Knocknaheeny

Knocknaheeny (Irish: Cnoc na hAoine, Hill of Friday) is a working class suburb in Cork city, located north of the River Lee on hills overlooking the city. Translated from Irish, the name means Hill of Friday, thought by some to reference the hill Jesus Christ was crucified on, although this is open to being just general common knowledge between children in particular, in the area's youth. The area consists mainly of various estates, with terraced Council housing.

Apple's European base is located in the area between Knocknaheeny and Hollyhill and being a call centre, it employs a large number of Europeans and Non-EU staff, however, the knock-on effect to local businesses and local economy is generally a positive one.

Knocknaheeny is a relatively new community: today some 4,500 people live in the area, but up until the early 1970s it consisted of rolling countryside bordering on the Gurranabraher, Churchfield and Farranree areas. Cork City Council, known then as Cork Corporation, began to house and rehouse people who lived in slightly older areas of the city, mainly those who grew up in neighbouring Churchfield, Farannree, or Gurranabraher and who wished to be closer to their families. In the late 1970s and 1980s, Knocknaheeny had a very young population. The local primary school Scoil Mhuire ar Cnoc na hAoine (St. Mary's on the Hill), was granted extensions to the school to cope with over-populated classrooms. Scoil Mhic Shuibhne (now Terence McSwiney Community College) was opened in 1979, the first VEC (Vocational Educational Committee) mixed school. By the end of the 1980s and into the 1990s, the school had a population of over 800 students. But like the other local schools, has seen a drop in numbers to well under half of that, mainly due to changing demographics and the Celtic tiger enabling many families to relocate and purchase homes in newer estates in villages and towns in the Cork county region.

Unemployment was high, in particular in the early to mid-1980s, due to the closure of many local industries, including Sunbeam, in Blackpool. Opportunities were few for many young people to further their education at universities at that time, however there was a much greater success rate for those attending post-leaving certificate courses, and attending Regional Technical College, Cork (now known as Cork Institute of Technology). The introduction of programmes in the 1990s enabled more students to have a greater opportunity to attend university and worked with great success. Many local students who didn't attend university or the third-level generally returned in later years to achieve that, as all Irish colleges and universities facilitate mature students also with great success.

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