named after John F. Kennedy. In June 2012, Clonakilty was damaged by flooding. Clonakilty was founded on 5 May 1613, and on 5 May 2013, President Michael D. Higgins and his wife visited the town to commemorate 400 years since it obtained its original charter. Churches Kilgariffe Church (Church of Ireland) is a building of 1818 replacing an older church going back to 1613. The Church of the Immaculate Conception (Catholic) is a large building in Early French Gothic style, designed by George Ashlin and completed in 1880. The old Presbyterian Church was built in 1861 and taken over and used since 1924 as a local Post Office. The local Methodist church is located in the town and became the first church in Ireland to win two Eco Congregation Ireland awards. Transport The nearest airport to the town is Cork Airport, and Bus Éireann provides coach links from Clonakilty to Cork and Skibbereen. During the summer months, there is a bus link to Killarney via the N71 road through Skibbereen, Bantry, Glengarriff and Kenmare. Clonakilty was one of the destinations on the West Cork Railway, an Irish mainline railway from Cork city to various parts of West Cork, which shut down in 1961. Clonakilty railway station opened on 28 August 1886, but finally closed on 1 April 1961. Clonakilty has a bypass road on the N71, to the south of the town, which routes traffic to Cork, Kinsale, Bandon, Skibbereen and Dunmanway via the R599, just west of the town, or vice versa to the R588 via Enniskean and the town centre. Culture and music Clonakilty's bars host live music nights throughout the year, and De Barra's Folk Club, Shanley's Music Bar, and O'Donovans and are among the town's music venues. De Barra's Folk Club has featured acts like Christy Moore, Sharon Shannon, Roy Harper, John Spillane and Frances Black. A number of notable musicians live in the area. For example, Noel Redding made Clonakilty his home, as has singer-songwriter Roy Harper. English novelist David Mitchell also calls Clonakilty home. The town also hosts several festivals every year, including the Clonakilty International Guitar Festival in mid-September, the Motion Festival and the Waterfront Festival in August. Awards The town won the Irish Tidy Towns Competition in 1999 and was also named 'Ireland's Tidiest Small Town' in 2017. In 2003, Clonakilty became Ireland's first-ever official Fair trade Town. In 2007 it was