Fermoy is a town on the River Blackwater in east County Cork, Ireland. As of the 2016 census, the town and environs had a population of approximately 6,500 people. It is located in the barony of Fermoy. Fermoy is part of the Cork East (Dáil constituency).
The town’s name comes from the Irish and refers to a Cistercian abbey founded in the 13th century.
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. The most expensive flood prevention works ever carried out in Cork were completed in Fermoy in 2015.
The civil parish of Fermoy incorporates the Fermoy Urban electoral division (ED), much of the Fermoy Rural ED, and includes twelve sub-townlands. These include smaller townlands (such as Grange East and Grange West), and larger townlands (like Duntahane).
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.
Education
Local secondary schools include St. Colman’s College, Loreto Convent and Coláiste an Chraoibhín. 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.
Two annual regattas are usually in early May and early September and hosted by Fermoy Rowing Club. Fermoy Rowing Club celebrated its 125th anniversary in 2009, and Fermoy Regatta 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, including the Bus Éireann Cork-Dublin and Cork-Clonmel routes, which stop at Fermoy.
Religion
The Christian Brothers, the Presentation and Loreto Sisters and Jehovah’s Witnesses maintain a presence in the town. There is also a Church of Ireland (Anglican) Church, Christ Church, and a Presbyterian Church.
