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Clonakilty is an
expanding, thriving town town noted for its success in competitions
such as the National Tidy Towns competition and the International
"Entente Florale". Clonakilty is the administrative
capital of West Cork.
In the centre of the
town is a monument to Tadgh O' Donovan - Astna commemorating
Clonakilty's role in the 1798 rebellion. The statue of Michael
Collins was unveiled in 2002 by the actor, Liam Neeson. In Emmet
Square, nearby, in the house where Collins lived for a while and
across the Church yard behind the statue is the former school where he
was a pupil. |
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The impressive
Catholic Church was built in 1880. The smaller church building,
close by, ceased to function as a Presbyterian Church in 1924 and
became the towns Post Office. Along Kent Street is a renovated
old mill, now a library and administrative centre which won the Europa
nostra Award in 1987. Beyond that to your right is Clonakilty's
unique land mark the Wheel of Fortune Water |Pump which is still
functional.
The West cork Model
Railway Village at the outskirts of the town uses a miniature version
to the Old West cork Railway system to link models of the towns to
West Cork, as they were in the days of steam travel. At the
opposite end of the town, the West Cork Regional Museum is worth a
visit. There are a number of beaches, within easy reach of
Clonakilty which is often described as the 'Beach Centre of West
Cork'.
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