Mitchelstown

Mitchelstown (Irish: Baile Mhistéala) is a town in County Cork, Ireland with a population of approximately 3300. Mitchelstown is situated in the valley to the south of the Galtee Mountains close to the Mitchelstown Caves and is 28 km from Cahir, 50 km from Cork and 59 km from Limerick. The River Gradoge runs by the town into the River Funshion, which in turn is a tributary of the River Blackwater. The town is best known as a centre for cheese production.

Name

The name of Mitchelstown originates from the Anglo-Norman family called 'St Michel' who founded a settlement close to the site of the present town in the 13th century. The village was originally known as 'Villa Michel'. The modern name comes from the Anglicized version of the later Gaelic derived Ballyvisteala or Ballymistealy. A nearby earlier settlement was established in the townland of Brigown (from Irish: Brí Ghabhann, meaning "slope / hillock of the smiths"), it was known by this name and had monastic origins being founded in the 7th century by Saint Fanahan (Fionn Cú = White Hound), a warrior monk famed in medieval times for his fiery temper.