Success

John Anderson Installation

Fermoy Forum
attraction
Historical
Cultural
Contact Information

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. The two first mail coaches set out in the opposite directions on the Cork - Dublin route at 10pm on 5 April 1789 and reached their destinations about 31 hours later - an amazing achievement considering that previously took up to four days. The dream of getting the Royal Mail from Dublin - Cork within 24 hours was achieved on July 8th 1789. The system was fast and cheap and by 1790 Anderson has become the dominant partner in the Dublin/Cork turnpike and mail, which was extended to Limerick in 1793. Until 2002 Fermoy did not have a public monument to honour its connections with Anderson. The Site chosen for a sculpture was beside the gates to the Town Park, adjacent to the former Fermoy House where Anderson once lived.