Fermoy

Fermoy Mainistir Fhear Maí
Town
The weir on the Munster Blackwater through Fermoy
Motto: Seasaigí Go Buan Let you (pl.) stand forever
Fermoy Location in Ireland
Coordinates: 52°08′28″N 8°16′34″W / 52.141°N 8.276°W / 52.141; -8.276Coordinates: 52°08′28″N 8°16′34″W / 52.141°N 8.276°W / 52.141; -8.276
Country	Ireland
Province	Munster
County	County Cork
Elevation	50 m (160 ft)
Population (2011)
• Total	6,489
Time zone	WET (UTC+0)
• Summer (DST)	IST (WEST) (UTC-1)
Irish Grid Reference	W808987
Website	www.fermoytowncouncil.ie

Fermoy (Irish: Mainistir Fhear Maí, meaning "monastery of the Men of the Plain") is a town on the River Blackwater in east County Cork, Ireland. As of the 2011 census, the town and environs had a population of approximately 6,500 people. It is located in the barony of Fermoy.

The town's name comes from the Irish and refers to a Cistercian abbey founded in the 13th century.

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

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.

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.

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.