Fermoy (Part Two)

Mainistir Fhear Maí - meaning "Monastery of the men of the plain."
Fermoy is a town on the river Blackwater in east County Cork. The town's name comes from the Irish and refers to a Cistercian Abbey that was founded 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 that 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 also started a mail coach system in Ireland.
Fermoy was the site of a major British Army 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 to 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 infantry men and 24 officers, 120 men and 112 horses of cavalry. A general military hospital 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's, this was the largest military facility in Ireland. The town of Fermoy expanded around these facilities and retained its British facilities until 1922, when the Irish Free State was first established.