Fermoy

Ancient

The ringfort at Carntierna, located 2.4 km (1.5 mi) south of Fermoy, was an important Iron Age site.

Medieval times

A Cistercian abbey was founded in Fermoy in the 13th century. At the dissolution of the monasteries during the Tudor period, the abbey and its lands passed through the following dynasties: Sir Richard Grenville, Robert Boyle and William Forward. However, the site could hardly have been regarded as a town and, by the late 18th century, was little more than a few cabins and an inn.

18th and 19th century

In 1791, the lands around Fermoy were bought by a Scotsman, John Anderson. He was an entrepreneur who developed the roads and started the mail coach system in Ireland. He designed the town and the streets remain much the same as they were originally built. In 1984, some of his descendants, living in Australia, named a winery, Fermoy Estate, after the town he established. A plaque and bust in his honour were unveiled by the town park in 2001.

Garrison town

Fermoy was the site of a large British Army barracks, when Ireland was under British rule. In 1797, when the army was looking to establish a new and permanent base, Anderson gave them the land as an inducement to locate in Fermoy. Anderson and the town received economic benefit from the arrangement. In 1806 the first permanent barracks, the East Barracks, were built. They were located on 16½ acres of land, and provided accommodation for 112 officers and 1478 men of infantry, and 24 officers, 120 men, and 112 horses of cavalry. A general 130-bed military hospital was also built. In 1809, the West Barracks was built. This also had a 42-bed hospital. When both barracks were complete, there was accommodation for 14 field officers, 169 officers, 2,816 men, and 152 horses. By the 1830s, this was the largest military establishment on the island of Ireland. The town of Fermoy expanded around these facilities and retained its British military facilities until 1922, when the Irish Free State was first established.

20th Century – present

During the War of Independence, Fermoy was the scene of the first attack for arms by the IRA against British troops, during which a Private Jones was killed. This resulted in several reprisals, including when British troops looted and burned part of the town centre. One of those who led the raid, IRA Commandant Michael Fitzgerald, was subsequently captured but never tried for the offence. He later became the first IRA man to die on hunger strike during the War of Independence.

Geography

Fermoy is situated on the river Blackwater and has steep hills corresponding to the river valley. The downtown area of Fermoy is located in a flood plain and has flooded relatively often in the late 20th and early 21st century.

Economy

Industries in and around the town include chemical production (by Micro Bio), ice-cream manufacturing (by Silver Pail), and power product manufacturing (by Anderson Power). The town's industries also include electronics manufacturing and assembly by Sanmina-SCI Corporation, formerly Space Craft Incorporated. Moorepark Research Institute, near Fermoy, is one of the Irish state's agricultural and food research institutes. Fermoy town is also a market town for the surrounding areas and has a number of supermarkets including SuperValu, Lidl and Aldi.

Education

Local secondary schools include St. Colman's College, Loreto Convent and Coláiste an Chraobhín. Primary schools include Gaelscoil de hÍde, Presentation Primary School, Bishop Murphy Memorial School, St. Josephs National School and Adair National School.

Tourism

The Blackwater river is one of the town's major attractions and is popular for its salmon and coarse fishing. There is also a river-side walk amenity at Barnane.

The town's two annual regattas – usually in early May and early September – are hosted by Fermoy Rowing Club and attract over a thousand visitors. Fermoy Rowing Club celebrated its 125th Anniversary in 2009 and Fermoy Regatta, by coincidence, celebrated its 70th Anniversary in the same year.

Fermoy hosted a poetry festival for the first time in 2012.

Transport

For many years the main N8 Cork–Dublin road ran through Fermoy, and the town square was a bottleneck on the route. However, the M8 motorway bypass, which included a new bridge over the Blackwater to the east of the town was opened in late 2006. The former N8 through the town is now a regional road, the R639, and Fermoy's traffic problems have been eased.

The town used to be connected to the Irish railway system, on a line from Mallow to Waterford, with a junction to nearby Mitchelstown through Ballindangan (see Irish railway history). Fermoy railway station opened on 17 May 1860, and finally closed on 27 March 1967.

The nearest airport is Cork Airport, approximately 45 kilometres (28 miles) to the south.

A number of bus services serve the area, with the Bus Éireann services from Cork to Dublin and Dublin to Cork calling at Fermoy.

Religion

The Christian Brothers, the Presentation and Loreto Sisters, and Jehovah's Witnesses maintain a presence in the town.

People

The 1st Baron Fermoy was Lord Lieutenant of County Cork but was not from Fermoy. Diana, Princess of Wales was a granddaughter of Maurice Roche, 4th Baron Fermoy. The current Baron Fermoy is Maurice Roche, 6th Baron Fermoy, a first cousin of Diana, Princess of Wales and distant cousin to her sons, Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and Prince Harry.

Books written about Fermoy and surroundings

Film

Some aerial scenes from 1966 war film The Blue Max were filmed near Fermoy, with the nearby Blackwater viaduct featuring on screen. In the 1980s, a coming-of-age film called 'Clash of the Ash' was shot in Fermoy.

Twin towns

Fermoy is twinned with: