Editing County Cork (section)

==History==
{{main|History of Cork}}
{{Historical populations
|state=collapsed
|1600|21889
|1610|34250
|1653|54250
|1659|63031
|1821|730444
|1831|810732
|1841|854118
|1851|649308
|1861|544818
|1871|517076
|1881|495607
|1891|438432
|1901|404611
|1911|392104
|1926|365747
|1936|355957
|1946|343668
|1951|341284
|1956|336663
|1961|330443
|1966|339703
|1971|352883
|1979|396118
|1981|402465
|1986|412735
|1991|410369
|1996|420510
|2002|447829
|2006|481295
|2011|519032
|2016|542868
|2022|584156
||footnote=<ref>[http://www.cso.ie/census for post 1821 figures 1653 and 1659 figures from Civil Survey Census of those years Paper of Mr Hardinge to Royal Irish Academy March 14, 1865] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100920090814/http://cso.ie/census |date=20 September 2010 }} For a discussion on the accuracy of pre-famine census returns see [[J. J. Lee (historian)|J. J. Lee]] "On the accuracy of the pre-famine Irish censuses" in Irish Population Economy and Society edited by JM Goldstrom and LA Clarkson (1981) p54 in and also New Developments in Irish Population History 1700–1850 by Joel Mokyr and [[Cormac Ó Gráda]] in The Economic History Review New Series Vol. 37 No. 4 (November 1984) pp. 473–488.</ref>
}}

The county is colloquially referred to as "The Rebel County", although uniquely Cork does not have an official motto. This name has 15th-century origins, but from the 20th century, the name has been more commonly attributed to the prominent role Cork played in the [[Irish War of Independence]] (1919–1921) when it was the scene of considerable fighting. In addition, it was an anti-Treaty stronghold during the [[Irish Civil War]] (1922–23). Much of what is now county Cork was once part of the [[Kingdom of Desmond|Kingdom of ''Deas Mumhan'']] (South [[Munster]]), anglicised as the [[Kingdom of Desmond|"Desmond"]], ruled by the [[MacCarthy dynasty|MacCarthy Mór dynasty]]. After the [[Norman Ireland|Norman invasion]] in the 12th century, the McCarthy clan were pushed westward into what is now West Cork and [[County Kerry]]. [[Dunlough Castle]], standing just north of [[Mizen Head]], is one of the oldest castles in Ireland (AD 1207). The north and east of Cork were taken by the [[Hiberno-Norman]] [[FitzGerald dynasty]], who became the [[Earls of Desmond]]. Cork City was given an English Royal Charter in [[1318 in Ireland|1318]] and for many centuries was an outpost for [[Old English (Ireland)|Old English]] culture. The Fitzgerald Desmond dynasty was destroyed in the [[Desmond Rebellions]] of 1569–1573 and 1579–1583. Much of county Cork was devastated in the fighting, particularly in the [[Second Desmond Rebellion]]. In the aftermath, much of Cork was colonised by English settlers in the [[Plantation of Munster]]. {{citation needed|date=June 2012}}

[[File:Perkin Warbeck.jpg|thumb|left|140px|15th-century drawing of Perkin Warbeck]]
In [[1491 in Ireland|1491]] Cork played a part in the English [[Wars of the Roses]] when [[Perkin Warbeck]], a pretender to the English throne spread the story that he was really [[Richard of Shrewsbury, Duke of York|Richard of Shrewsbury]] (one of the [[Princes in the Tower]]), landed in the city and tried to recruit support for a plot to overthrow King [[Henry VII of England]]. The Cork people supported Warbeck because he was Flemish and not English; Cork was the only county in Ireland to join the fight. The mayor of Cork and several important citizens went with Warbeck to England, but when the rebellion collapsed they were all captured and executed. Cork's nickname of the 'rebel county' (and Cork city's of the 'rebel city') originates in these events.<ref>{{cite web |title=If not for collins, why is it called the rebel county? |url=https://www.independent.ie/lifestyle/if-not-for-collins-why-is-it-called-the-rebel-county-29469436.html |access-date=28 June 2020 |work=[[Irish Independent]] |date=4 August 2013 |archive-date=5 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180705003707/https://www.independent.ie/lifestyle/if-not-for-collins-why-is-it-called-the-rebel-county-29469436.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=O'Shea |first=Joe |date=21 May 2019 |title=Why is Cork called the Rebel County? |url=https://www.corkbeo.ie/news/history/real-reason-cork-called-rebel-16323863 |access-date=28 June 2020 |website=Cork Beo |archive-date=28 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200628112045/https://www.corkbeo.ie/news/history/real-reason-cork-called-rebel-16323863 |url-status=live}}</ref>

In 1601 the decisive [[Siege of Kinsale|Battle of Kinsale]] took place in County Cork, which was to lead to English domination of Ireland for centuries. [[Kinsale]] had been the scene of the [[4th Spanish Armada]] to help Irish rebels in the [[Nine Years' War (Ireland)|Nine Years' War]] (1594–1603). When this force was defeated, the rebel hopes for victory in the war were all but ended. County Cork was officially created by a division of the older [[Kingdom of Desmond|County Desmond]] in 1606.

In the early 17th century, the [[townland]] of Leamcon (near [[Schull]]<ref name=Senior>{{cite book |last=Senior |first=Clive M. |date=1976 |title=A Nation of Pirates |url=https://archive.org/details/a-nation-of-pirates-clive-senior |location=[[Newton Abbot]] |publisher=[[David & Charles]] |isbn=0-7153-7264-5}}</ref>{{rp|41, 68}}) was a [[pirate haven|pirate stronghold]], and [[pirate]]s traded easily in [[Baltimore, County Cork|Baltimore]] and [[Whiddy Island]].<ref name=Senior/>{{rp|54–57}}

[[File:Michael Collins.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Michael Collins (Irish leader)|Michael Collins]], photographed in 1919]]
In the 19th century, Cork was a centre for the [[Irish Republican Brotherhood|Fenians]] and for the constitutional [[Irish nationalism|nationalism]] of the [[Irish Parliamentary Party]], from 1910 that of the [[All-for-Ireland League|All-for-Ireland Party]]. The county was a hotbed of guerrilla activity during the [[Irish War of Independence]] (1919–1921). Three Cork Brigades of the [[Irish Republican Army (1917–22)|Irish Republican Army]] operated in the county and another in the city. Prominent actions included the [[Kilmichael Ambush]] in November 1920 and the [[Crossbarry Ambush]] in March 1921. The activity of IRA [[flying column]]s, such as the one under [[Tom Barry (soldier)|Tom Barry]] in west Cork, was popularised in the [[Ken Loach]] film ''[[The Wind That Shakes the Barley (film)|The Wind That Shakes The Barley]]''. On 11 December 1920, [[The Burning of Cork|Cork City centre was gutted by fires]] started by the [[Black and Tans]] in reprisal for IRA attacks. Over 300 buildings were destroyed; many other towns and villages around the county, including [[Fermoy]], suffered a similar fate.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.rebelcork.com/ |title=Rebelcork.com |publisher=Rebelcork.com |access-date=23 May 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120402070746/http://www.rebelcork.com/ |archive-date=2 April 2012 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

During the [[Irish Civil War]] (1922–23), most of the IRA units in Cork sided against the [[Anglo-Irish Treaty]]. From July to August 1922 they held the city and county as part of the so-called [[Munster Republic]]. However, Cork was taken by troops of the [[Irish Free State]] in August 1922 in the [[Irish Free State offensive]], which included both overland and seaborne attacks. For the remainder of the war, the county saw sporadic guerrilla fighting until the Anti-Treaty side called a ceasefire and dumped their arms in May 1923. [[Michael Collins (Irish leader)|Michael Collins]], a key figure in the War of Independence, was born near [[Clonakilty]] and assassinated during the civil war in [[Béal na Bláth]], both in west Cork.