KINSALE, a parliamentary borough and seaport town of Ireland, in the county of Cork, is situated on the estuary of the Bandon, 24 miles south from Cork by rail. The town occupies chiefly the acclivity of Compass Hill, and, while possessing a striking and picturesque appearance, is built in a very irregular manner, the streets being narrow and so precipitous that in many instances conveyances have to take a very circuitous course. The principal buildings are the castle fort, completed by the duke of Ormonde at a cost of £70,000, and captured by the earl of Marlborough in 1690; the parish church, an ancient but inelegant structure erected as a conventual church about the 14th century; the assembly-rooms, the barracks, the Carmelite friary, and the convent of the sisters of mercy. Kinsale is much frequented by summer visitors, and is also an important fishery station, the number of boats employed in the division of which it is the principal port being about 350, employing over 1700 men and boys. It possesses also a commodious harbour, but the trade has become almost extinct owing to the proximity of Cork. The population in 1881 was 4976....