Mallow (Mala, Magh Ealla, and other variations in Irish) is the "Crossroads of Munster" and the administrative capital of north County Cork, in Ireland.

Set deep in the Blackwater Valley , Mallow was traditionally an agricultural market town but due to vast improvements in infrastructure, coupled with significant promotion and investment from the Mallow Town Council and the private sector, the town has become a thriving business and satellite town.

Mallow lies at the convergence of several important routes and is on the main Cork/Limerick/Shannon road. Mallow is 25 miles from Cork. The town's prosperity is largely due to the rich agricultural region which surrounds it and the subsequent emergence of industrial development, both associated with the region and with the highly educated workforce.

The Mallow area with its population of 8,937 (2002 Census) has an abundance of skilled labour and a pool of well-educated and eager young people. The town is also within easy reach of neighboring population centres. The Irish Sugar Company has a factory in the town.

Mallow is situated on the N20 road, 35 km north of Cork City and 64 km east of Killarney. The Mallow by-pass road is now completed at a cost of €7.6m.

Mallow railway viaduct was bombed during the Irish Civil War.

Magh Ealla in Irish means 'Plain of the Swans'. The more recent Irish Mala is a government inspired re-Gaelicisation of "Mallow" (itself an Anglicisation of Magh Ealla).

See also: List of towns in the Republic of Ireland

External link: Official website