Why is it called Ballyfermot? Its name comes from the Irish Baile Formaid. It means farmstead of Thormundr. That’s an Old Norse personal name. Dubliners often call it Ballyer for short.
Ballyfermot is a suburb of Dublin. It sits seven kilometres west of the city centre. Phoenix Park is to its north. Chapelizod borders it on the north. Bluebell sits to the south. Inchicore is on the east. Palmerstown and Clondalkin are to the west. The River Liffey flows to the north. The Grand Canal, now for recreation, lies to its south. Ballyfermot is in the Dublin 10 postal district.
Back in the 12th century, Cambro-Normans expanded from Wales into Leinster. After the Treaty of Windsor in 1175, they gained land in south and west Dublin. They did this through land grants and marriages. Families like Mac Giolla Mocolmog and Fitzwilliam were associated with the area.
In 1307, William Fitzwilliam held the manor of Ballyfermot. He leased some land to Thomas Cantock. Cantock was the Lord Chancellor of Ireland. The land then went to the Clahulls and later the Barnawalls of Drimnagh Castle.
Ballyfermot Castle was once a Norman motte and baily. It stood northwest of Le Fanu and Raheen Roads. Wolfram De Barneval built it in stone in the 14th century. It was a stronghold against the O’Byrne and O’Toole families. These Gaelic families had lost their lands near Naas.
Robert Newcomen enhanced the castle. Later, its importance declined. In 1825, Thomas Gleadowe-Newcomen committed suicide. The castle later became a school. A fire destroyed its south and east wing.
Ballyfermot House was known as ‘the tiled house’. The Verveer family built it. In 1834, Captain Lampier and his wife Bridget lived there. It stood north of the castle’s pond. The house had a slated facade in the Dutch style.
Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu lived in nearby Chapelizod. Ballyfermot appears in his novel “The House by the Churchyard”. Le Fanu Road and Le Fanu Park are named after him. Le Fanu mentored Bram Stoker. Stoker wrote “Dracula”.
Near Le Fanu Park is a mound. It covers the ruins of St Laurence’s rectory church. It may have Celtic Christian roots. It connected to the Knights of St John of Jerusalem in the 13th century. The church served Ballyfermot until the late 17th century.
Other manor houses included Johnstown House and Sarsfield House. In the late 19th century, Ballyfermot townlands moved from the Barony of Newcastle to Uppercross.
In the 1930s, authorities acquired Ballyfermot’s dairy and stud farms. They built housing estates to solve the post-war housing shortage. Estates were also built in Drimnagh and Crumlin. The first estate was built in the late 1940s at Ballyfermot Lower. It was called the Sarsfield Estate. Street names reflect this history.
During the 1970s, Ballyfermot lacked facilities. Conditions have improved since then. Today, Ballyfermot is a centre for commercial distribution. It has access to national trunk roads.
California Hills Park is the largest recreational space. Locals named it. Kids played Cowboys and Indians there. The park overlooks the Liffey Valley.
The Grand Canal runs along Ballyfermot’s south side. Towpath walkways extend to Hazelhatch. A historic bridge crosses the canal near the seventh lock at Killeen.
Cherry Orchard Hospital is a public health facility. A new Primary Care and Mental Health Centre is beside it.
Ballyfermot has several primary schools. St Seton’s and Kylemore College are two secondary schools. Ballyfermot College of Further Education is a third-level institution.
The Ballyfermot Community Festival happens every year. The civic centre shares space with the Ballyfermot Residents Association.
Ballyfermot Youth Service has been running since 1985. It offers programs for young people. St Mary’s Youth Club has also been in the area since 1958. The Gala was a local auditorium but closed in the 2010s.
Ballyfermot De la Salle GAA Club is the largest Gaelic football club. They play home games in the Drumfin/Glenaulin Sports Park. Liffey Gaels is another GAA club.
St Matthew’s Boxing Club is on Drumfinn Road. Cherry Orchard Equine Centre offers horse riding lessons.
Religious institutions include the Church of Our Lady of the Assumption and St Matthew’s Church. Joe Duffy and The Fureys are notable people from Ballyfermot.