Youghal (/ˈjɔːl/ YAWL; Irish: Eochaill, meaning 'yew wood') is a seaside resort town in County Cork, Ireland.

[2] As a historic walled seaport town on the coastline of East Cork, and close to a number of beaches, it has been a tourist destination since the mid-19th century.

The Vikings used Youghal as a base for their raids on monastic sites along the south coast of Ireland, and a stone in St Mary's Collegiate Church bears the ancient etched outline of a longboat.

[7] Taken prisoner following the Siege of Dunboy 1602, the Jesuit lay brother Dominic Collins was brought to his native Youghal in chains.

And, after telling a Youghal crowd (in English, Irish and Spanish) that he was happy to die for the Catholic faith, he was hanged on 31 October 1602.

The military hanged suspects from a pole lashed from the lower windows to the corner of the first house on South Main Street (now Luigi's).

[13] Youghal was the first town in Ireland or Britain to have a Jewish mayor when William Annyas was elected to that position in 1555; and the town's small but significant Huguenot settlement provided a number of mayors such as Richard Paradise (1683), Edward Gillett (1721) and Joseph Labatte (1752) Youghal Priory – In 1350, the monastery of St John the Evangelist was founded.

They also endowed a nunnery called the Chapel of St Anne under the condition that the nuns should see that the light was regularly maintained.

The current lighthouse, made from granite imported from Scotland, was designed by George Halpin and work began on its construction in 1848.

According to Geoffrey Keating (Seathrún Céitinn), in late March 830 there was a "great convulsion of nature" in the province of Munster.

This changed the flow of the River Blackwater moving its mouth from Whiting Bay and forming the harbour of Youghal.

[citation needed] Soon afterwards in 853 a detachment from the Viking invasion built a fortress in Youghal and laid the foundation of a commercial seaport.

[citation needed] In 1353, the freeman of Youghal were allowed freedom in trade in different staples throughout England and Wales for wool, leather, woolfels and lead.

In 1360 Writs signed by Almaricus de St Åland, Justiciary of Ireland, were directed to Sovereign and Bailiffs of Youghal, ordering them to prevent persons from going to foreign parts.

[citation needed] The Dublin Parliament passed an Act concerning the imports, customs and mines in 1585 which made Youghal one of the privileged ports.

In early 1600 Youghal was elevated to the rank of 'staple town', receiving the exclusive rights to carry on the wool trade with Bristol, Liverpool, Chester and Milford.

[5] By 1640 tobacco, originally introduced by Raleigh, had so fixed itself on the habits of the people, that it now formed one of the staples of trade at Youghal port.

Oliver Cromwell, having regained Dublin, Wexford and Waterford for the English rule, arrived in Youghal on 6 December 1649.

In 1689 by order of King James II colonisers with a "zealous attachment to the Protestant religion" were rounded up and detained in castles in Youghal where they were held for 12 months before being released to flee back to England.

When Protestants of France were compelled to leave their own country by Louis XIV in 1697 many came to Ireland and settled in Youghal, bringing industry, intelligence and wealth.

Works had commenced at this time on improving navigation of the Blackwater (1755) and a petition had been sent to Parliament to open roads from Lismore, Cappoquin and Clogheen to Youghal.

[20] From the 18th century onwards, and as with nearby Ardmore, some larger ships were unable to get into Youghal Harbour, because of a shallow sandbar at its mouth.

In 1882 a decision of the House of Lords established the claim of the Duke of Devonshire to exclusive fishery rights to the river Blackwater and Youghal Bay out to Capel Island.

The duke's claim was founded on a grant given to Sir Walter Raleigh by Elizabeth I, which he sold shortly afterward to the Boyle family.

In 2011 Youghal's three beaches, Front Strand, Claycastle and Redbarn, were awarded blue flags for water cleanliness and availability of amenities.

[13] While the closing of the railway line in the 1970s triggered a period of decline in Youghal, there has been increased investment since the 1990s to restore the town's facilities and popularity.

[citation needed] Redbarn beach is overlooked by a resort and residential area that includes a hotel, swimming pool, shop, sauna, crêperie, outdoor bar, café, caravan park and several self-catering holiday homes.

[citation needed] Along the coast of this beach is a promenade, starting at the Quality Hotel and ending around the Aura swimming pool.

[citation needed] Youghal was declared one of the tidiest towns in Cork (and nationally) in the 2012 IBAL anti-litter league (run in conjunction with the Department of the Environment).

[29] In 1984, the band was featured on the BBC programme "Jim'll Fix It", and in 1993 were invited to perform in Larmor, Brittany, France.