Cordal (Irish: Cordal) is a village and electoral division in County Kerry, Ireland.[1] The townlands of Cordal East and Cordal West are in the civil parish of Ballincuslane and the historical barony of Trughanacmy.[2][3] As of the 2011 census, Cordal East and Cordal West had populations of 115 and 117 residents respectively.[4]

Cordal
Village
Kilmurry Castle, north of Cordal village, comprises a 16th century tower house and 17th century fortified house addition
Kilmurry Castle, north of Cordal village, comprises a 16th century tower house and 17th century fortified house addition
Cordal is located in Ireland
Cordal
Cordal
Location in Ireland
Coordinates: 52°13′05″N 9°23′06″W / 52.2181°N 9.3851°W / 52.2181; -9.3851
CountryIreland
ProvinceMunster
CountyCounty Kerry
Irish grid referenceR053082

Built heritage

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Evidence of ancient settlement in Cordal East and Cordal West townlands include a number of ring fort, fulacht fiadh, holy well, ecclesiastical enclosure and standing stone sites.[5][6][7]

The ruins of Kilmurry Castle, in Kilmurry townland approximately 1 mile (1.6 km) north of Cordal village, include a 16th century tower house and a later 17th century fortified house addition.[8] This castle reputedly gives its name to Ballincuslane parish (Baile an Chaisleáin meaning 'town[land] of the castle').[9][10]

The local Catholic church (opened 1872) and Church of Ireland church (built c. 1850) are both in Cordal West.[11][12] The Catholic church, the Church of the Immaculate Conception, is one of three churches in the ecclesiastical parish of Castleisland in the Diocese of Kerry.[13]

Amenities and sport

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There is an An Post post office[14] and a public house in the village.[15] The local national (primary) school, Kilmurry National School or Scoil Mhuire, is in Kilmurry townland and had approximately 100 pupils enrolled as of late 2019.[16] The area is served by some limited TFI Local Link bus routes.[17]

The local Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) club, Cordal GAA,[18] won the East Kerry intermediate football championship in 2023.[19]

References

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  1. ^ "Cordal". logainm.ie. Placenames Database of Ireland. Retrieved 5 April 2024.
  2. ^ "Cordal East Townland, Co. Kerry". townlands.ie. Retrieved 5 April 2024.
  3. ^ "Cordal West Townland, Co. Kerry". townlands.ie. Retrieved 5 April 2024.
  4. ^ "CD156 - Kerry Population by Private Households, Occupied and Vacancy Rate". data.gov.ie. Central Statistics Office. Retrieved 5 April 2024.
  5. ^ Record of Monuments and Places - County Kerry. Dublin: National Monuments and Historic Properties Service. 1998.
  6. ^ Byrne, Elizabeth; McQueen, Alison; Cronin, Rhoda, eds. (2009). Archaeological inventory of County Kerry. Archaeological Survey of Ireland. Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government. ISBN 9780755776238. OCLC 436259331.
  7. ^ Hanbidge, Robert, ed. (July 2011). "Archaeological Survey of Kilnanima, Cordal, County Kerry (Cordal East)" (PDF). Kerry County Council. Retrieved 5 April 2024.
  8. ^ Barrington, T. J. (1976). Discovering Kerry: Its History, Heritage & Topography. Blackwater. p. 230. ISBN 9780905471006. less than a mile further on, in a field on the right, is [..] Kilmurry Castle [..] a 16th century tower house to which was added a now much ruined fortified house of the early part of the 17th century
  9. ^ O'Donovan, John (1841), "Ordnance Survey of Ireland: Letters, Kerry" (PDF), Ordnance Survey Letters, p. 603 (14 C 30 / 28)
  10. ^ Salter, Mike (2004). The Castles of South Munster. Folly Publications. p. 104. ISBN 9781871731668.
  11. ^ "Catholic Church of the Immaculate Conception, Cordal West, Cordal, Kerry". buildingsofireland.ie. National Inventory of Architectural Heritage. Retrieved 5 April 2024.
  12. ^ "Cordal Church (Ballincuslane), Cordal West, Cordal, Kerry". buildingsofireland.ie. National Inventory of Architectural Heritage. Retrieved 5 April 2024.
  13. ^ "Parish - Castleisland". dioceseofkerry.ie. Roman Catholic Diocese of Kerry. Retrieved 5 April 2024.
  14. ^ "Store Locator - Cordal Post Office, Cordal West, Castleisland, Co. Kerry". An Post. Retrieved 5 April 2024.
  15. ^ "Flow goes into reverse as Cordal opens its first pub". The Kerryman. 17 March 2005. Retrieved 5 April 2024.
  16. ^ "Scoil Mhuire B&C, Cordal, Castleisland, Co. Kerry (10394G)" (PDF). gov.ie. Department of Education. 4 December 2019. Retrieved 5 April 2024. Scoil Mhuire B&C is a Catholic, mainstream school situated in the townland of Kilmurry, Cordal [..] There are a hundred pupils enrolled in the school
  17. ^ "Cordal". locallinkkerry.ie. Transport for Ireland. Retrieved 5 April 2024.
  18. ^ "Board: East Kerry Committee - Cordal / Cul". Kerry GAA. Retrieved 5 April 2024.
  19. ^ "Cordal win East Kerry IFC final thanks to Sean Óg Ó Ciárdubhain's brilliant long and late winning free". The Kerryman. 6 November 2023. Retrieved 5 April 2024.