Mainistir Fhear Mai- meaning " the men of the plain."
Fermoy is a town on the river Blackwater in east Co. Cork, Ireland. Located in the barony of Fermoy. The town's name comes from the Irish and refers to a Cistercian Abbey founded there in 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 Willian 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.
In 1791, the lands around Fermoy were bought by a Scotsman, John Anderson. He was an entrepreneur who developed the roads and started a mail coach system in Ireland. He designed the town and its streets remain much the same as they were originally built.
Fermoy was the site of a major British barracks, when Ireland was under Imperial rule. In 1797, when the army was looking to establish a new permanent base, Anderson gave them land as an inducement to locate in Fermoy. Anderson and the town received considerable economic benefit from the arrangement. In 1806, the first permanent barracks, the east Barracks was built. They were located on 16.5 acres of land and provided accommodation for 112 officers and 1478 of Infantry men and 24 officers and 120 men and 112 horses of Cavalry. A general military hospital of 130 beds was also built. In 1809, the West Barracks was built. This also had a 42 bed hospital. When both barracks were completed there was accommodation for 14 field officers, 169 officers, 2816 men and 152 horses. By the 1830'3, this was the largest military establishment in Ireland. The town of Fermoy expanded around these facilities and retained its British military facilities until 1922, when the Irish Free State was a first established.
This is the first part of a three-part series on Fermoy.