VISIT
DOUGLAS

Located two miles south of Cork city centre, the suburb of Douglas has a population of more than 20,000. But locals say that, despite its size, it has a village feel. 

​

The name Douglas derives from Dubhglas - meaning a dark stream. It still flows through the village and is a tributary of the River Lee, on which Cork City is built. The town has flooded in the past, badly in 2012, causing damage to local homes and businesses.

​

Douglas began to develop as an urban settlement in the 18th century, with the opening of the Donnybrook Mills in 1726. Further mills were opened in the 19th century, but most ceased to operate in the early 20th century, although the Donnybrook Mills and St. Patrick's Woollen Mills continued until the late 1970s. Nowadays, they house small businesses.

In the later part of the 18th and the 19th century, a number of 'big houses' were built in the area, homes for Cork City's merchant princes. These included Donnybrook House, Castletreasure House, Grange House, Maryborough House (now the luxury Maryborough Hotel and Spa), Douglas Hall and Mount Vernon, which had one of the earliest examples of a domestic central-heating system in Ireland.

​

Housing estates were developed in Grange, Donnybrook, Frankfield, Maryborough, Rochestown, Mount Oval and along the two main roads connecting Douglas to Cork, in the second half of the last century. Most were private, but there are some areas of social housing.

​

Social: The best-known pub in Douglas is The Briar Rose, known locally as The Briar. This is where local rugby fans - and everybody in Douglas is a rugby fan - go to watch Munster matches when they don't have a ticket for the game.