Midleton Tourist Office
The Community Tourist Office's work in conjunction with Fáilte Ireland to provide a visitor information service throughout the Republic of Ireland. The services include local and national information on attractions, activities and events.
The friendly staff look forward to your visit and hope that visitors enjoy their stay in this beautiful country.
Jameson Experience
The Jameson Experience, Midleton tour explains the history of Jameson Whiskey and the distillery that operated before it was produced there.
Tours include a film, and walking tour, in which guests are guided through the old distillery, where they can admire the old kilns, mills, maltings, water wheel, still house, distiller's cottage, cooperage and warehouses.
Small numbers of visitors can also volunteer to participate in a taste test, comparing Jameson Whiskey, Scotch whisky, and American whiskey, to become a "Qualified Irish Whiskey Taster.
Go Safari Children's Activity Centre
Go Safari, in Fota Retail Park, Carrigtwohill, is a family-run centre which has enjoyed providing fun and activity for Cork’s children since 2009.
Let the kids run wild on all Go Safari’s great indoor children's activity attractions including a 20 metre aerial zip-wire over the safari café (the only one in Ireland!), multi-lane vertical rock climbing wall challenge, safari-themed electric go-karts, scramble nets, high-level balance beams and even a Giant Spider's Web Maze!
While the kids keep themselves busy, parents & guardians can relax at the Safari Hut Café.
Sheep at the Market
This sculpture of bronze sheep around a concrete post represents the history of this location – the former Fair Green. Midleton obtained its licensed market in 1608 and the fair was licensed in 1609. Today the weekly Farmers’ Market takes place on this site every Saturday.
Inch Beach
Not easy to find, but worth the effort. Located on the coast just east of Trabolgan and Guileen. Approached by a long narrow road through a valley that ends in a small car park, this beach is a very safe venue for swimming and ideal for families with it large stretch of smooth sand.
It is a very popular spot for surfing, with the Inch Surf School operating out of the beach. Access: Direct, the car park is adjacent the beach.
Leahy's Open Farm
For a walk on the (semi)wild side, Leahy's Open Farm is a fantastic, friendly, fun-filled family day out. Located just outside the village of Dungourney, approximately a 15 minute drive from Midleton, Leahy's Open Farm allows children to get up close and personal with plenty of animals, with special petting and feeding times.
There's also adventure trails, climbing frames, a maze, Go Karts, digger rides, crazy golf, a museum, indoor play area, a chocolate making workshop and boat rides. And, once you're done with all that excitement, there's time to sit back and relax in the Leahy's Open Farm Cafe.
Garryvoe Beach (with Ardnahinch and Ballynamona)
Located on a long curve of beach stretching along the shore of Ballycotton Bay. These popular local beaches start at Ballynamona (entered from Shanagarry) which is just north of Ballycotton, Ardnahinch is immediately adjoining to the north.
A little further off is Garryvoe which is located directly in front of the hotel. All accessible by road with Garryvoe being the easiest to access directly by road, and the others accessible by way of Shanagarry.
Kindred Spirits Sculpture
Kindred Spirits commemorates the 1847 donation by the Native American Choctaw People to Irish famine relief during the Great Hunger, despite the Choctaw themselves living in hardship and poverty and having recently endured the Trail of Tears.
While records of the exact amount of the donation vary, the figure usually given is US$170 (about $4,500 in 2017 dollars, though some methods indicate it could have been as high as $20,000 in 2015 dollars.)
The sculpture consists of nine 20-foot (6.1 m) stainless steel eagle feathers arranged in a circle, no two feathers being identical, forming a bowl shape to represent a gift of a bowl of food.
It was created by Alex Pentek at the Sculpture Factory in Cork, Ireland, with assistance from students of the Crawford College of Art and Design, and installed in Bailick Park in 2015.
The memorial was commissioned by Midleton Town Council, and was officially unveiled and dedicated in June 2017 by Chief Gary Batton, Chief of the Choctaw Nation, Assistant Chief Jack Austin Jr., and Councillor Seamus McGrath, County Mayor of Cork, accompanied by a 20-strong delegation from the Choctaw Nation.
Midleton Farmers' Market
Saturday morning sees locals and tourists alike flock to the Midleton Farmers' Market, adjacent to Hurley's SuperValu at Townspark, Midleton.
Midleton Farmers' Market has the honour of being Ireland's original farmers' market. Established by noted local culinary expert, Darina Allen (of Ballymaloe fame) and local farmers to create an outlet for their produce, Midleton Farmers' Market has gone from strength to strength and now boasts a bulging cornucopia of the finest produce on offer.
With live music each Saturday, Midleton Farmers' Market has a feel-good atmosphere, where visitors can pick up some tasty treats, get themselves comfy on the grassy verges nearby (weather permitting) and soak up the ambience. Canine companions are welcome. Midleton Farmers' Market takes place each Saturday from 9am to 1pm.
The John Walsh Monument
This carved slab commemorates the blacksmith John Walsh from Ballyannon. He was accused of making weapons for the United Irishmen in the Midleton area in 1798. Arrested by Crown forces, Walsh was ordered to be flogged from Cove (as it then was) to Cork in public to make him reveal the name of the local United Irishmen.
The flogging was so severe that Walsh died of his wounds at Fota without revealing any names. The design of this monument harks back to Celtic designs and includes a modern version of the ancient Irish ogham writing on the side.
The Clonmult Monument
This tall structure was Midleton’s first public monument; it was, erected in the 1930s. The Monument (as it is still called) commemorates the 14 men who died at an ambush by Crown Forces in Clonmult, just a few miles north east of Midleton on 21 February 1921.
Designed by the Irish sculptor Seamus Murphy, the monument consists of an obelisk combined with a discrete Celtic cross set on a large stepped plinth.
It is built of local limestone and was built by the local firm of JJ Coffey & Sons with the carving executed by the local man Chris Sheedy, whose family are still in the business.
White Bay Beach
A well concealed local secret, White Bay Beach is one for the energetic because it is located at the bottom of a long steep track. Located near Roches Point, White Bay has a car park just off the road and the track drops down the hillside very sharply into a hidden beach overlooking the channel into Cork Harbour.
Sensible shoes are recommended. The climb back up is certainly for the energetic!
The Half Light Gallery
The Half Light Gallery, situated in the heart of Midleton Town, specialises in original art, prints, showcasing quality Irish designer gifts and handcrafted luxury items.
The Half Light is a sister ship to the Brigid Shelly Gallery, Ardmore, Co. Waterford
The Gyrator
Despite appearances, this steel sculpture does not depict a crushed whiskey still! In fact, it represents the motion of the vehicles moving (gyrating) around the oval roundabout.
The sculpture was commissioned as part of the ‘Percent for Art’ programme when the old Goose’s Acre had to be radically modified to accommodate the entrance to Market Green shopping centre.
Fota Wildlife Park
For a walk on the wild side, there's nowhere finer than Fota Wildlife Park. A ten minute drive from Midleton will see you in the impressive surrounds of Fota Wildlife Park, as well as Fota House & Gardens, just next door.
Whether you’re seeking outdoor activities for children in the summer, holiday camps for Easter or you simply want to take advantage of some sunny weekend weather, Fota Wildlife Park has a variety of activities for children and parents alike. Located on 100 acres, the park has an annual attendance of 440,000 visitors - so why not add to their numbers?
Fota Wildlife Park’s vision is to inspire people to understand and conserve the biodiversity of our natural world. The Park’s core values of conservation, education, research and entertainment have ensured that we are uniquely placed to foster greater public understanding of the threats to plant and animal habitats and decreasing global biodiversity.
So, whether meeting the King of Jungle in an African adventure, monkeying around, seeing stripes with the zebras, saying hello to the Indian Rhinoceroses, making friends with the meerkats or spending time with the Sumatran tigers, Fota Wildlife Park will truly show you the full Circle of Life in style.
Jungle World
Jungle World, at Market Green, has been designed with both parents and children in mind, with a passion for excellence and - just as importantly - an emphasis on fun! With a 9,000 square foot play structure and seating area, a large basketball area / soccer pitch, not one, but two Bungee Trampolines, a Bouncy Castle, slides (including two spirals and a four-lane slide) and a Mini Climbing Wall, there’s plenty for the kids to enjoy, while their parents, grandparents, guardians and, in short, the grown-ups, can head over to Jungle World’s shop, which boasts hot drinks, hot food, newspapers & magazines, and a warm welcome.
The Boy and the Geese
A series of bronze figures representing a boy being harassed by an angry goose commemorates the former Goose’s Acre which is now covered by the nearby roundabout.
The Goose’s Acre was the site where the townspeople kept their geese during the day, and woe betide anybody who interfered with them!
Clearly the boy in the sculpture hadn’t learned his lesson! The sculpture is located here because children like to sit on the geese.
The Nellie Cashman Monument
This stone monument commemorates Nellie (Ellen) Cashman as Midleton’s Wild West heroine. She was born in Midleton in October 1845, just as the Great Famine began.
When she was five years old, Nellie’s family emigrated to Boston, USA. Ten years later they moved to San Francisco. From there she set off for British Colombia during the Cassiar gold rush. She is celebrated for rescuing miners trapped by snowstorms.
Later she ran a hotel and restaurant in Tombstone, Arizona, where she directed the sheriff on keeping law and order and was known to such characters as Wyatt Earp. After Joining the Klondike gold rush in 1896, Nellie Cashman settled in Alaska and was appointed a deputy US Marshal there in the early 1920s.