Cork Harbour

Cork Harbour contains a number of islands of various sizes, some of which are connected to the mainland by bridges. Islands which are or have been inhabited include:

Detail of 1780s map showing lower harbour islands (Spike, Haulbowline) and defensive structures (at Cove Fort, Fort Carlisle, Spike, Rams Head, and Roches Tower)

• Great Island – The largest island in Cork Harbour, which includes the town of Cobh
• Fota Island – Containing Fota Wildlife Park, Fota House and the Fota Island Resort Hotel and golf course
• Little Island – A residential and industrial area
• Haulbowline Island – Headquarters of the Irish Naval Service, and former home of the Cork Water Club (1720).[8]
• Spike Island – Former prison island
• Harper's Island – Site of the Harper's Island Wetland Centre[9]
• Hop Island – Site of an equestrian centre
• Weir Island
• Brick Island
• Corkbeg Island – Site of Whitegate oil refinery
• Brown Island
• Rocky Island – Once housed a magazine building for the Royal Navy. Used by Irish Steel for storage until 2002, and now home to 'The Island Crematorium'.

Cork city is located slightly upstream on the River Lee on the northwest corner of Cork Harbour. Several of the city's suburbs, including Blackrock, Mahon, Douglas, Passage West and Rochestown lie on Lough Mahon or the Douglas Estuary, both of which are parts of Upper Cork Harbour.

The Lower Harbour has a number of towns around its shores. Passage West, Monkstown, Ringaskiddy and the smaller village of Raffeen are found on the western shore. On the southwestern shore is Crosshaven. Great Island, which forms the northern shore of the lower harbour, houses the town of Cobh. As of 2011, Cobh had a population of about 12,500.[10] The eastern shore is less densely populated, but has two villages Whitegate and Aghada, both home to power plants.

The village of Ballinacurra is on the northeastern spur of the harbour, known as the Ballynacorra River. Due to the recent expansion of the town of Midleton, Ballinacurra has effectively become a suburb of Midleton, so it could also be said that Midleton lies on Cork Harbour.

Map of Cork Harbour, ca. 1702

Historically, the navigation and port facilities of the harbour were managed by the Cork Harbour Commissioners. Founded in 1814, the Cork Harbour Commissioners were reorganised as the Port of Cork Company in 1997.[13]

The Swansea – Cork ferry docks at Ringaskiddy.

Vessels up to 90,000 tonnes deadweight (DWT) are capable of coming through the harbour entrance. As the shipping channels get shallower the farther inland one travels, access becomes constricted, and only vessels up to 60,000 DWT can sail above Cobh.

The Port of Cork provides pilotage and towage facilities for vessels entering Cork Harbour. All vessels accessing the quays in Cork city must be piloted and all vessels exceeding 130 metres in length must be piloted once they pass within 2.5 nautical miles (4.6 km) of the harbour entrance at a point marked by the Spit Bank Lighthouse which is the landmark boundary for compulsory pilotage.[14][15][16]

The Port of Cork has berthing facilities at Cork city, Tivoli, Cobh and Ringaskiddy. The facilities in Cork city are primarily used for grain and oil transport. Tivoli (downstream of the older city quays) provides container handling, facilities for oil, livestock and ore and a roll on-roll off (Ro-Ro) ramp. Prior to the opening of Ringaskiddy Ferry Port, car ferries sailed from here; now, the Ro-Ro ramp is used by companies importing cars into Ireland. In addition to the ferry terminal, which provides a service to Roscoff in France, Ringaskiddy has a deep water port.

The Port of Cork company is a commercial semi-state company responsible for the commercial running of the harbour as well as responsibility for navigation and berthage in the port. In 2011 the port had a turnover of €21.4 million and made pre-tax profits of €1.2 million.[17] This was down from a turnover of €26.4 million and profits of €5.4 million in 2006. Container traffic increased by 6% in 2011 when 156,667teus were handled at the Tivoli container facility, however this was down from a peak of 185,000 TEUs in 2006.[18] The 2006 figure saw the port at full capacity and the Port drew up plans for a new container facility capable of handling up to 400,000 teus per annum at Ringaskiddy. This was the subject of objections and after an oral planning hearing was held in 2008, the Irish planning board Bord Pleanala rejected the plan due to inadequate rail and road links at the location.[19]

Permission was later granted and work started (2018) on the new port.

There has been an increase in cruise ship visits to Cork Harbour in the early 21st century, with 53 such ships visiting the port in 2011.[17] The majority of these cruise ships berth at Cobh's Deepwater Quay. Historically, Cobh (under its former name Queenstown) was one of the principal ports through which flowed the stream of emigrants stemming from the Great Famine in the 1840s.

There are also a number of private berths around the harbour, with several centred on Whitegate, Passage West, Rushbrooke, Ringaskiddy and Haulbowline.

The Royal Cork Yacht Club, claimed as the world's oldest, was founded as 'The Water Club' on Haulbowline Island in the 1720s. When the British Navy took over Haulbowline in 1801, the club moved to Cobh, where their original clubhouse (built in the 1850s) still stands. In the 1960s, the club moved to Crosshaven. There are also boatyards at Crosshaven and two other marinas. There is another marina on Great Island opposite East Ferry, while Monkstown and Blackrock are used for boating, canoeing, windsurfing and jet-skiing. A number of rowing clubs have facilities on the part of the River Lee between Cork city and Blackrock.

The waterfront at Cobh

• White, Martin (1835). Sailing directions for the English Channel: including a general description of the South Coasts of England and Ireland and a Detailed Account of the Channel Islands (2 ed.). London: Hydrographic Office, Admiralty. OCLC 656744962.