Monard, County Cork

Monard (Irish: An Mhóin Ard, meaning 'high bogland')^[2] is a largely rural townland in the civil parish of Whitechurch to the north-west of Cork City in Ireland.^[3]

Monard
Townland
Monard Location in Ireland
Coordinates: 51°56′00″N 08°30′00″W
Country	Ireland
Province	Munster
County	County Cork
Population  (2011)[1]	196

Population and land use

At the turn of the 20th century, the townland had a population of approximately 200 people.^[4][5]

By the early 21st century, it was proposed to develop a planned settlement on "greenfield agricultural land" in the area.^[6] Covering 966 acres (3.91 km²) and containing 5,000 dwellings, schools, a medical centre and other facilities, this settlement was proposed to service a population of 13,000 people.^[7][8] Similar in concept to Adamstown, Dublin, the planning application called for the settlement to be based on three villages and a town centre, built around a new railway station.^[7] Due to the fallout from the Irish property bubble and planning challenges, the development was significantly delayed, with approval only finally given in June 2016.^[9]

As of the 2011 census, Monard townland had a population of 196 people.^[1]

Train station

The 2001 planning proposal called for a railway station, serving the projected residential development, to be located at the Rathpeacon siding on the Dublin-Cork mainline.^[7][10] In June 2016, the planning authority, An Bord Pleanála, stated that construction on housing within the 'Monard Strategic Development Zone' could not commence until the completion of this proposed station.^[11] As of 2018^[update], no works on the proposed Monard train station had commenced, with no funding allocated in the National Development Plan for the period 2018-2027.^[12] The Cork Metropolitan Area Draft Transport Strategy 2040, a public consultation document published by the National Transport Authority in May 2019, included Monard as one of several potential locations for future stations in the area.^[13]