Turners Cross, Cork
| Turners Cross Crois an Tornóra | |
|---|---|
| Town | |
|
The Church of Christ the King | |
  Turners Cross Location in Ireland | |
| Coordinates: 51°53′10″N 8°27′51″W / 51.8862°N 8.4642°WCoordinates: 51°53′10″N 8°27′51″W / 51.8862°N 8.4642°W | |
| Country | Ireland |
| Province | Munster |
| County | County Cork |
| Time zone | WET (UTC+0) |
| • Summer (DST) | IST (WEST) (UTC-1) |
Turners Cross (Irish: Crois an Tornóra) is a ward on the south side of Cork City, and home to the Roman Catholic parish of the same name.
Largely residential, one of the key features of the area is the iconic church created by architect Barry Byrne and sculptor John Storrs, the Church of Christ The King. It was commissioned in 1927 by Rev Daniel Cohalan D.D., Bishop of Cork. The church was the first Irish church to be built from concrete instead of brick, and is one of the largest suspended-ceiling churches in Europe. Opened in 1931, the church is based on the principles of Art Deco which makes strong use of symmetric and geometric forms.[1]
History
Rocque's map of Cork of 1759 is the first to show significant housing in the Turners Cross area in the areas that are now Evergreen St (then Maypole Lane) and Quaker Rd (then Graveyard Lane).[2] Previous maps of Cork in 1690 and 1726 show only occasional houses associated with what were then farms on the southern edge of Cork City.[3] The oldest housing still existing in Turners Cross now dates from the mid 19th century.
In 1879, the Cork and Macroom Direct Railway, which had shared the Cork, Bandon and South Coast Railway station at Albert Road in the city centre, moved its city terminus to a new station they created - Cork Capwell railway station in the Turners Cross area. This was used until 1925, when both the Cork and Macroom and Cork, Bandon and South Coast railways were merged into Great Southern Railways and the terminus reverted to Albert Road.
New housing was continually developed in the Turners Cross area until the 1950s, when there was little remaining spare land in the area.
Sport
Turners Cross is home to Cork City FC which is based in the Turners Cross Stadium.
Nearby there is also a rugby stadium, Musgrave Park, which is home to both Dolphin RFC and Sundays Well RFC. In addition, Musgrave Park is used for many home matches in the Pro 12 tournament by Munster Rugby.
The local GAA club is Nemo Rangers, although they sold their grounds in Turners Cross for housing and relocated to a new location in Douglas during the Celtic Tiger era.
Education
The main primary school in the area is Bunscoil Chríost Rí, which is a Catholic mixed (co-educational) school. The secondary schools in the area are Christ King, a girls only school, and Coláiste Chríost Rí, a boys school.
Transport
Road
Turners Cross takes its name from an important junction, where the road from Cork to Kinsale separated from one of the roads to Douglas and Carrigaline. The road to Douglas and Carrigaline is now the R851.
The N27 dual-carriageway, which links Cork City Centre to Cork Airport passes through Turners Cross. This handles the bulk of the traffic that used the road to Kinsale.
Bus
Several city bus routes serve Turners Cross, namely
- 203: Farranree - Blackpool - Cork City Centre - Turners Cross - Ballyphehane
- 206: Grange - Douglas - Turners Cross - Cork City Centre
- 219: Mahon - Douglas - Turners Cross - Ballyphehane - The Lough - Glasheen - CUH - Bishopstown - CIT
In addition, it is served by one regional bus route
- 226 Kent Station - Parnell Place Bus Station - Turners Cross - Cork Airport - Kinsale
The 226 bus may not be used to travel between Turners Cross and Cork City Centre
Rail
Although both the Cork-Macroom and Cork, Bandon and South Coast railways used to go through Turners Cross, it is not currently served by rail. The nearest active railway station is Cork Kent railway station.
Bordering suburbs
 |
Greenmount | South Parish | South Parish | |
| Ballyphehane |  |
Albert Road | ||
| ||||
 | ||||
| Tramore Valley Park | Douglas | Ballinlough |
