County Cork, Ireland Genealogy

County Cork, in Ireland is located along the southern coast in the province of Munster.''' It is the largest county consisting of 2880 square miles and the greatest length is 102 miles from Youghal to Crow Head. The name Cork comes from the Gaelic word “Corcaigh,” meaning marsh.

In the sixth century, a monastery and school were established in the City of Cork. Later in the ninth century, the Norse Vikings raided and settled in Cork. The Normans invaded the area in the twelfth century and became part of the kingdom of Desmond. Several rebellions from English rule occurred from the late sixteenth into the mid-seventeenth century. The County was severely impacted during the Great Famine, 1847-1850.

In 1821, the population was 730,444. It increased to 854,118 in 1841, but then began to decrease to 361,877 in 1926. In 2006, the population was 70,868. In 1871, 91.5% of the population were Roman Catholic with 7.1% of the Church of Ireland, 0.3% Presbyterians and 0.5% Methodists. In 1926, 94.3% were Roman Catholic with 4.9% Church of Ireland.

General County Research Information
Further information about County Cork is available at the GenUKI site.

Civil Jurisdictions and Parish Research Information
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