Mayfield, Cork

Mayfield, historically Ballinamought (from Irish Baile na mBocht, meaning 'town of the poor'), is a suburb on the north-side of Cork City, Ireland. Mayfield is part of the Dáil constituency of Cork North-Central.

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, translate Baile na mBocht as "town of the poor [people]". Other sources translate it as "town of the sick", as the area was reputedly the site of a medieval leper colony. 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 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, 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, poet
• Dara Murphy, former Lord Mayor of Cork
• Roy Keane, 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