COVE, a sea-port, market, and post-town, commonly called
the COVE of CORK, partly in the parish
of CLONMELL, but chiefly in that of TEMPLEROBIN, in
the Great Island, barony of BARRYMORE, county of
CORK, and province of MUNSTER containing 6996
inhabitants. By way of Passage, crossing the ferry, it
is only 9½ miles (E. S. E.) from Cork; but overland, by
way of Foaty, it is 14¼ miles from that city, and 133
miles (S. W. by S.) from Dublin. It is situated on
the north side of Cork harbour, in lat. 54° 51', and
Ion. 8° I8' 45". The progress of Cove has been very
rapid. So recently as 1786 it was a small village,
consisting of a few scattered houses inhabited by the
tide-waiters and pilots of Cork, and some miserable
cabins occupied by fishermen; at present it is a large
and handsome town, comprising nine large and several
smaller streets. The great increase of its population
principally arose from its convenient situation for
the shipping in Cork harbour, in which, during the
French war, 600 sail of merchant vessels have been at
anchor at one time, and 400 sail have left the harbour
under convoy in one day. These great fleets always lay
immediately in front of the present town, and many of
them within half a cable's length of the shore. It has
also been greatly benefited by the erection of Carlisle
and Camden forts; martello towers on Great Island,
Hawlbowling, and Ringskiddy; and by the bomb-proof
artillery barracks on Spike Island. In addition to this,
Hawlbowling was fortified and made the ordnance depot,
and the Lords of the Admiralty made it the only naval
victualling depot in Ireland; and Rocky island was excavated
and made the chief gunpowder magazine for the
southern part of the kingdom. It was also the place
of embarkation for troops ordered on foreign service,
and the station of an admiral. The great expenditure
of money for these works, and for the supply of provisions
and other requisites for the shipping in the harbour,
caused many persons to settle here, and the number
was increased by the visits of invalids and persons
of fortune, who were attracted by the salubrity of its
climate and the beauty of its situation in the finest
harbour in Europe. Cove is built on the side of a clayslate
hill, on the south shore of Great Island, which
rises from the water's edge, and being very steep, the
streets, which are parallel to the shore, rise tier above
tier, and being backed by the high grounds of the
island, present a very picturesque view from the entrance
to the harbour. The principal streets are nearly level,
and those that connect them wind so gradually as greatly
to diminish the apparent steepness of their ascent. The
houses in the main streets are mostly large and well
built of stone, and many of them faced with slate; the
streets are all wide, clean, well paved, and abundantly
supplied with water from springs in the clay-slate. The
principal market is on Saturday, but there is one held
daily, which is abundantly supplied with fish, vegetables,
meat, &c. A large and handsome market-house, consisting
of a centre and wings, was erected by the late J. Smith
Barry, Esq., in 1806: the centre is appropriated to the
sale of fish and vegetables, the west wing to' the storing
and sale of potatoes, and the east wing is fitted up as
shambles. The post is daily, and yielded a revenue of
£977 when the last return was made to parliament.
There is a constabulary police barrack; and a chief
coast-guard station, the head of the district, which includes
Cove, Ballycroneen, Poor Head, the lighthouse,
East Ferry, Cork, Crosshaven, and Robert's Cove.
Petty sessions are held every week; and there is a
small prison of two cells for the temporary confinement
of offenders. Near the western entrance to the town is
a large and handsome pier, erected in 1805, at a cost of
£20,000, and connected with it are very capacious quays,
Here is a building called the Boarding Station, occupied
by tide-waiters and other custom-house officers of Cork.
The views round Cove are extremely beautiful.
Beyond the harbour, on the east, are Rostellan, Castle-
Mary, and the vale of Cloyne, with its ancient cathedral
and round tower; to the south is the capacious bay,
with its numerous ships, noble entrance, lighthouse,
and forts; on the west is Ringskiddy with its martello
tower, Carrigaline with its noble estuary, and the
broad entrance to the Lee; and on the north are the
high lands of Great Island, which shelter the town of
Cove in that direction. Near the town are several elegant
mansions, marine villas, &c; which are more particularly
noticed in the article on Great Island. The celebrated
regatta of Cove takes place in July or August:
the prizes are numerous and valuable, and many of the
best yachts in Ireland, with some from England and
Scotland, attend its celebration. Near the custom-house
quay is a splendid edifice in the Italian style, built by
the Yacht Club and occupied by its members during the
regatta season. The parish church of the union o
Clonmell and Templerobin is on an elevated site in the
centre of the town: it is a large and elegant edifice, in
the early English style of architecture, with stained
glass windows, aad was built in 1810, by aid of a loan
of £2000 from the late Board of First Fruits. Near
it is a R. C. chapel, which was enlarged in 1835. There
is also a small place of worship for Wesleyan Methodists.
The parochial schools are large neat buildings,
erected by subscription on land given by Lord
Midleton, who is an occasional donor; they are under
the Kildare-place Society, but are supported by subscription.
An infants' school has existed here about
three years, and is supported by subscription: a schoolhouse
is being built for it near the parochial schools;
and a very large building for a national school is also
in progress of erection, partly at the expense of the
National Board, and partly by a bequest of £25 per
annum left by W. Lynch, Esq., in 1831. There are a
fever hospital and a dispensary, and a military bathing
hospital for the province of Munster. There is a parochial
alms-house for twelve poor Protestants, each of
whom receives 2s. 6d. weekly from the Sunday collections
in the church, with coal and clothing during the winter,
from a bequest of £100 by the late Miss Spratt. A
Benevolent Society, and a loan fund for poor mechanics,
have also been established.