List of Cork people
Cork is the second largest city of Ireland and largest county in Ireland and has produced many noted artists, entertainers, politicians and business people.
Historical and/or political figures
- John Anderson – businessman[1]
- Sir John Arnott – businessman, newspaper owner
- Anthony Barry – politician, photographer
- James Barry - surgeon, possibly born in Cork[2]
- Katty Barry – restaurateur[3]
- Mick Barry – Teachta Dála and Socialist politician.[4]
- 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[5]
- 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[6]
- Thomas Croke – Archbishop of Cashel
- Donal Creed (1924 – 2017): Fine Gael politician; MEP, Teachta Dála, Minister of State under Garret FitzGerald[7]
- Michael Creed (b. 1963): Former Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine[8]
- 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
- Arthur Leahy - LGBT activist[9]
- 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[10]
- 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[11]
- 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
- Canon Patrick Augustine Sheehan – Catholic priest, author, political activist
- 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
- Vincent Barry - chemist
- Amy Warren - marine biologist and conchologist
- Robert Warren - ornithologist
Military
- 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.[12]
- Michael Collins – revolutionary leader, and Chairman of Provisional Government
- John Dunlay – recipient of the Victoria Cross
- William English – recipient of the Victoria Cross
- Michael Fitzgerald – member of the Irish Republican Army who died on hunger strike
- 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
- Joe Murphy – Irish republican who died on hunger strike
- 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
- John Allen – former Irish hurler and Gaelic footballer
- Hugh T. Baker – cricketer
- Mick Barry – road bowler
- James Brophy – cricketer
- Alan Browne – footballer
- 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
- Eddie Dunbar – cyclist
- John Egan – association footballer
- Joe English (sailor), round the world sailor and international yachtsman.[13]
- 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[14]
- 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
- 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[15]
- Joe Lynch – actor
- Mark Mahon – film director
- Pixie McKenna – TV personality, doctor
- Siobhán McSweeney – actor
- Edward Mulhare – TV actor
- Cillian Murphy – actor
- Graham Norton – TV personality
- Bill O'Herlihy – TV personality
- Eoin Reardon – TikToker and YouTuber[16]
- Jonathan Rhys-Meyers – actor
- Tony Scannell – actor
- Fiona Shaw, CBE – actor
- Cailín Ní Toibín – beauty pageant titleholder[17]
- Niall Tóibín – comic actor
- Nora Twomey – animator
- Eileen Walsh – actor
Literature
- Sara Baume – writer[18]
- Máire Bradshaw – poet and publisher
- Daniel Corkery – writer
- Patrick Galvin – poet, singer and playwright
- Trevor Joyce – poet
- Helmut Kollars – writer and illustrator
- Danielle McLaughlin – writer[19]
- Doireann Ní Ghríofa – poet and writer[20]
- 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
- Eimear Ryan – writer[21]
- William Trevor – writer
- William Wall – author
Music and arts
- 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[22]
- Cian Ducrot – singer/songwriter
- 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[23]
- 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
- Allie Sherlock - singer/songwriter
- Brian Smyth – painter[24]
- John Spillane – singer/songwriter
- Henry Jones Thaddeus – painter
- Bambie Thug – singer/songwriter[25]
- Finbar Wright – singer/songwriter
Bands
- Five Go Down to the Sea?[22]
- The Frank and Walters[26]
- Microdisney[27]
- Stump[28]
- The Sultans of Ping FC[26]
References
- ^ "The Cork Directory for the year 1787".
- ^ Hourican, Bridget; Clarke, Frances (October 2009). "Barry, James". Dictionary of Irish Biography. Royal Irish Academy. doi:10.3318/dib.000442.v1.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Mick Barry". Oireachtas Members Database. Retrieved 11 July 2021.
- ^ Hopkinson, M. A. (October 2009). "Barry, Thomas Bernadine ('Tom')". Dictionary of Irish Biography. Royal Irish Academy. doi:10.3318/dib.000472.v1. Retrieved 23 January 2026.
- ^ "Simon Coveney". Oireachtas Members Database. Retrieved 7 March 2009.
- ^ O'Dea, Trish (17 June 2004). "Farewell to a straight talker". The Corkman. Retrieved 11 July 2021.
- ^ "Michael Creed". oireachtas.ie. Retrieved 11 July 2021.
- ^ "Arthur Leahy he/him · Cork Queeros · Cork LGBT Archive". corklgbtarchive.com. Retrieved 3 March 2026.
- ^ McGreevy, Ronan (26 January 2015). "Micheál Martin's family history: from old IRA to the British army". The Irish Times. Retrieved 11 July 2021.
- ^ "Batt O'Keeffe". oireachtas.ie.
- ^ "Clerk Josephine Carr". Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Retrieved 27 December 2024.
- ^ "Sailor Joe English (58) passes away". Irish Times. 4 November 2014.
- ^ Reichler, Joseph L., ed. (1979) [1969]. The Baseball Encyclopedia (4th ed.). New York: Macmillan Publishing. ISBN 0-02-578970-8.
- ^ McDonell, Cira (18 November 2020). "The Two Norries: 'When those guards showed me compassion, it struck a chord with me'". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 27 June 2021.
- ^ "Cork woodwork ace Eoin hooks three million fans on TikTok". echolive.ie. 12 April 2024. Retrieved 28 October 2025.
- ^ Curran, Sarah (31 August 2017). "Miss Cork Cailin Aine Ni Toibin Is Miss Universe Ireland 2017". rsvpmagazine.ie. Archived from the original on 1 September 2017.
- ^ "Sara Baume". West Cork Music. Retrieved 24 September 2025.
- ^ Brennan, Marjorie (16 February 2021). "Danielle McLaughlin: 'I was turning 50 and I'd been ten years out of legal practice'". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 24 September 2025.
- ^ Brennan, Marjorie (5 April 2021). "Doireann Ní Ghríofa: From Ghost in the Throat to Star the Dark". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 24 September 2025.
- ^ O’Connell, Jennifer. "Eimear Ryan: 'I thought that there was some trick to writing a novel'". The Irish Times. Retrieved 24 September 2025.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "A tribute to late Cork musician Mick Lynch". irishexaminer.com. 21 December 2015. Retrieved 11 July 2021.
- ^ "Irish Artists: 20th Century". Encyclopedia of Irish and World Art. Retrieved 27 June 2021.
- ^ "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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Larkin, Colin, ed. (1997). The Virgin Encyclopedia of Popular Music (Concise ed.). Virgin Books. p. 840/1. ISBN 1-85227-745-9.
- ^ "A tribute to late Cork musician Mick Lynch". irishexaminer.com. 21 December 2015. Retrieved 27 June 2021.