THE AILBRIN SOCIETY is presenting a talk ” IRISH WALLED TOWNS & YOUGHAL’S CONTRIBUTION” by the archaeologist, Catherine Desmond on Wednesday, January 18th at 8.30 pm at the Red Store, North Main Street, Youghal. Admission: Members free; non-members 5E. New members always welcome.

YOUGHAL’S TOWN WALLS are over 700 years old, having witnessed centuries of history and generations of locals come and go. They are the second longest walls in Ireland after those of Derry.

Click on the video below to watch: Youghal town walls – A Laser Scan Survey of a Medieval Town Wall in Youghal, Co. Cork.

to      news@youghalonline.com
date     Sat, Aug 13, 2011 at 8:50 AM
subject    Video from my last stay in Youghal in June I made a video.

Maybe you can use it for your site.

Kind regards,

Wim Stam
Arnhem
Holland

Click on the video below to watch Dutch Wim Stam’s video view of Youghal

Youghal (English pronunciation: /?j??l/; Irish: Eochaill, meaning “yew woods”) is a town in County Cork, Ireland. Sitting on the estuary of the River Blackwater, in the past it was militarily and economically important. Being built on the edge of a steep riverbank, the town has a distinctive long and narrow layout. At the 2002 census the population was 6,597, but the population of its catchment area is about 10,000.

Lying on the coastline of East Cork, the bustling and picturesque town of Youghal is deemed one of the most popular tourist destinations in Ireland. The historic walled seaport town of Youghal has many historic buildings and monuments within its ancient town walls, and has been designated as an Irish Heritage Port by the Irish Tourist Board. Formerly a strong manufacturing town, Youghal continues to experience sustained economic decline and employment in the town itself has seen a marked decrease in 2008. Many of the town’s population commute to work in the Cork or Waterford region.

Name

The name Youghal (pronounced yawl) comes from the Irish Eochaill meaning “yew woods”, which were once plentiful in the area. Older anglicisations of this name include Youghall, Yoghel and Yochil.

Youghal town walls – A Laser Scan Survey of a Medieval Town Wall in Youghal, Co. Cork.

YOUGHAL’S TOWN WALLS are over 700 years old, having witnessed centuries of history and generations of locals come and go. They are the second longest walls in Ireland after those of Derry.

Click on the video below.

MARKETING, PROMOTION AND COHESION AMONGST PRIME ISSUES AT YOUGHAL CONCERNED CITIZENS MEETING. – By Christy Parker

Dozens of tour buses arriving in Youghal per week on the Rosslare to Cork/Killarney route make reference to Moby Dick as the only point of interest in Youghal, the most recent meeting of the Youghal Concerned Citizens group was told. Mr. Norman MacDonald, who is conducting research on the issue, also revealed that tens of tour operators on the same route bypass the town entirely throughout the summer.

Other issues to be aired at the meeting include a commitment to enter Youghal in a TG4 event for a €40,000 marketing award and a determination to bring cohesion to promotional events amongst the town’s diverse organisations.

The meeting, at the Red Store on Tuesday April 19th attracted a 20 plus attendance. With organisation and procedure becoming more fine-tuned by the meeting, the gathering processed the pre-set agenda with increased efficiency and purpose. Apologies were conveyed on behalf of PRO Noreen Hurley who was unable to attend due to minor personal circumstances.

The order of business ran as follows:

Opening address by Chairman Jimmy Flanagan:

Mr. Flanagan asked committee member Micheal De Buitleir for an update on a proposed parking a questionnaire to be conducted through Pobalscoil na Trionoide transition year. Mr De Buitleir said the school’s preference was to undertake the project in September. The Comhaltas Craobh Eochail chairman also informed that the group had missed the most recent “window opportunity” to contribute to the County Development Plan but that they would be consulted when the next seeking public submissions process arose. Planning and signage issues would feature on such agenda, he added.

Election of Treasurer:

Mr Flanagan said that the group would incur general running costs and responsibility for handling such finances was needed. It was agreed that donations (as against subscriptions) would be sought alongside a €2 contribution per member per meeting. The post of treasurer will be filled temporarily by group secretary Adrian Hyde. It was noted that one well-wisher had contributed €100 at the previous meeting.

Formation of a working group to examine issues relating to seaside development in Youghal and to formulate proposals for same:

Mr Flanagan successfully sought volunteers to investigate what needs attention in this area, whether it involve beach cleaning or more advanced projects. A Mr. Eoin Budds, from the floor, advocated efforts to develop the beach and river facilities as per other resorts, suggesting kayaking and festival-orientated beach activities as examples by which to maximise and market the natural beach resort. He undertook to compile a report for the next meeting.

Formation of a working group to formulate proposals for a central message or hook upon which the town can market itself:

The chairman recalled marketing manager Tim Magee’s impressive address at the previous meeting in which he stressed that while industry was welcome, Youghal’s focus should be on sustainable development of its natural amenities and local enterprises. It was conveyed from the attendance that Mr. Magee, despite his frequent business sojourns abroad, remains very willing to contribute to the group in whatever capacity is viable for him to do so.

Marketing catastrophe

Norman MacDonald diverted the discussion a little when he revealed that up to 35 bus tour companies operate on the Rosslare to Cork/Killarney throughout the summer and beyond. In an example of marketing deficiency, one of these, Seaways, conducts 47 seven-day and 25 ten-day tours through Youghal, amounting to one per week of each through Youghal. However the only point of interest they referred to in Youghal was Moby Dick, explained Mr. MacDonald.  He further revealed that many of the tour companies bypass the town entirely. He is now compiling details of as many companies as possible to quantify the dearth and potential of marketing within this sector.

Notwithstanding the good service it provided, through the pub of the same name, Mr. MacDonald felt strongly that Youghal had a lot more to offer besides the legacy of a dead whale to entice bus passengers to alight and to amble. There were many “treasures,” such as St. Mary’s Church, with walls dating from 600 AD, the River Blackwater and even murderous, marauding Cromwell if need be! He wondered of Comhaltas performers could greet arrivals, or if they might be induced to linger by older volunteers greeting them on arrival with pamphlets depicting Youghal’s many attractions.

The meeting also heard that only one of several cafés in the area showed interest in opening earlier in the morning to tempt such travellers. “We’re not being rude but we’re not being welcoming either,” surmised Mr MacDonald ruefully, adding. “You could show someone Youghal for a whole day and they’d still not see half of it!”

Mr. MacDonald then revealed that plans to acquire a unique model railway attraction from Dublin had been derailed as the owners had apparently opted to send it to a museum in Dun Laoghaire instead. A watchful eye would be maintained lest it became available nonetheless.

TG4

Micheal de Buitleir brought news that TG4 are launching a competitive ‘G-day’ event in which non-Gaeltacht towns will compete against each other to stage the best 24 hour Irish language and heritage festival. The contest carries a first prize of €40,000 towards marketing their area. “Even without winning, the competition gets you a lot of valuable television coverage,” he argued. It was agreed that Youghal would participate.

Cohesion, co-operation, clearing and Gavin

Mr De Buitleir proceeded that Youghal clubs and organisation had traditionally marketed themselves individually, whereas a joint and cohesive strategy would likely serve the town better. He also referred to ‘Painting Your Grey Area,’ a new promotion being run by Dulux in which the company will provide free paint for use on derelict public buildings.

Committee member Lil Danne remarked that several areas surrounding the beach and quays needed sprucing up and cleaning. She suggested that pointers might be garnered from viewing a Dirty Old Towns, a current television series in which gardener Diarmuid Gavin was applying his craft to improving Charleville. “He asked that they fundraise €30,000 towards the project and the entire town rallied behind it,” she observed.

Mr, De Buitleir reported that Comhalts Ceoltori Eireann had cleaned from the water tower to Magner’s Hill a week previous and said the town council were receptive to such voluntary ‘public realm’ initiatives. He urged that other groups consider similar projects. There subsequently emerged some discussion on the prevalence of unsightly sandbags in the town and it was agreed to remove them in a week’s time if they remained visible.

An unexpected revelation arose from Mr Flanagan when he produced a copy of the previous Saturday’s Irish Daily Mirror. It carried a feature on Youghal but, in stark contrast to the earlier Irish Times equivalent, it depicted a town laden with attractions and natural beauty. “It’s absolutely fantastic,” remarked the chairman.

Formation of a working to investigate the feasibility of implementing a strategy across all groups and organisations in regard to co-ordinating activities and events:

It was agreed that individual organisations were doing well in their efforts to promote the town from individual perspectives but that too often efforts clashed with those of other organisations, to the detriment of all parties and of the town.  It was recognised that the absence of representatives from local organisations at Youghal Concerned Citizens meetings did not facilitate improvement in this sphere. The meeting agreed to contact as many organisations and clubs as possible with a view to acquiring their views on the issue. A suggestion was made also that efforts be made to publish a calendar of events in the local media some weeks in advance to help avoid a clash between meetings, events, etc.

Youghal Lace

A spokeswoman representative Youghal Lace revealed that the group is planning to re-convene in the coming weeks. She said much plans for the future included tutoring interested parties in the art of producing the unique lacework. As regards exhibiting past creations, she was not in a position as yet to declare or elaborate on that.

As the meeting neared conclusion, there was consensus to ask the town council in writing for an update on the proposed restoration project for the Clock Gate, which was predicted to commence this month.

The final item concerned the old railway station. Two people in attendance expressed a willingness voluntarily to clean up the site. They were told that the town council has contacted the site owners, Iarnrod Eireann and were awaiting a response on a request to render it less unsavoury looking. Meanwhile the volunteers were advised to contact the company with any proposals.

Reports and progress on all the above issues will be processed at the next meeting of the Youghal Concerned Citizens’ss next meeting on Tuesday May 10th at 7 pm in the Red Store.

Youghal Medieval Festival 2010 movie clip by local photographer Barry Lawlor. Press the play button to enjoy this short movie clip of the festival

Please contact the photographer for high resolution prints at this ADDRESS:

3 Kenneally’s Tce,
Lr. Cork Hill,
Youghal,
Co. Cork

tel:     +353 086 8595300
email:     info@lawlorimaging.com

www.lawlorimaging.com