5 People You Didn’t Know Were From Cork
The rebel county has many famous sons and daughters but some of Cork’s most famous progeny are seldom known as children of the real capital. WWN is about to change that through its continued commitment to journalistic integrity and lists with this – our essential guide to 5 people you didn’t know were from Cork.
Genghis Khan
The ruler of the Mongol Empire is most famous for reportedly killing as much as 11% of the world’s population during his time marauding across the globe. What is not widely known is his motivation behind his countless massacres. Born in Rosscarbery, Cork in 1162 young Genghis was angered by the superior air displayed by Dublin folk and vowed to teach the world of Cork’s superiority to Ireland’s capital city. The straw that broke the demonic ruler’s back occurred while Genghis was on a family holiday in Mongolia, Genghis became incensed when a local spice market owner claimed he had heard of Dublin but had never heard of Cork. Genghis went on to destroy the entire town.
Genghis is buried in Killingley Graveyard.
Bertie Ahern
Initially dismissed as some sort of effort by Dubliners to erase all knowledge of the former disgraced Taoiseach and Dublin resident, Ahern’s birthplace has now been conclusively proved to be that of Skibbereen, Cork. State records held at Dublin’s registry office of births, deaths and marriages clearly say ‘Cork’ above ‘Place of Birth’ right next to the word ‘Dublin’, which has been crossed out with a big black marker.
Nelson Mandela
While it seems completely ridiculous at first glance, Nelson Mandela was indeed born in Cork. When you think about it, it makes a lot of sense as all newly born Cork children are imbued with greatness and the ability to change the world for the better, something which sets the county apart from all other 31 counties on this island.
Roy Keane
Many people are still surprised to hear that ex-Manchester United captain Roy Keane is in fact from Cork. The lack of evidence supporting this fact is blamed on Corkconians reluctance to inform people of the fact at any opportunity throughout the famous footballer’s career and life. As a result of this knowledge-gap, local Cork historians have set up a ‘Roy Keane Is From Cork’ awareness campaign.
William Shakespeare
Yes, you heard right, the Bandon bard had originally set all of his works in Cork, lending an air of gravitas to his plays that many now acknowledge they completely lacked in less glamorous settings such as Verona and Denmark. His use of the common colloquial Cork term ‘like’ has seen the word appear over 7,000 times throughout his body of work with many crediting the playwright with popularising its use in Cork. He is believed to have attended Maria Assumpta Secondary School in Cork City before it became a girls only school.
Honourable mentions: DJ Carey, Joseph Goebbels, S Club 7 and Karl Marx.