Clonakilty, Ireland

Clonakilty is a small town in West Cork, Ireland, about 45 minutes to the west of Cork City. It has approximately 10,000 permanent inhabitants, but in the summer this can swell by as much as 2,000 as tourists pour in from the U.K and the U.S.

In this town was born, and lived, Michael Collins, leader of the IRA and later the Free State movement, which campaigned for independence from the English in the 1900-21 period. He is widely regarded as one of Irelands leading historical figures. He was killed by republican followers of the IRA movement during the Civil War. Clonakilty is also renowned for its world famous black pudding, which is fried or grilled pig offal in intestine.