Mallow, County Cork

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Mallow
Magh Ealla

Per Ignem et Aquam

Location

WGS-84 (GPS) Coordinates:
52.131° N 8.6415° W

Irish Grid Reference
W549982

Statistics

County:

Cork

Elevation:

74 m (242 ft)

Population (2002)
- Town:
- Rural:

5184
8,937

Website: www.mallow.ie

Mallow (Mala, Magh Ealla, and other variations in Irish) is the "Crossroads of Munster" and the administrative capital of north County Cork, in Ireland. The Northern Divisional Offices of Cork County Council are located in the town.

Magh Ealla in Irish means 'Plain of the Swans'. The more recent Irish Mala or even Mála are government inspired re-Gaelicisations of "Mallow" (itself an Anglicization of Magh Eala).

Set deep in the Blackwater Valley, Mallow was traditionally an agricultural market town but due to vast improvements in infrastructure, coupled with significant promotion and investment from the Mallow Town Council and the private sector, the town has become a thriving business and satellite town.

1 Location and Transportation
2 Local Economy
3 See also
4 External links

[edit] Location and Transportation

[edit] Road

Mallow lies at the convergence of several important routes:

National Primary Route 20 (N20) north-south road between Cork (35 km) and Limerick (70 km)
National Primary Route 72 (N72) east-west between Dungarvan (51.5 km) and Killarney (41.5 km)
National Secondary Route 73 (N73) northeast to Mitchelstown (21 km)

The Mallow by-pass road is now completed at a cost of €7,600,000.

[edit] Air

The nearest airports are Cork International Airport (42.5 km) and Shannon International Airport (59 km).

Mallow Racecourse, now known as Cork Racecourse became an emergency airfield on April 18, 1983, when a Mexican Gulfstream II business jet made a precautionary landing. A temporary tarmacadam runway of 3,000 ft (910 m) in length was laid to enable the aircraft to leave five weeks later on May 23, 1983. The runway was subsequently utilised for parking during race meets and was a popular facility for learner driving. Light aircraft have occasionally landed at the racecourse on the grass area. The F3A World Model Aircraft Aerobatic Championship was held there in 2001.

A flying club exists at nearby Rathcoole.

[edit] Rail

The Mallow railway viaduct which straddles the Blackwater, commonly (and still) known as the "Ten Arch Bridge" was bombed and destroyed during the Irish Civil War. It was rapidly rebuilt in girder form due to its importance in connecting the Cork, Tralee and Dublin lines. An additional line east through Fermoy and Lismore to the Waterford South station closed in 1967.

[edit] Local Economy

The town's prosperity is largely due to the rich agricultural region which surrounds it and the subsequent emergence of industrial development, both associated with the region and with the highly educated workforce.

The Mallow area with its population of 8,937 (2002 census) has an abundance of skilled labour and a pool of well-educated and eager young people. The town is also a commuter town for workers and students travelling to and from Cork by road and local rail. The Irish Sugar Company, part of Greencore has a sugar beet processing factory in the town. The future of this factory is uncertain due to imminent changes in the European Union sugar subsidy programme. Recently it has been announced the sugar factory will close; no sugar beet will be planted in Ireland this year for the first time in over 75 years.

The local racecourse, now renamed "Cork Racecourse at Mallow", plays host to large horse racing events.

Mallow originated in the late 16th century as a plantation town. It has prospered throughout the centuries as a market town due to the rich agricultural hinterland. Irish Statesmen such as Thomas Davis and William O'Brien were both born in Mallow in the 19th century. The main street in Mallow is called Davis St. (although commonly referred to as Main St.), and joins with O'Brien St. outside Mallow Town Hall. Ironically, at the point where Davis St. meets O'Brien St. there is a monument to J.J. Fitzgerald, a little-known local politician who was instrumental in establishing both Mallow Urban District Council and Cork County Council. The monument is often mistaken for O'Brien, even by a number of local people. In fact, it was O'Brien himself who unveiled this monument in the early part of the 20th Century.

The town was the HQ of the infamous North Cork Militia later the North Cork Rifles. The towns barracks was the only one captured nationwide during the Anglo-Irish war.The town was subsequently sacked by the Black and Tans.