Mayfield, historically Ballinamought (),
is a suburb on the north-side of
Cork city
Cork ( ; from , meaning 'marsh') is the second-largest city in Republic of Ireland, Ireland, the county town of County Cork, the largest city in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and the List of settlements on the island of Ireland ...
, Ireland. Mayfield is part of the
Dáil constituency of
Cork North-Central
"Cork" or "CORK" may refer to:
Materials
* Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product
** Stopper (plug), or "cork", a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container
*** Wine cork an item to seal or reseal wine
Places Ireland
* ...
.
Name
The area was originally called ''Baile na mBocht'' in
Irish and Anglicised as "Ballinamought".
A number of works, including those of etymologist and historian
Patrick Weston Joyce
Patrick Weston "P. W." Joyce (1827 – 7 January 1914) was an Irish historian, writer and music collector, known particularly for his research in Irish etymology and local place names of Ireland.
Biography
He was born in Ballyorgan in the B ...
, translate ''Baile na mBocht'' as "town of the poor
eople.
Other sources translate it as "town of the sick", as the area was reputedly the site of a medieval
leper colony
A leper colony, also known by many other names, is an isolated community for the quarantining and treatment of lepers, people suffering from leprosy.
'' M. leprae'', the bacterium responsible for leprosy, is believed to have spread from East ...
.
A path leading from the area towards the river, known in Irish as ''Siúl na Lobhar'' (literally 'Lepers Walk') is known in English as "Lover's Walk".
Geography
Mayfield is 3 km north-east of the city centre. It is bounded to the north by the Glen River Valley, an aquiferous geological formation produced by a receding glacier during the
last ice age. Habitats, flora and fauna within the area include the
small cudweed and the
sand martin
The sand martin (''Riparia riparia''), also known as collared sand martin or common sand martin, and in the Americas as the bank swallow, is a migratory passerine bird in the swallow family Hirundinidae. It has a wide range in summer, embracing ...
, a migratory bird species that returns from North Africa each spring to breed in the porous sand cliffs along sections of the river valley north.
Notable people
*
Michael Davitt
Michael Davitt (25 March 1846 – 30 May 1906) was an Irish republicanism, Irish republican activist for a variety of causes, especially Home Rule (Ireland), Home Rule and land reform. Following an eviction when he was four years old, Davitt's ...
, poet
*
Dara Murphy
Dara Murphy (born 2 December 1969) is an Irish former Fine Gael politician who served as a Minister of State from 2014 to 2017 and Lord Mayor of Cork from 2009 to 2010. He served as a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Cork North-Central constituency ...
, former
Lord Mayor of Cork
The Lord Mayor of Cork () is the honorific title of the Chairperson () of Cork City Council which is the local government body for the city of Cork in Ireland. The office holder is elected annually by the members of the Council. The incumbent ...
*
Roy Keane
Roy Maurice Keane (born 10 August 1971) is an Irish football pundit, former coach, and former professional player. He is best known for his career in the Premier League, in particular his captaincy of Manchester United. He is the joint most ...
, Irish footballer, was born and grew up in Mayfield
*
James Coughlan, Irish rugby union player for Munster
*
Kieran Murphy, former Cork senior hurling captain
See also
*
List of towns and villages in Ireland
References
{{coord, 51, 54, 48, N, 8, 26, 03, W, source:kolossus-ruwiki, display=title
Geography of Cork (city)