Visit Newmarket, County Cork, Ireland
County Cork has to be one of the most spectacular areas of a beautiful country, and the small market town of Newmarket is one of its typical market towns.
Newmarket town – or, in the classical Irish language, Áth Trasna – the intersection at the ford, is in the Barony of Duhallow, in the north-west of County Cork. Bordered by Kerry and Limerick, and with the well-known Blackwater river drifting close by, brimming with its tasty salmon, this is a section of Ireland that you would be foolish to leave off.
The province of Newmarket itself, with barely 2,500 occupants, befits the adjective ‘sleepy’ almost as well as anywhere in the country – unless you happen to be passing through after an extremely important G.A.A. Victory, when the town’s own song, Up Up Newmarket, will be heard – they take their sport tremendously seriously here.
Situated on a glen surrounded by the foothills of the Mulmuaghreirk Mountains, where Fionn (the legendary Finn McCool) chased the wild boar and the stag, Newmarket also has several alluring pre-historic locations surrounding it – a cairn, gallauns (boundary stones) and forts. It is, indeed, a place soaked in Irish history; John Philpot Curran was born here and his daughter, Sarah, was the sweetheart of rebel leader Robert Emmet. Just outside the town is the splendid Island Wood, home of the Twelve Apostles Tree – it has 12 smaller trunks growing from out of its main trunk. This secluded wooded area, with the River Dalua, bursting with salmon and trout, flowing wonderfully through it, is an aptly popular spot for solitary contemplation.
The Island Wood in Newmarket town, County Cork, Ireland, in fact, has been incorporated into a 100-mile walk known as the Duhallow Trail, investigating this enchantingly serene portion of the globe, and passing though Newmarket itself. Other especially remarkable parts of the trail are the charming town of Kanturk and its well-known castle, managed by An Taisce – The National Trust for Ireland and a magnificent building. At the nearby graveyard of Clonfert, there is a touching, small Celtic cross marking the massed burial site of scores of victims of the Great Famine.
In Newmarket itself you will find the lively James O’Keefe Institute – really a place of residence built in 1725 for the Aldworth family, a member of which had formed the town a century earlier. it is now a thriving centre for the local community.
There are no hotels in Newmarket, Co. Cork, though there are numerous fine guesthouses or places doing Bed and Breakfast in the area. K.D.’s Fast Food, has a good respect for the quality of its menu and its friendly ambience and there are other locations where you can get excellent food, such as Marie’s Restaurant, on the Main Street. It is certainly a town where you can be guaranteed of a genuine, warm Irish welcome.
County Cork has a wide range of spectacular attractions for visitors. The historic city of Cork itself is of course world renowned. The exotic blue flag beaches of Ballybunnion are nearby. Blarney Castle and Killarney are just a few minutes drive. And there are superbly scenic golf courses, lakes, mountains and lakes.
found on the R576, at its joining with the R578, Newmarket, one of Co. Cork’s hidden assets, is worth being part of everyone’s program when they’re in Ireland’s southwestern corner.
