List of Cork people

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Cork is the second largest city of Ireland and largest county in Ireland and has produced many noted artists, entertainers, politicians and business people.

This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by adding missing items with reliable sources.

## Historical and/or political figures

[edit]

* John Anderson – businessman[1]
* Sir John Arnott – businessman, newspaper owner
* Anthony Barry – politician, photographer
* Katty Barry – restaurateur[2]
* Mick Barry – Teachta Dála and Socialist politician.[3]
* Peter Barry – Tánaiste
* Tadhg Barry – journalist, trade unionist and nationalist
* Tom Barry – guerilla leader during war of independence, author of the book Guerilla Days in Ireland
* Olive Beamish – suffragette activist
* Joseph Brennan – civil servant
* Sir George Callaghan – Admiral of the Fleet
* Patrick Cleburne – Major General in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War
* Hugh Coveney – government minister
* Simon Coveney – Tánaiste[4]
* Thomas Croke – Archbishop of Cashel
* Donal Creed (1924 – 2017): Fine Gael politician; MEP, Teachta Dála, Minister of State under Garret FitzGerald[5]
* Michael Creed (b. 1963): Former Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine[6]
* Eileen Desmond – government minister, Senator, MEP
* Mary Elmes – aid worker honoured as 'Righteous Among the Nations' for saving 200 Jewish children during WWII
* Gerald Goldberg – first Jewish lord mayor
* T. C. Hammond – Church of Ireland clergyman
* William Baylor Hartland – plant breeder, seedsman
* John Pope Hennessy – author, governor of Hong Kong and Mauritius
* Ellen Hutchins – botanist
* Mary Harris "Mother" Jones – labour organiser, born near Cork
* Jim Lane – Irish Republican Socialist
* Cornelius Lucey – Bishop of Cork and Ross
* Jack Lynch – Taoiseach and hurler
* Thomas Mac Curtain – Lord Mayor of Cork
* Terence MacSwiney – Lord Mayor and hunger striker
* Daniel Mannix – Roman Catholic Archbishop of Melbourne
* Micheál Martin – Taoiseach[7]
* Sake Dean Mahomed (1759–1851) – Bengali traveller, surgeon, entrepreneur, and one of the most notable early non-European immigrants to the Western World
* Stephen Moylan – Quartermaster General of the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War
* Michael Murphy – first Irish president of the European Court of Auditors
* Nano Nagle – educator who founded the Presentation Sisters
* William O'Brien – nationalist politician and MP; founder of All-for-Ireland League
* Fergus O'Connor – Irish nationalist and publisher
* Dáithí Ó Conaill – Irish republican
* Jeremiah O'Donovan Rossa – nationalist
* Batt O'Keeffe – government minister[8]
* Michael O'Riordan – socialist politician
* John Cyril Porte – pioneer aviator
* John Roach – major shipbuilder in postbellum United States
* Adi Roche – humanitarian campaigner
* Brendan Ryan – Senator and lecturer at CIT
* William Henry John Seffern – printer, newspaper editor, journalist and historian
* D. D. Sheehan – nationalist politician and first Labour MP
* Kathy Sinnott – MEP
* Robert Spence – Roman Catholic Archbishop of Adelaide
* William Thompson – political and philosophical writer
* Sir Robert Torrens – Prime Minister South Australia; pioneer of Land Registration system
* Thady Quill – historical rake
* The Wallace sisters – IRA Intelligence officers

## Scientists

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* Vincent Barry \- chemist
* Amy Warren \- marine biologist and conchologist
* Robert Warren \- ornithologist

## Military

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* James Adams – recipient of the Victoria Cross
* Francisco Burdett O'Connor – officer in the Irish Legion of Simón Bolívar's army
* Josephine Carr – Women's Royal Naval Service woman; first Wren killed in action.[9]
* Michael Collins – revolutionary leader, and Chairman of Provisional Government
* John Dunlay – recipient of the Victoria Cross
* William English – recipient of the Victoria Cross
* Richard Fitzgerald – recipient of the Victoria Cross
* Thomas Kent – Irish nationalist
* Thomas Lane – recipient of the Victoria Cross
* Samuel Lawrence – recipient of the Victoria Cross
* David Lord – recipient of the Victoria Cross
* Ambrose Madden – recipient of the Victoria Cross
* Mick Mannock – recipient of the Victoria Cross
* James Murray – recipient of the Victoria Cross
* Timothy O'Hea – recipient of the Victoria Cross
* Daniel Florence O'Leary – Irish-born Venezuelan brigadier general of Simón Bolívar's army
* Michael O'Leary – recipient of the Victoria Cross
* Gerald O'Sullivan – recipient of the Victoria Cross
* John Sullivan – recipient of the Victoria Cross
* James Travers – recipient of the Victoria Cross
* Joseph Ward – recipient of the Victoria Cross

## Sports

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* John Allen – former Irish hurler and Gaelic footballer
* Hugh T. Baker – cricketer
* Mick Barry – road bowler
* James Brophy – cricketer
* Noel Cantwell – international footballer
* Graham Canty – footballer and international rules captain
* Brian Carney – rugby league, and rugby union footballer of the 1990s and 2000s
* Mark Carroll – long-distance athlete
* Joe Cleary – major league baseball player
* Mark Cohen – cricketer
* Megan Connolly – footballer
* Joe Deane – hurler
* Damien Delaney – international footballer
* Patrick Dineen – cricketer
* Jack Doyle – boxer
* John Egan – association footballer
* Joe English (sailor), round the world sailor and international yachtsman.[10]
* Percy Exham – cricketer
* James Foley – cricketer
* William Harman – cricketer
* Ryan Hartslief – footballer and rugby player
* Colin Healy – international footballer
* Marian Heffernan – Olympian
* Robert Heffernan – Olympic bronze medalist
* Tom Horan – cricketer (Australia)
* Denis Irwin – international footballer
* Roy Keane – international footballer
* Caoimhín Kelleher – footballer
* Alan Lewis – cricketer, rugby union referee
* Jack McAuliffe – boxer
* Teddy McCarthy – GAA sportsman, played on both Cork hurling and football double winning teams
* Darren McNamara – professional drift driver
* Sam Maguire – GAA sportsman
* David Meyler – international footballer
* Liam Miller – international footballer
* Tony Mullane – major league baseball player[11]
* Saoirse Noonan – international footballer
* Donncha O'Callaghan – rugby union player
* Dr. Pat O'Callaghan – twice Olympic gold medalist
* Frank O'Farrell – international footballer and manager
* Ronan O'Gara – rugby union player
* Seán Óg Ó hAilpín – hurler
* Ciarán Ó Lionáird – international middle-distance athlete
* John O'Shea – darts player
* Derval O'Rourke – world indoor champion hurdler and European outdoor silver medalist 2006
* Bríd Stack \- ladies Gaelic and Australian rules footballer
* Denise O'Sullivan – international footballer
* Marcus O'Sullivan – middle-distance athlete
* Sonia O'Sullivan – Olympic silver medalist, world champion athlete and cross country runner
* Christy Ring – hurler
* Peter Stringer – rugby union player

## Film, entertainment and media

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* Jack Gleeson – actor
* Sarah Greene – actor
* Eddie Hobbs – TV personality
* George Hook – TV/radio personality
* Fergal Keane, OBE – BBC journalist
* Danny La Rue, OBE – female impersonator
* James Leonard and Timmy Long of The Two Norries podcast[12]
* Joe Lynch – actor
* Mark Mahon – film director
* Pixie McKenna – TV personality, doctor
* Edward Mulhare – TV actor
* Cillian Murphy – actor
* Graham Norton – TV personality
* Bill O'Herlihy – TV personality
* Eoin Reardon – TikToker and Youtuber
* Jonathan Rhys-Meyers – actor
* Tony Scannell – actor
* Fiona Shaw, CBE – actor
* Cailín Ní Toibín – beauty pageant titleholder
* Niall Tóibín – comic actor
* Eileen Walsh – actor
* Nora Twomey – animator

## Literature

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* Máire Bradshaw – poet and publisher
* Daniel Corkery – writer
* Patrick Galvin – poet, singer and playwright
* Trevor Joyce – poet
* Helmut Kollars – writer and illustrator
* Frank O'Connor – author
* Seán Ó Faoláin – writer
* Joseph O'Neill – writer
* Tim O'Reilly – author, publisher, and founder of O'Reilly Media
* Seán Ó Ríordáin – poet
* P. A. Ó Síocháin – journalist, author, lawyer and Irish language activist
* James O'Sullivan – writer and academic
* Canon Patrick Augustine Sheehan – Catholic priest, author, political activist
* William Trevor – writer
* William Wall – author

## Music and arts

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* Abraham Abell – antiquarian
* James Barry – neoclassical painter
* Kim Carroll – composer and guitarist
* Cathal Coughlan – singer/songwriter
* Dorothy Cross – artist
* Robert Day – antiquarian, photographer
* Ricky Dineen – musician[13]
* Gavin Dunne (better known as Miracle of Sound) – musician
* Chloe Early – artist
* Mick Flannery – singer-songwriter
* Aloys Fleischmann – composer, professor of music at UCC
* Rory Gallagher – singer/songwriter and guitarist
* Patrick Hennessy – painter
* John Hogan – sculptor
* Pina Kollars – singer/songwriter
* Sir Hugh Lane – patron of arts
* Charles Lynch – classical pianist
* Mick Lynch – singer[14]
* Daniel Maclise – artist
* Jimmy McCarthy – singer/songwriter
* Lyra McNamara – singer/songwriter
* Paul McSwiney – composer and dramatist
* Sean O'Hagan – musician
* Una Palliser – violinist, violist, singer
* Brian Smyth – painter[15]
* John Spillane – singer/songwriter
* Henry Jones Thaddeus – painter
* Bambie Thug – singer/songwriter[16]
* Finbar Wright – singer/songwriter
* Cian Ducrot – singer/songwriter
* Allie Sherlock \- singer/songwriter

### Bands

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* Five Go Down to the Sea?[13]
* The Frank and Walters[17]
* Microdisney[18]
* Stump[19]
* The Sultans of Ping FC[17]

## References

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1. ^ "The Cork Directory for the year 1787".
2. ^ McCarthy, Jude; Hourican, Bridget (2009). "Barry, Katty". In McGuire, James; Quinn, James (eds.). Dictionary of Irish Biography. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. doi:10.3318/dib.000450.v1.
3. ^ "Mick Barry". Oireachtas Members Database. Retrieved 11 July 2021.
4. ^ "Simon Coveney". Oireachtas Members Database. Retrieved 7 March 2009.
5. ^ O’Dea, Trish. "Farewell to a straight talker". The Independent, 17 June 2004. Retrieved 11 July 2021
6. ^ "Michael Creed". Dáil Éireann. Retrieved 11 July 2021
7. ^ McGreevy, Ronan (26 January 2015). "Micheál Martin's family history: from old IRA to the British army". The Irish Times. Retrieved 11 July 2021.
8. ^ "Batt O'Keeff"
9. ^ "Clerk Josephine Carr". Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Retrieved 27 December 2024.
10. ^ "Sailor Joe English (58) passes away". Irish Times. 4 November 2014.
11. ^ Reichler, Joseph L., ed. (1979) [1969]. The Baseball Encyclopedia (4th ed.). New York: Macmillan Publishing. ISBN 0-02-578970-8.
12. ^ McDonell, Cira. "The Two Norries: 'When those guards showed me compassion, it struck a chord with me'". Irish Examiner, 18 November 2020. Retrieved 27 June 2021
13. ^ a b O'Driscoll, Des (13 June 2014). "Recalling the great nights of Cork's Arcadia". Irish Examiner. Archived from the original on 16 May 2020. Retrieved 27 June 2021.
14. ^ "A tribute to late Cork musician Mick Lynch". irishexaminer.com. 21 December 2015. Retrieved 11 July 2021.
15. ^ "Irish Artists: 20th Century", Encyclopedia of Irish and World Art. Retrieved 27 June 2021
16. ^ "Bambie Thug becomes first Irish Eurovision finalist since 2018". redfm.ie. 8 May 2024. Archived from the original on 8 May 2024. Retrieved 8 May 2024.
17. ^ a b Power, Ed (29 October 2020). "The Frank and Walters: Top of the Pops, Paul McCartney and the 'Corkchester' hype". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 11 July 2021.
18. ^ Larkin, Colin, ed. (1997). The Virgin Encyclopedia of Popular Music (Concise ed.). Virgin Books. p. 840/1. ISBN 1-85227-745-9.
19. ^ "A tribute to late Cork musician Mick Lynch". irishexaminer.com. 21 December 2015. Retrieved 27 June 2021.