ Juno McEnroe (5 June 2018). "Renewed calls for MEP Brian Crowley to resign or clarify position". Irish Examiner. Archived from the original on 12 June 2018. Retrieved 20 October 2018.
- ^ "Corkman Conor Hourihane happy to be hitting his peak". Irish Examiner. 6 September 2018. Archived from the original on 21 October 2018. Retrieved 21 October 2018.
External links
edit
- Irish Historic Towns Atlas Online: Bandon by Patrick O'Flanagan for the Royal Irish Academy
- Bandon.ie Archived 11 January 2013 at the Wayback Machine