Passage West
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Passage West An Pasáiste Thiar
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| Town | |
Cork Street, Passage West
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 Passage West
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| Coordinates: 51°52′17″N 8°20′07″W / 51.8713°N 8.3352°WCoordinates: 51°52′17″N 8°20′07″W / 51.8713°N 8.3352°W | |
| Country | Ireland |
| Province | Munster |
| County | County Cork |
| Elevation | 5 m (16 ft) |
| Population (2006) | |
| • Urban | 4,818 |
| • Environs | 385 |
| Irish Grid Reference | W767687 |
| Website | www |
Passage West (Irish: An Pasáiste Thiar) is a port town in County Cork, Ireland, situated on the west bank of Cork Harbour, some 10 km south east of Cork city. The town has many services, amenities and social outlets. Passage West was designated a conservation area in the 2003 Cork County Development Plan.
The buildings in the town centre are mainly late 18th and early 19th century, while the architecture of nearby Glenbrook and Monkstown is mainly from the later Victorian period. In 1690, at the time of the landing of the Duke of Marlborough with his army to lay siege to Cork, Passage was described as an insignificant fishing village.
Its development from an obscure hamlet to a town may be principally attributed to its deep safe anchorage. The advancement of Cork's commercial trade was an important benefit to Passage. Owing to the shallowness of the channel above the town, vessels of over 150 tons were unable to proceed to Cork, and were compelled to discharge their cargoes here. These were either unloaded onto lighters and brought up the river to Cork or put ashore and taken to the city in carts or on horseback. The only road to Cork then was via Church Hill through the site of the present Capuchin Monastery at Rochestown and then through what is now the entrance to the farmyard at Oldcourt, and on to Douglas and Cork.
In 1836 a new quay was built where the vessels could berth and land their passengers and freight. It was no uncommon sight to see between 70 and 80 vessels anchored in the harbour. Sir John Arnott was chiefly responsible for the building of the Granaries, intended for the storing of the freight from the vessels. They cost £32,000 to build when labour was half a crown (2 shillings and sixpence; one eighth of a pound) a day. The freight from one ship only was received there before the channel was dredged. Later, when boats put into the dockyard for repairs the cargo was stored there until they were ready for sea. The town then possessed three hotels and two dozen public houses. The dredging of the channel largely ended the importance of Passage as a port.
The ferry between Passage and Carrigaloe greatly promoted the trade of the town. Until the opening of the Cork to Cobh Railway the traffic on this ferry was considerable. Between 200 and 300 covered-in cars (jingles) brought passengers from Cork to Passage ferry daily. In the first half of the 19th century, Cobh was the principal seaside resort in Munster, which richly benefited the Ferry. During the first twenty days of August 1836, over 20,000 people crossed on the ferry. This gave considerable employment. The boats were apparently large flat-bottomed ones worked by a system of cables and pulleys, and capable of taking very heavy cargoes. This ferry dated back to the reign of James I or even earlier. In his reign it was leased to a Patrick Terry for a yearly rent of 35 shillings. The fare was one penny for a person, a cow, a horse, or six sheep, swine or goats. The opening of a railway line to Cobh (then known as Queenstown) caused the demise of the Passage ferry; however in the early 1990s a car ferry service was opened between nearby Glenbrook and Carrigaloe on the Great Island.
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Wikipedia