Youghal
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Youghal (pronounced or ; Irish Eochaill ) is a seaport in County Cork, Ireland. Youghal is located on the estuary of the River Blackwater, and in the past was militarily and economically important. Being built on the edge of a steep riverbank, the town has a distinctive long and narrow layout. The name of the town derives from the yew woods (Eochaill) which were once plentiful in the area. As of the 1996 census, the population was 5,630.
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History and architecture
Youghal received its charter of incorporation in 1209, but the history of settlement on the site is much longer, with a Norse settlement being present in the 9th century, the Church of Coran in the town's western suburbs dating from the 5th century, and evidence of Neolithic habitation at nearby Newport.
Notable buildings in the town include St Mary's Collegiate Church, thought to have been founded by St Declan around 450. The church was rebuilt in Irish Romanesque style c. 750, and a great Norman nave was erected in c. 1220. It is one of the few remaining medieval churches in Ireland to have remained in continuous use as a place of worship, by the town's small Church of Ireland congregation. The Vikings used Youghal as a base for their raids on monastic sites along the south coast of Ireland, and a stone in St Mary's Collegiate Church still bears the etched outline of a longboat. The church also contains many monuments, including the tomb of Richard Boyle, 1st Earl of Cork.
The town's walls date to at least the 13th century and are among the best preserved in Ireland. The first record of the walls is a charter of 1275, granted by King Edward I, for their repair and extension. In 1777, the town's Clock Gate was built on the site of Trinity Castle, part of the town's fortifications. The Clock Gate served the town as gaol and public gallows until 1837, with prisoners being executed by being hanged from the windows. Tynte's Castle is a late 15th-century urban tower house. There are also 17th-century almshouses, constructed by Richard Boyle. The Mall House and its promenade were built in 1779, and is now used as Youghal's Town Hall. The town's Water Gate was built in the 13th century to provide access through the town walls to the docks. Also known as Cromwell's Arch, it was from here that Oliver Cromwell left Ireland in 1650, having overwintered in the town after his bloody campaign to put down rebellion and ensure support for his war in England.
Famous people
Sir Walter Raleigh was Mayor of Youghal in 1588 and 1599 and lived in Myrtle Grove, the Warden's Residence of the Collegiate Church. The first potatoes in Ireland were planted in the gardens of Myrtle Grove in 1585. Myrtle Grove's South Gable is where Edmund Spencer is reputed to have written part of his poem The Faerie Queen. The house is not open to the public.
Communist journalist Claud Cockburn and his wife Patricia, artist, concholgist and traveller, lived in the town for many years. He described it, memorably, as "standing at a slight angle to the universe". Novelist William Trevor spent some of his early years in Youghal, and featured the town in his short story "Memories of Youghal".
In 1956, John Huston filmed part of Moby Dick there, with the town standing in for New Bedford. A licensed premises in the town still bears the name of the movie.
Tourism
Youghal has a number of the finest and safest beaches in Ireland, with two Blue Flags for water quality. In the 1950s and 1960s Youghal was a popular seaside resort, with thousands taking the train to the beach. With the closing of the railway line in the 1970s (see Irish railway history), the town went into a period of decline, reinforced by the difficulties encountered by the town's textile industry. Since the 1990s, aided by favourable property tax concessions, there has been considerable reinvestment and construction to restore Youghal's facilties and popularity. Today Youghal and its surrounding area of East Cork and West Waterford is marketed under the name "The Irish Riviera" (http://www.theirishriviera.com)