Midleton (/ˈmɪdəltən/; Irish: Mainistir na Corann, meaning "monastery at the weir")[2] is a town in south-eastern County Cork, Ireland.

In the 1180s advancing Normans led by Barry Fitz Gerald established an abbey at a weir on the river to be populated by Cistercian Monks from Burgundy.

[4] Alan Brodrick, Speaker of the Irish House of Commons and Lord Chancellor of Ireland was made the first Baron and Viscount Midleton in 1715 and 1717, respectively.

[7] In 1988, Irish Distillers was the subject of a friendly takeover by the French drinks conglomerate Pernod Ricard.

[8] Known as the Jameson Experience, the visitor centre hosts a number of attractions, including Ireland's largest working water-wheel (with a diameter of 7m).

Twelve IRA personnel were killed during an unsuccessful ambush of British forces at the nearby town of Clonmult, while four more were captured and two of those later executed.

[15] Elizabeth Villiers, former mistress of William of Orange, founded the private school named Midleton College in 1696.

Past pupils include Isaac Butt, founder of the Home Rule League, Reginald Dyer, perpetrator of the Amritsar Massacre[16] and John Philpot Curran, lawyer.

[17] Local employers include retail, light manufacturing, food production, tourism and whiskey distilling industries.

[citation needed] At nearby Whitegate is the state's first gas-fired power station as well as Ireland's only oil refinery.

A number of multinational retailers have outlets in Midleton, including Tesco, Lidl, Boots and Aldi.

In times past, the channel from the Harbour to nearby Ballinacurra (Irish: Baile na Cora, meaning "Town at the Weir"), was navigable by barges up to 300 tonnes.