In And Around Newmarket, County Cork, Ireland
County Cork has to be one of the most beautiful areas of a beautiful country, and the small market town of Newmarket is one of its typical market towns.
Newmarket town – or, in the traditional Irish language, Áth Trasna – the crossing at the ford, is in the Barony of Duhallow, in the north-west of County Cork. Bordered by Kerry and Limerick, and with the famous Blackwater river flowing close by, full of its unbeatable salmon, this is a part of Ireland that you would be foolish to ignore.
The town of Newmarket itself, with barely 2,500 inhabitants, befits the adjective ’sleepy’ almost as well as anywhere in the country – unless you happen to be passing through after an especially vital G.A.A. Victory, when the town’s own anthem, 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 a number of interesting pre-historic sites around it – a cairn, gallauns (boundary stones) and forts. It is, indeed, an area soaked in Irish history; John Philpot Curran was born here and his daughter, Sarah, was the love of rebel leader Robert Emmet. Just outside the town is the beautiful Island Wood, home of the Twelve Apostles Tree – it has twelve smaller trunks growing from out of its main trunk. This secluded wooded area, with the River Dalua, full of salmon and trout, flowing beautifully through it, is a justly popular place for quiet contemplation.
The Island Wood, in fact, has been incorporated into a 100-mile trek known as the Duhallow Trail, exploring this enchantingly tranquil part of the world, and passing though Newmarket itself. Other especially notable parts of the trail are the attractive town of Kanturk and its famous castle, owned by the English National Trust and a wonderful building. At the nearby graveyard of Clonfert, there is a poignant, 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 – originally a house built in 1725 for the Aldworth family, a member of which had established the town a century earlier. This is now a thriving centre for the local community.
There are no hotels in Newmarket, County Cork, although there are several fine guesthouses or places offering Bed and Breakfast in the area. Marie’s Restaurant, in the Main Street, has a good reputation for the quality of its menu and its friendly atmosphere and there are other places where you can find good food, such as K.D.’s Fast Food. It is certainly a town where you can be sure of a genuine, warm Munster welcome.
County Cork has a wealth of fascinating attractions for visitors. The historic city of Cork itself is justifiably world famous. The safe blue flag beaches of Ballybunnion are nearby. Blarney Castle and Killarney are just a short drive. And there are wonderfully scenic golf courses, lakes, mountains and rivers.
Situated on the R576, at its junction with the R578, Newmarket, one of County Cork’s hidden gems, is worth being part of everyone’s schedule when they’re in Ireland’s southwestern corner.
