Macroom

Macroom (Irish: Maigh Chromtha, meaning "crooked plain") is an Irish market town in located in a valley on the River Sullane, a tributary of the River Lee. It is situated about half way between Cork and Killarney, it one of the key gateways to the tourist region of West Cork. The town recorded a population on 3,553 in the 2006 national census. The name in Irish Gaelic may mean 'meeting place of followers of the god Crom' or 'crooked plain', the latter derived from a large oak tree at one time growing in the town-square which was first built in the 1750s. Traditionally, it is said that Macroom is "the town that never reared a fool."

The area was once a meeting place for the Druids of Munster. Its is first mentioned in records from the 6th century. The town was the site of a major battle involving Brian Boru in the 10th century, and in the following centuries suffered a series of invasions by warring families, including the Murcheatach Uí Briain and Richard de Cogan clans. In the 17th century the MacCarthy family took control of the area and led the town towards prosperity through such activities as milling, markets and fairs. During the Williamite wars of the 1690s control of the town castle waxed and wained between the MacCarthys and a number of English families.

In 1650, Macroom became a centre point of conflict in the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland. During the Irish War of Independence in the early the 20th century, the town was a centre of IRA activity. During the late 19th century, a number of Anglo-Irish families were prominent in the town, however their estate-houses were burned out during the 1920s troubles, and after they fled their land was redistributed to the former tenants.