Castlemartyr

Castlemartyr (Irish: Baile na Martra, formerly anglicised as Ballymarter or Ballymartyr) is a village in east County Cork, Ireland. It is located 25 minutes east of Cork city, 10 km (6 mi) east of Midleton, 16 km (10 mi) west of Youghal and 6 km (4 mi) from the coast. About 500 people live in the village with a further 2,000 in its immediate hinterland.

It is situated on the busy N25 national primary road and has an expanding network of community and sporting organisations. Castlemartyr is a historical village with a range of sites of archaeological and socio-cultural interest, reflecting virtually every era in the country's history and pre-history.

History

Overview of the history of the village

Bronze Age

Traces of an ancient civilisation, almost certainly Bronze Age, are to be found in the immediate vicinity of Castlemartyr. A group of six tumuli or mounds can still be seen across the areas of Ballindinis, Ballyvorisheen and Knockane. In addition to this is what tradition refers to as a “Tribal village”, and this is still discernible in the form of what are thought to be burial mounds in the townland of Clasharinka.

Castlemartyr (Parliament of Ireland constituency)

Castlemartyr (also known as Castlemartyr Borough) was a constituency represented in the Irish House of Commons from 1676 to 1800.

Boundaries and boundary changes

This constituency was the borough of Castlemartyr in County Cork. After its establishment in 1676 it had a sovereign, 12 burgesses and freemen. It was the base of Speaker Boyle and this family had control until disenfrachisement.

History

In the Patriot Parliament of 1689 summoned by King James II, Castlemartyr was not represented. Under the terms of the Act of Union 1800, the constituency was disenfranchised and abolished in 1801. The 2nd Earl of Shannon received £15,000 compensation for its disenfranchisement.

Members of Parliament, 1676–1801

1689–1801

Notes

References

Bibliography