The little market town of Fermoy (Mainistir Fhear Muighe, "Abbey of the Plainsmen") lies inland from the Irish south coast between the foothills of the Knockmealdown and Nagles Mountains.
The late Georgian Castle Hyde, which stands on the banks of the River Blackwater in the west of the town, was the ancestral home of Douglas Hyde, who was President of the Republic of Ireland from 1938 to 1945. There is excellent salmon and trout fishing, and angling competitions are regularly held in the area. There is also good coarse fishing; the Blackwater is the only river in Ireland in which roach are to be found. There are the remains of four castles on the banks of the river near the town.
North of Mallow, on the N20, is the little town of Buttevant, with a ruined church which belonged to a Franciscan friary (13th C.: National Monument); fine choir and crypt (underbuilding on a steep river bank). Ballybeg Abbey is close by.
This annual week-long festival takes place in early July. A traditional Irish fair, along with "baby" and "granny" beauty contests and other fun events fill the program.
4.5mi/7km southeast of Fermoy is Castlelyons, with the remains of a 15th C. Carmelite friary (National Monument): a church, with a beautiful west doorway and tower, and other buildings.
Doneraile has a wildlife park with 160 ha of parkland with mature groves of deciduous trees and herds of deer.
Address: Doneraile Wildlife Park, Doneraile , Ireland
Hours:
April 16 to October 31: 8am-8:30pm; Sun:11am-7pm; Sat:10am-8:30pm
November 1 to April 15: 8am-4:30pm; Sun:10am-4:30pm; Sat:10am-4:30pm
Always opened on: June Holiday - Ireland (1st Monday, June ), August Holiday - Ireland (1st Monday, August ), October Holiday - Ireland (last Monday, October )
A short distance from Labbacallee Cairn, to the northwest of Fermoy, we come to Glanworth, with an old 13-arched bridge over the River Funshion (view). In the surrounding area are a number of ruined castles on the banks of the river.
The little market town of Kanturk, 12mi/20km west of Mallow, has a large early 17th C. fortified house of the MacCarthys (National Monument). When news of the building of the castle reached England an order to cease work was issued; the castle has remained unfinished.
9mi/15km northeast are the ruins of Liscarroll Castle (National Monument), a handsome tower house built in the 13th C. but much altered in later centuries; it is surrounded by a walled outer ward with defensive towers.
Northwest of Fermoy on the R512 can be seen the Labbacallee Cairn (National Monument), an unusually large Neolithic wedge-shaped gallery grave with a rectangular main chamber and a smaller chamber to the rear. A short distance away is a roofless tomb.
In hilly country 6mi/9.5km northwest of Mitchelstown, on the R665, we come to Labbamolaga, with the ruins of a modest Early English church (National Monument).
North of Kanturk on the R579, at Tullylease, are the ruins of a monastery of the 13th-15th C. (National Monument). It has a number of early gravestones built into the walls, including one on the east end of the church with fine ornament in the style of the eighth century "Book of Lindisfarne" and a Latin inscription.
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Buttevant - Cahirmee Festival
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