Cork is the second largest city in Ireland, the county town of County Cork, the largest city in the province of Munster and third largest on the island of Ireland. At the 2022 census, it had a population of 224,004. The city centre is an island between two channels of the River Lee which meet downstream at its eastern end, where the quays and docks along the river lead outwards towards Lough Mahon and Cork Harbour, one of the largest natural harbours in the world.