Coachford

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Coachford (Irish: Áth an Chóiste) is a village west of Cork City, in County Cork, Province of Munster, Republic of Ireland. It is located on the north side of the River Lee. Coachford got its name from Áth an Chóiste (Ford of the Coaches) as there used to be a narrow ford across the stream (which is now part of the River Lee). This was flooded to make way for hydroelectric power and a lot of dwelling houses and farmland are now under the water.

Today Coachford is built around a crossroads, Mallow is 20 miles north of the village, Macroom is 8 miles to the west, Cork city is 16 miles to the east and Bandon is 20 miles to the south. The village has three foodstores, a Post Office, a Doctor's Surgery, a Pharmacy, a Veterinary Surgery, two hardware stores, two hairdressers, a fast food place, a child care centre, a playschool, a primary school, a secondary school and four Public Houses (Bars).

1 Places of interest
2 Sport
3 Education
4 Transport
5 See also
6 References
7 External links

[edit] Places of interest

Close to St. Olann's Well at Coolineagh, near Coachford, are the petrosomatoglyph footprints of St. Olann on a boulder. Near Rooves Bridge is a monument to Captain Kennefick, who was killed during the Irish Civil War by the Free State Army. He was tied to the back of a lorry near Peake and dragged four miles to the bridge where he was shot and dumped in a ditch. The monument was destroyed some years ago but has now been reestablished. Close to the schools is a medieval church with a cemetery around it holding centuries old graves.

[edit] Sport

The village is steeped in sport and is the home of Aghabullogue GAA, Coachford Soccer club and two local horse and dog hunts. Other sports such as Badminton, Shooting, Judo and Karate are also catered for. There are many fishing competitions held on the river and the National Rowing Centre is located at Farran Woods which is 4 miles from Coachford.

[edit] Education

The village and its environs are served by a primary (Coachford National School) and post primary school (Coachford College). The primary school is a modern buildinG. The Coachford College has had excellent results. The College has a catchment area spreading far towards Macroom and Ballincollig, towards Bandon and Kanturk, taking a large rural area near Cork City. There are roughly 600 students and caters for all abilities and has a wide and varied range of subjects and facilities. An extension was completed in 2002 and provides the college with a full sized sports hall. In 2007 leaving Cert class, 3 gold medals were won for highest in Ireland and numerous scholarships, demonstrating the massive ability and potential that can be achieved at Coachford College.