Fermoy Forum

The New York City subway is one of the foremost metropolitan transit systems in the world, but it can trace its origin to humble beginnings in Fermoy, Co. Cork.
John B McDonald was born in Fermoy in 1844, the son of Bartholomew McDonald. At the age of four, his family emigrated to New York to escape the Irish Famine, 1845-50. John eventually became a railway and dam inspector. He established himself as a railway contractor and developed railways in ten states.&nbsp;
In 1894, the U.S. Rapid Transit Act was signed into law, the act called for rapid transportation systems for cities of over one million inhabitants. McDonald, who by now had established strong political alliances and a reliable reputation, tendered for the contract to build a rapid transit system for New York.&nbsp;
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 The contract was awarded in 1900 and McDonald set about subcontracting for the massive project that was completed in less than four years at a cost of about $40 million - and the lives of some 120 construction workers. The new subway system was 20 miles long and included 48 stations, 33 of which were underground.
The mainly immigrant miners who dug the New York Subway tunnels were known as the 'Irish Sandhogs'. It was said that working in the underground was the closest one could get to working on a pirate ship in modern America. You can learn more about the ‘SandHogs’ from this great <a href="https://www.newstalk.com/podcasts/newstalk-documentary/documentary-on-newstalk-the-sandhogs" target="_blank">NewsTalk documentary</a>.&nbsp;&nbsp;
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 When the Subway opened in 1904, John B McDonald was hailed as one of the greatest Irish-Americans of his time. He was also, in the words of one observer, ‘a solid, grim man with a thick chest, brawny arms, and an iron jaw; masterful, self-controlled and capable’.
For more information on John B. McDonald and other fascinating Fermoy History, get yourself a copy of ‘Fermoy on the Blackwater’ by Bill Power.&nbsp;

The Fermoy Man who Built the New York Subway.

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