Midleton (Irish: Mainistir na Corann - "Choir Abbey") is a town in southeastern County Cork, which grew up around the monastery founded there in the 12th century by Cistercian monks from Burgundy.
According to legend, Midleton is where Irish whiskey was invented. Whether that is true or not, visitors can still sample uisce beatha, the "water of life", at the town's restored 18th-century distillery.
Midleton's current population (2004) of some 6,700 includes a fair number of commuters to Cork City (some 22.5 km away) - a number which is expected to increase with the planned re-opening by 2008, under the National Development Plan, of the former rail connection to Cork.