Midleton - Mainistir na Corann - the monastery by the weir
In the 1180s advancing Normans led by one of the FitzGeralds established an abbey at a weir on the river to be populated by Cistercian Monks from Burgundy.
The abbey is commemorated in the Irish name for Midleton, Mainistir na Corann, or "Monastery at the Weir", and of the local river Owenacurra or Abhainn na Cora meaning "River of the Weirs". St John the Baptist's Church, belonging to the Church of Ireland was erected in 1825 and today still stands on the site of the abbey.
It gets its name (it used to have two ds) because it is halfway between Cork City and Youghal.
At the top of the main street stands a monument to 16 IRA men killed on 20 February 1921 during the Irish War of Independence. The incident was the biggest single loss of life for the IRA during the war.