placenamesStradbally
An Sráidbhaile
Fermoyle’s architecture and the career of George Archibald Erskine Hickson connect the district with nineteenth-century estates and public works.
The name
These Irish name elements are associated with this record in the Logainm glossary.
An element’s translation is a clue, rather than a complete explanation of the name. Its form and meaning depend on local history and the full Irish name.
Recorded forms
- An Sráidbhaile · Irish · main form · validated name
- Stradbally · English · main form
Place & story
Georgian form and Gothic details
Fermoyle House is dated to about 1790 in the architectural inventory. Its seven-bay frontage combines projecting canted end bays with an entrance reached by steps. A limestone doorcase sits within a sandstone arch, while tracery beside the door and in an upper window introduces Gothic detail. The composition combines the scale of a Georgian house with more decorative treatment of its openings. [2]
A family connection with Fermoyle
Engineer George Archibald Erskine Hickson was a son of Robert Conway Hickson of Fermoyle. Born in 1854, he succeeded to the family estates in 1879 after his brother’s death. He graduated from Trinity College Dublin in 1878 and trained under Dundalk engineer James Barton, working as his assistant before establishing his own Tralee office in 1884. [3]
Railways, harbours and town services
Hickson’s practice extended across Kerry and Cork. He worked with John Henry Ryan on the design and construction of the Tralee and Dingle Light Railway and served the Tralee and Fenit Harbour Commissioners. By 1904 he was engineer to Tralee Urban District Council and became surveyor to Killarney’s council that year, linking the Fermoyle family with transport and municipal infrastructure. [3]
Geographic information
Sources & further reading
- Logainm.ie — Stradbally. Place names and geographic record, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
- Fermoyle House, NIAH 21303501 · National Inventory of Architectural Heritage
- George Archibald Erskine Hickson,1854–1921 · Irish Architectural Archive, Dictionary of Irish Architects
Name record retrieved 2026-10-25 · Source record modified 2025-01-10. How this page was prepared.