Mallow, County Cork in the context of Cork North-Central (Dáil constituency)

The Blackwater or Munster Blackwater (Irish: An Abhainn Mhór, The Great River) is a river which flows through counties Kerry, Cork and Waterford in Ireland. It rises in the Mullaghareirk Mountains in County Kerry and then flows in an easterly direction across County Cork through the towns of Mallow and Fermoy. It then enters County Waterford where it flows through Lismore, before abruptly turning south at Cappoquin and finally draining into the Celtic Sea at Youghal Harbour in Cork. In total, the Blackwater is 169 km (105 mi) long.

The total catchment area of the River Blackwater is 3,324 km. Its long-term average flow rate of is 89.1 cubic metres per second (m/s) The Blackwater is notable for being one of the best salmon fishing rivers in the country. Like many Irish rivers, salmon stocks declined in recent years, but the Irish government banned commercial netting of salmon off the coast of Ireland in November 2006.

County Cork (Irish: Contae Chorcaí) is the largest and the southernmost county of Ireland, named after the city of Cork, the country's second-largest city. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. Its largest market towns are Midleton, Mallow, Bandon, Macroom, and Skibbereen. In 2022, the county had a population of 584,156, making it the third-most populous county in Ireland. Cork County Council is the local authority for the county, while Cork City Council governs the city of Cork and its environs. Notable Corkonians include Michael Collins, Jack Lynch, Mother Jones, Roy Keane, Sonia O'Sullivan, Paul O'Donovan, Fintan McCarthy, Rory Gallagher, Fiona Shaw, Cillian Murphy, Jonathan Rhys Meyers and Graham Norton.

Cork borders four other counties: Kerry to the west, Limerick to the north, Tipperary to the north-east and Waterford to the east. The county contains the southern section of the Golden Vale pastureland that extends into the Blackwater valley. The south-west region, including West Cork, is one of Ireland's main tourist destinations, known for its rugged coast and megalithic monuments and as the starting point for the Wild Atlantic Way. The largest third-level institution is University College Cork, founded in 1845, and has a total student population of around 22,000. Local industry and employers include technology company Dell EMC, the European headquarters of Apple, and the farmer-owned dairy co-operative Dairygold.

Dairygold Co-Operative Society Limited is an Irish dairy co-operative based in Mitchelstown, County Cork, Ireland. With its catchment area mostly in the Golden Vale, Dairygold processes an annual volume of approximately 1.43 billion liters of grass fed pastureland milk, making it Ireland's second largest dairy co-operative and the island's third largest milk supplier. Formed after the 1989 merger of the Mitchelstown and Ballyclough co-ops, as of 2023 it had 7000 shareholder members and an operating profit of €24 million from a turnover of €1.4 billion.

With approximately 1,200 employees, Dairygold is divided into three operating divisions; Dairy Ingredients (milk powders and cheese), Agri (servicing local farmers), and its retail network of shops in the Munster region. Its main products are rennet casein, demineralised whey for the infant formula and protein powders markets, bulk cheddar for the UK market and specialty cheeses for Greece. Dairygold exports to over 50 countries and has production facilities in Ireland and the UK, as well as sales offices in Germany, Spain and China. It is governed by a board of directors, consisting of both shareholder farmers and non-executives, as well as a number of regional committee positions held by shareholder members.