Youghal

Youghal (pronounced {{IPA|}} or {{IPA|}}; Irish Eochaill {{IPA|}}) is a seaport in County Cork, Ireland. Youghal is located on the estuary of the River Blackwater, and in the past was militarily and economically important. Being built on the edge of a steep riverbank, the town has a distinctive long and narrow layout. The name of the town derives from the yew woods (Eochaill) which were once plentiful in the area. As of the 1996 census, the population was 5,630.

Famous people

Sir Walter Raleigh was Mayor of Youghal in 1588 and 1599 and lived in Myrtle Grove, the Warden's Residence of the Collegiate Church. The first potatoes in Ireland were planted in the gardens of Myrtle Grove in 1585. Myrtle Grove's South Gable is where Edmund Spencer is reputed to have written part of his poem The Faerie Queen. The house is not open to the public.

Related Topics:
Walter Raleigh - 1588 - 1599 - Potatoes - 1585 - Edmund Spencer - The Faerie Queen

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Communist journalist Claud Cockburn and his wife Patricia, artist, concholgist and traveller, lived in the town for many years. He described it, memorably, as "standing at a slight angle to the universe". Novelist William Trevor spent some of his early years in Youghal, and featured the town in his short story "Memories of Youghal".

Related Topics:
Claud Cockburn - William Trevor

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In 1956, John Huston filmed part of Moby Dick there, with the town standing in for New Bedford. A licensed premises in the town still bears the name of the movie.

Related Topics:
John Huston - Moby Dick - New Bedford

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