Overview
The village of Cloyne (Irish: Cluain Uamha, ‘meadow of the caves’) sits in a broad, fertile valley in east County Cork, about ten minutes’ drive from Midleton. It is a quiet place of colour-washed cottages and a handful of pubs, but for its size it carries an unusual weight of history: a round tower, a cathedral tied to one of the Enlightenment’s sharpest minds, and the birthplace of a hurler locals will tell you was simply the best there ever was. The round tower and St Colman’s Cathedral are close together on Church Street.
The round tower
By the 6th century St Colman Mac Léníne had founded a monastery here, the seed of the Diocese of Cloyne. The standout landmark is the round tower. Look up at its battlemented top: an earlier conical roof was lost in a storm, but the limestone shaft still dominates the skyline.
You can see the tower from public areas. Check before planning any closer visit, and respect closed gates and private entrances.
The cathedral and George Berkeley
St Colman’s Cathedral (Church of Ireland) preserves work from several periods, including thirteenth-century fabric, and has been a place of worship for centuries. Its most famous bishop was George Berkeley, the Anglo-Irish philosopher who held the see from 1734 to 1752 and after whom the city of Berkeley in California is named. Locally he was remembered as a hands-on pastor who visited the sick himself; more widely, his work turned Enlightenment thinking about perception and reality on its head. The building inventory records a monument to Berkeley inside. The cathedral also holds the tomb of Bishop John Brinkley, an astronomer of real standing in his day.
Check with the cathedral before planning to go inside, and respect services. Nearby, St Colman’s Roman Catholic Church (1815) is the village’s Catholic church, though the Catholic diocese’s pro-cathedral is now over in Cobh.
Caves, castles and local lore
The name Cluain Uamha points at the limestone under the valley floor, which is riddled with a network of caves. Local tradition adds a good story to the geology: a secret underground passage said to run from Cloyne House to the Catholic graveyard, used to move about during the Penal times. How much is fact and how much is folk memory, nobody will swear to.
Just outside the village, Castle Mary was the seat of the Longfield family, a 17th-century manor with the remains of a druid altar near its orchard. It was also the lifelong home of Cynthia Longfield, the entomologist and explorer known for her work on dragonflies.
Christy Ring and the GAA
Cloyne is the birthplace of Christy Ring, widely reckoned one of the greatest hurlers of all time. His statue stands on Chapel Street, and the tally behind it is worth pausing over: eight All-Ireland senior medals and eighteen Railway Cup titles with Munster. The local GAA club still turns out in its red and black stripes, and hurling remains the thread that runs through village life.
Practical information
- Getting there: Cloyne is about 25 km east of Cork city and ten minutes from Midleton on the R630. Check current Cork city bus services before you travel.
- Access: the round tower and cathedral exterior can be seen from public areas. Check with the cathedral before planning an interior visit, and respect services, closed gates and private entrances.
- Admission: the outdoor landmarks are free to view.
- Nearby: the beaches at Shanagarry, Garryvoe and Ballycotton are all within a short drive, as is the Jameson Distillery Midleton.