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Timoleague Village is located in the heart of
West Cork, just 50 minutes from Cork City, is close for the
following villages and towns of West Cork such as Kinsale,
Innishannon, Rosscarberry, Bandon, Inchydoney, Clonakilty and its close
seaside neighbour Courtmacsherry.
Timoleague Abbey is the main focal point in the
village and it stands picturesquely at the
water's edge at the head of a long sea inlet. In its day it was one of the largest and
most important of the religious houses in Ireland. It was founded by one of the MacCarthys
for the Franciscans in 1240, on the site already associated with St. Molaga - hence the
name Timoleague, i.e. Tigh Molaga or the House of Molaga.
Like all such monasteries, it was suppressed
during the Reformation but the monks stayed in the district and returned in 1604 to repair
it and bring it back to life. It must have recovered to some degree: the important MSS,
known as the Book of Lismore, was in its keeping in 1629. It is said that the monks did a
goodly trade in smuggled Spanish wine!
Timoleague has its own Bird Sanctuary area for those with
outdoor interests, and for the surfers, they can
experience surfing at the Blue Flag
Beach at Inchydoney, the
Michael Collins Experience in Clonakilty for those
interested in local history and for the walkers and water
lovers, Courtmacsherry is the ideal place. Take a boat trip from
Baltimore and explore the Islands off Baltimore such as Sherkin
Island and Cape Clear Island.
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