Douglas, Cork 5.26

Douglas is a suburb of Cork city, Ireland and the name given to the Roman Catholic, Church of Ireland and Civil parish in which it is contained. As its borders are ill-defined and it straddles the boundary between Cork city and County Cork, it is difficult to ascertain the exact population. The CSO gives a figure of 19,787 for the parts of Douglas that lie within Cork County. No figure is provided for the parts within Cork City, although the combined population of the Tramore A, Tramore B, Tramore C and Browningstown electoral divisions, which lie in Douglas, is 5,868. This suggests a total population of approximately 25,655.HistoryPrehistoryThere are a number of extant or proposed prehistoric sites in Douglas and the surrounding area, including a shell midden, ringforts, souterrains, and a fulacht fiadh. Further evidence of prehistoric settlement in the area includes the finding of a Bronze Age decorated beaten gold disc in the townland of Castletreasure; although reputed to be related to the ruined castle of the same name, it has actually been dated to 2500-2000 BC.Origins (13th-17th century)Douglas was first mentioned in an inquisition on the lands of Gerald de Prendergast in 1251, and in a 1291 taxation document which records the lands as being an appurtenance of the Church of Bauvier. It is alternately listed as "Duffelglasse" and "Duglasse" in 1302 and 1306, respectively, as part of the parish of Carrigaline. In the year 1603, it became one of the liberties of Cork City. In 1615, parochial records mention the chapel of Douglas being laid waste, reportedly due to theft of the foundation stones, and in a 1700 entry of the same records it is mentioned that the ruined chapel in question had been the church of the Carrigaline parish for a century prior to the construction of a new church in Carrigaline. By the mid-seventeenth century, it had a population of 308 people (of whom 33 were English) and consisted of a number of large farms.