Best and Worst Towns in County Cork

JP Liz

Best - Clonakilty / Kinsale

Worst - Bandon

Zonda999

Bandon is a nice town IMO.I think macroom is the worst town in county cork

Sam Kade

JP Liz wrote: »

Best - Clonakilty / Kinsale

Worst - Bandon

Best and worst at what? explain yourself.

TheDriver

I personally think is a very unfair thread as the context is not explained. For tourism, Kinsale is lovely, but one could argue for living in it is awful due to traffic/shops. The opposite for Bandon and so on. I am sure people living in Macroom would suggest it is a lovely town to live in!

brucer24!

Best- Kinsale is up there def!!
worst- has to be buttevant. bandon a close 2nd

TheDriver

Again, why??????????????????????? Thats just plain insulting to people in Buttevant or Bandon, what is wrong with these towns just because they are not tourist mecas, they may have great pubs where locals can have a great time. Kinsale can be plagued with tourists and hen parties making it an awful town to live in. Are we talking day trips, to live in?

brucer24!

to live in..this is just my opinion and it is not to offend anyone in these towns.there is good things about everywhere..
yes bandon has good pubs to go to,but it was a huge scumbag population which is what puts me off.
buttevant is like a ghost town,all i ever see is boy racers hanging around outside da school!!

Sam Kade

brucer24! wrote: »

to live in..this is just my opinion and it is not to offend anyone in these towns.there is good things about everywhere..
yes bandon has good pubs to go to,but it was a huge scumbag population which is what puts me off.
buttevant is like a ghost town,all i ever see is boy racers hanging around outside da school!!

You are not the op. How do you know he meant to live in?

mallet head

Glengarriff is heaven lads.

Don't dislike any other town I know down there so would be unfair to pick a worst.

Zonda999

brucer24! wrote: »

Best- Kinsale is up there def!!
worst- has to be buttevant. bandon a close 2nd

Ah yes, good aul Buttevant, Such a One-Horse town as my father would put it!!Traffic was a total NIGHTMARE the last time i was there!!

TheDriver

brucer24! wrote: »

to live in..this is just my opinion and it is not to offend anyone in these towns.there is good things about everywhere..
yes bandon has good pubs to go to,but it was a huge scumbag population which is what puts me off.
buttevant is like a ghost town,all i ever see is boy racers hanging around outside da school!!

Ah come on, I spend a good bit of time in Bandon and yes there is a "scumbag" population but no more than anywhere else, you go to Kinsale or Clonakilty and you will find as many hanging around. Every town has its undesirables and unless its getting news reports like parts of Limerick, its just normal life in every town

brucer24!

i went to school in bandon for awhile so i spent a good bit of time there too and i was just expressing my views on the place!

Mackleton

Worst to live absolutely has to be Dunmanway. F all to do and the most gossipy, no hopers of locals. I know, I live outside it. Best, well personally Im a big fan of Kinsale, simply because of the variety of restuarants and convivial atmosphere. Always a good buzz there. Either Skull or Clonakilty come in a close second.

GERMAN ROCKS

best kinsale
worst skull (spelling may be incorrect) never liked the place or buttevant a close second.
i must say i like bandon a lot of machinery shops back there and the nicest sandwiches ever down in bradys lane

JP Liz

Sam Kade wrote: »

Best and worst at what? explain yourself.

just in general

activities, buzz, culture, tourism, nightlife, etc

life_is_music

Mitchelstown has to be the worst by far!!!
There's **** all there and I've never seen so many scum bags before in my life!

Colonel_McCoy

Mitchelstown known for its easy women and easy singles

TheDriver

I would have to say Charleville for its lack of town development, lack of shopping, traffic jams and people never seem the most friendly

Edthehead

My God, I stumbled upon this forum tonight and what do I see!! my beloved Buttevant being slated, what makes a town??? bricks and mortar? the road going through it? In my opinion a town should be judged by the people who live in it, and with that in mind Buttevant is a fantastic place to live. There has been no development in Buttevant for years because we've been waiting for a new sewerage plant (waiting for nearly 20 years) and without this plant no one could get planning permission for anything. Anyone passing through the town for the last two years will know we now have our new plant but the new footpaths and underground services that were also promised are now looking dodgy due to the governments spending cuts. I know a lovely looking town not to far from where I live, nice Castle, Abbey, lovely tarmac and footpaths, I know it well because I ran a business there for two years, looks lovely from the outside but its rotten from the core, the people who live there are all bitter, and there always seem to be a bad atmosphere, I'm not going to name this town because some people who live there most likely think its a great place to live!

Illkillya

Worst is Dunmanway for sure. Closely followed by Buttevant, sorry Edthehead.

Best... I don't know, there are a lot of good ones on the sea. I'll go with Kinsale I suppose.

TheDriver

I must laugh, I presume most people mentioning Kinsale are those who visit it on a Sunny Sunday in summer, try living there and getting stuck in perpetual traffic jams, not being able to shop for groceries without an effort, lots of hills, tourists everywhere etc

Illkillya

TheDriver wrote: »

I must laugh, I presume most people mentioning Kinsale are those who visit it on a Sunny Sunday in summer, try living there and getting stuck in perpetual traffic jams, not being able to shop for groceries without an effort, lots of hills, tourists everywhere etc

Hills/tourists are not a problem really. Traffic in Kinsale is a balls alright, but this is the case in a lot of West Cork towns. On a rainy November Wednesday you will have similar problems in most West Cork towns. But on a sunny summer sunday, Kinsale outshines most of the others and this is why it gets mentioned. Bandon's scumbag population and lack of sea are more serious concerns; and try getting in and out of Super Valu parking lot there when it's busy...

pro_gnostic_8

I'm surprised nobody has given Youghal a thumbs-up!
I'm from the city -- living in it also -- so I have no place-of-birth bias in this debate.

Youghal has just about anything you would want from a decent quality of life aspect. A town dripping with history. Fabulous beach within a stroll of the town, lovely old-world harbour, fishing, sailing. nice public parks. Some great pubs in the town and must be a dozen restaurants on the main street alone.

When I retire, I'm off down there!

TheDriver

Illkillya wrote: »

Hills/tourists are not a problem really. Traffic in Kinsale is a balls alright, but this is the case in a lot of West Cork towns. On a rainy November Wednesday you will have similar problems in most West Cork towns. But on a sunny summer sunday, Kinsale outshines most of the others and this is why it gets mentioned. Bandon's scumbag population and lack of sea are more serious concerns; and try getting in and out of Super Valu parking lot there when it's busy...

That is just insulting, are you saying that everyone who lives in Bandon is a scumbag? Get your facts straight, there are a lot of decent people living in Bandon. And theres plenty of parking, more than nearly all towns in Cork county with the riverview car park and Church Car Park along with Hartes Car Park while also using the other entrances makes sure you get around easily. NEver been stuck in traffic in Bandon for longer than 5 mins on rare occasions.
Kinsale in winter is lot worse, I have been there as most people around Kinsale are tourists or Sunday drivers whereas other towns in Cork have locals that are consistently there. My problem with Kinsale is that most people are strangers in the town and as a local at times, it is not the most pleasant. Try driving home when the place is blocked up because tourists in rental cars are stuck up streets they should have never gone near.
But scumbag population, thats just plain insulting, i have family living in Bandon and challenge you to withdraw or clarify your remark.

Illkillya

TheDriver wrote: »

That is just insulting, are you saying that everyone who lives in Bandon is a scumbag?

How could you possibly come to this conclusion? If I say something that could be ambiguous, could you do me the favour and not instantly assume the most ridiculous interpretation?

TheDriver wrote: »

NEver been stuck in traffic in Bandon for longer than 5 mins on rare occasions.

I have

Kinsale in winter is lot worse, I have been there as most people around Kinsale are tourists or Sunday drivers whereas other towns in Cork have locals that are consistently there.

Don't care

My problem with Kinsale is that most people are strangers in the town and as a local at times, it is not the most pleasant. Try driving home when the place is blocked up because tourists in rental cars are stuck up streets they should have never gone near.

Don't care

But scumbag population, thats just plain insulting, i have family living in Bandon and challenge you to withdraw or clarify your remark.

I challenge you to take a deep breath and re-evaluate your hasty interpretation of my words. Either way, I would not live in Bandon if you paid me.

TheDriver

Fair enough, apologies, I took your descriptive words on Bandon's population to mean everyone was a scumbag which obviously you didn't mean. HOwever, this thread is making my blood boil due to horrid generalisations about why a town is best or worse and to quote EdTheHead, what makes a town?
But at least do me the favour of not lecturing me about traffic in Bandon when you "don't care" about my same comments regarding Kinsale.

Now tell us what town you live in?

Illkillya

TheDriver wrote: »

HOwever, this thread is making my blood boil due to horrid generalisations about why a town is best or worse and to quote EdTheHead, what makes a town?

I think you're missing the fact that somethings matter more to others. If the deciding criteria had to be stuff like wide streets, ample parking, lack of hills then we might as well all live in Frankfurt or somewhere. I happen like small towns on the sea with good restaurants and boats and fishing.

TheDriver wrote: »

But at least do me the favour of not lecturing me about traffic in Bandon when you "don't care" about my same comments regarding Kinsale.

I didn't lecture about the traffic in Bandon - I'm pointing out that it is a problem shared in nearly every West Cork town and is not unique to Kinsale. This is partly why I don't rate it as an important factor in determining the best/worst towns in West Cork.

TheDriver wrote: »

Now tell us what town you live in?

If it makes any difference, I lived in a lot of different West Cork towns growing up and currently live in the city.

trotter_inc

What a thread, I love it

My "favourite" town would be Clonakilty easily! Not from Cork but do live in the county and if I had my choice of where to live it would def be Clon for many many reasons.

My "least favourite" town would be Bandon, I don't think I'd like to live there. Im afraid I have to agree with some of the comments about the town, from an outsiders point of view it does seem quite rough. I have been out a few times and don't like the atmosphere of the pubs or on the street. Was at the Bandon music festival last year when my parents came down to visit, bringing them to the Bandon music festival was a BAD idea

Boards is a forum where people can express their opinions, some people don't like listening to other peoples opinions though.

mardybumbum

Wouldnt be fair to pick a "worst" town as Im not from Cork, but I do spend a fair bit of time in clonakilty and roscarberry. I love de barras pub, always great music to be heard on a saturday night!

richiepoorman

Colonel_McCoy wrote: »

Mitchelstown known for its easy women and easy singles

Sounds great!! :):) That's me holiday sorted for next year LOL :pac::pac:

Dirty_Diesel

Illkillya wrote: »

Bandon's scumbag population and lack of sea are more serious concerns

Although I'm from Bandon I have to admit there is a number of scumbags around, probably like any other town. However, much of the weekend hassle would be people from other nearby villages/towns converging in Bandon, many having disputes about GAA, etc.

The only really positive aspect to the town would be the shopping, in which case the scumbags wouldn't be an issue.

Although I couldn't really pick the worst town in Cork my favourite would be Skibbereen. Reasonably close to the sea (or Lough Einn), nice friendly people and plenty of crack at the weekends.

Richy06

Buttevant is some dump.

Pgibson

For general appearance and ambience Buttevant is the worst town in Ireland...or maybe Western Europe or maybe...........


.

Pgibson

pro_gnostic_8 wrote: »

I'm surprised nobody has given Youghal a thumbs-up!
I'm from the city -- living in it also -- so I have no place-of-birth bias in this debate.

Youghal has just about anything you would want from a decent quality of life aspect. A town dripping with history. Fabulous beach within a stroll of the town, lovely old-world harbour, fishing, sailing. nice public parks. Some great pubs in the town and must be a dozen restaurants on the main street alone.

When I retire, I'm off down there!

When you are from Cork City ANYWHERE in the world is "a better place".

Even Youghal...God help us.

.

MunsterCycling

Prepare the boiling oil catapult....




MC

jessbeth

I was in Macroom at the weekend and I must say that I've never met friendlier people in the shops anywhere. In every shop that we went in to there was somebody really helpful, chatty and kind. It was great The food we got was also great.

I'm not a huge fan of Kinsale but it's because everytime we've been it's been difficult to get parking and difficult to get around with the car. That's mainly the only reason though!

RoyMcC

I just gotta jump in here and defend Dunmanway. Admittedly I love it for narrow, family reasons and have been visiting it for the last 50 years and always look forward to to my visits. And hey, I see they've got a new statue of Sam Maguire to look at in the Square!

Bandon I always regarded as a gloomy old place but I was surprised to find that recently it's a lot brighter and more welcoming.

Worst? Mallow, but based on a single visit many years ago

JP Liz

Dirty_Diesel wrote: »

Although I'm from Bandon I have to admit there is a number of scumbags around, probably like any other town. However, much of the weekend hassle would be people from other nearby villages/towns converging in Bandon, many having disputes about GAA, etc.

The only really positive aspect to the town would be the shopping, in which case the scumbags wouldn't be an issue.

Although I couldn't really pick the worst town in Cork my favourite would be Skibbereen. Reasonably close to the sea (or Lough Einn), nice friendly people and plenty of crack at the weekends.

The traffic is terrible in Bandon he needs another bypass to avoid the bridge and north main street

HanTenFan

Not sure about the best or worst, But Midleton is Good (Ok a little bias there) loadsa stuff to do at night, not much during the day...

KnifeWRENCH

RoyMcC wrote: »

Worst? Mallow, but based on a single visit many years ago

Ha, I was just gonna say no-one mentioned Mallow, but then I saw this. I'm from near Mallow and I think it's a pretty good town. It does have a bit of a "rough" reputation I admit, but tbh every town has it's undesirables. I find Mallow a nice enough town to live near.

Favourite? Well I've only been there once, but I really liked Skibereen. It was much bigger than I thought it would be, and they have very decent shops.
Bantry is also a very nice town - really well laid out (and nice restaurants)
Kinsale is lovely if you're a tourist but I don't think I'd live there.
And even though it's only a village, I should mention Castletownroche. It's very pretty!

Least favourite? Well as I said every town has undesirable characters but Mitchelstown does seem to have a larger proportion than other towns.
And Fermoy of course - but that's just coming from the Mallow/Fermoy rivalry!
I know I'm gonna get slated for this, but I'm not a fan of Clonakilty. For a town renowned for being nice, I found it very bland and a bit drab tbh.

Buttevant isn't too bad for what it is, which is a small close-knit town.

smcgiff

Richy06 wrote: »

Buttevant is some dump.

:(:(

Just goes to show the impression traffic jams and bad entry roads can have on a place.

I found it a grand place to grow up in, but you wouldn't want to be addicted to excitement. And I can guess the town Edthehead alluded to

I rarely go back these days, and it IS quiet, but it's a town with potential. If the historic sites Buttevant has were in, say, Kerry they'd be hugely exploited.

shoegirl

I've lived in a few towns around the place, including 3 in a couple of different towns with a girl from Buttevant. I agree Buttevant is not great but I do think there is worse, and it gets noticed because its on the main road. Doneraile, Rathcormac and "Little Island" are pretty horrible too. Problem with Buttevant is being on the main road AND a long way from anywhere.

Mallow as a town has really picked up, it was horrendous when I moved here first. Midleton likewise. Youghal LOOKS nice but to me its a bit dull. Castlemartyr has picked up a bit.

My personal pet hate is Rathcormac. I lived there for a year and it was the most miserable year of my life. I hated it with a vengence then and even more now. Fermoy I started to like because I could escape there from Rathcormac. It was the most horrible place I've ever lived in, anywhere. The Spar is about the most exciting thing in town.

Kinsale I find nice to visit but more than a bit pretentious.

KnifeWRENCH

shoegirl wrote: »

I've lived in a few towns around the place, including 3 in a couple of different towns with a girl from Buttevant. I agree Buttevant is not great but I do think there is worse, and it gets noticed because its on the main road. Doneraile, Rathcormac and "Little Island" are pretty horrible too. Problem with Buttevant is being on the main road AND a long way from anywhere.

Yeah I think Buttevant is an ok town.
As for Doneraile, it's not really a town, more a large village. But regardless, I admit it has a horrible reputation.
My cousin was living there a short while and during that short period she was attacked by some scumbag junkie. I don't know the end result but I think the junkie got off lightly because she was pregnant. :mad:
Now I'm not at all suggesting everyone from Doneraile is a scumbag, but I do often hear bad things about the place.

Mallow as a town has really picked up, it was horrendous when I moved here first.

True that, about Mallow. It's changed a lot over the past few years - there's been the development of Market Square, the new development going on Park Road near 4Home, there's an Aldi being built up near Summerhill (the town's 7the supermarket, with Dunnes, Tesco, SuperValu, Lidl and two Centra's) and I think there's talks about a development near the old Sugar Factory.

Another town that's changing a lot is Kanturk. I go there maybe once a year and I swear everytime I do it looks like the place has doubled in size since the previous year! I think Kanturk will become quite a big town in years to come.

towel401

shoegirl wrote: »

I've lived in a few towns around the place, including 3 in a couple of different towns with a girl from Buttevant. I agree Buttevant is not great but I do think there is worse, and it gets noticed because its on the main road. Doneraile, Rathcormac and "Little Island" are pretty horrible too. Problem with Buttevant is being on the main road AND a long way from anywhere.

Mallow as a town has really picked up, it was horrendous when I moved here first. Midleton likewise. Youghal LOOKS nice but to me its a bit dull. Castlemartyr has picked up a bit.

My personal pet hate is Rathcormac. I lived there for a year and it was the most miserable year of my life. I hated it with a vengence then and even more now. Fermoy I started to like because I could escape there from Rathcormac. It was the most horrible place I've ever lived in, anywhere. The Spar is about the most exciting thing in town.

but rathcormac has a daycent car boot sale. or it used to have in the good old days. I used to buy hard drives and other crap there when i was a wee boy. it seems more relaxed over there but i don't go there all that much.

mallow is fairly awful - no space to park. traffic jams and a good few scumbags around the place but the lack of proper roads and car parks is a bigger problem. they are forever digging up the road and moving **** around but the traffic situation never improves.

There is a good bit of scum hanging around Doneraile but the *real* scum is in the little villages outside it. I went to the school there and in my days it was alright but in recent years its gone to the dogs.

i was unfortunate enough to fall asleep on the bus to mallow one day and ended up in Buttevant in the evening. not a good experience at all although I didn't see many skangers

captainjack

I live in Kinsale. It's grand like:rolleyes:

KathleenF

Dunmanway is fair brutal I have to say. Skibb and Clon are grand though.

viota

Fermoy's a hole, full of scumbags.
Best place i suppose i think is cork city

RoyMcC

KathleenF wrote: »

Dunmanway is fair brutal I have to say.quote]

Reason/s?

Pgibson

viota wrote: »

Best place i suppose i think is cork city

I love Gurrier-na-Brather (oops I mean Granabrather.) and Knock-yer-knees-easy (oops I mean Knocknaheeny) myself.

.

KathleenF

Reasons - well the vibe there varies between unremittingly negative and non-existent, the town is a glorified drinking den, and bar the schools and local Centra/Super Valu, there is v little employment. Only thing to enliven the town is the local drinking festival (as if an excuse was needed) in August. A lot of work has been done with regard to festivals and the like, but IMO, it's the attitude of the locals that is the deciding factor. TBH, I'm not knocking it maliciously but the majority of the locals have such a low opinion of the place, it seems to me the epitome of a self-fulfilling prophecy. Hence my opinion.

Fud Duddy

I'm a thinking can a small Irish country town be all things to all people, I'm guessing not. But what is it that really makes one town better to live in than another?
Dunmanway strikes me as a town caught between the farming 50's and the 'crusty' 90's. Now there's a clash of morals.
What made Kinsale and Clon hip to begin with? Being on sea always helps I suppose, and is there anything more to do in Clon on a Tuesday night than there is to do in say Fermoy or Midleton. Is it people maketh the town? Has the celtic tiger devoured our community spirit? Are we not satisfied with the hottub and the flat screen and the cheap lidl wine?
Oh comrades my comrades, come let me know, what can your township do for you?