placenamesBallyferriter
Baile an Fheirtéaraigh
Baile an Fheirtéaraigh takes its name from the Ferriter family, while its museum preserves evidence of the peninsula’s archaeology and manuscript culture.
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
- Baile an Fheirtéaraigh · Irish · main form · validated name
- Ballyferriter · English · main form
Place & story
The Ferriters and their manor
Historian Paul MacCotter traces the Ferriter family to Walter le Fereter, recorded in 1252, whose manor was known as Dunurling. The family held lands here until the seventeenth century, and Ballyferriter's name preserves their association with the settlement. MacCotter distinguishes their village manor house from the later tower house at Ferriter's Cove, some two miles west. The surviving castle should therefore not be mistaken for a building within the village itself. [2]
A schoolhouse becomes a museum
Músaem Chorca Dhuibhne occupies Ballyferriter's former schoolhouse, built in 1875. Its collections interpret the geology, archaeology and cultural history of the Dingle Peninsula, including objects lent by the National Museum of Ireland. The museum also works with Oidhreacht Chorca Dhuibhne on activities that encourage the use of Irish and support cultural traditions. The reuse of the school building has made it a place for both historical collections and continuing cultural activity. [3]
Tomás Mhicil Mac Muircheartaigh’s manuscripts
Scholar Tomás L. Ó Murchú identifies six surviving manuscripts by the local scribe Tomás Mhicil Mac Muircheartaigh, who lived from 1820 to 1899. One is held in the village museum; others survive in university collections in Dublin and Cork. The study examines the scribe's own dated notes and handwriting to establish the manuscripts' history. This connects Ballyferriter with the copying and preservation of Irish texts during the nineteenth century. [4]
Geographic information
- Place type
- Population centre
- County
- Kerry
- Barony
- Corkaguiny
- Civil parish
- Dunurlin
- Within
- Ballyferriter
- Coordinates
- 52.16326, -10.41171 (approximate)
- Logainm ID
- 1412422 ↗
Sources & further reading
- Logainm.ie — Ballyferriter. Place names and geographic record, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
- The Ferriters of Baile an Fhirtéaraigh,event82 · Dr Paul MacCotter, Dingle/Corca Dhuibhne History Timeline Project
- About West Kerry Museum · Músaem Chorca Dhuibhne
- Lámhscríbhinn i Músaem Chorca Dhuibhne: local manuscript study · Tomás L. Ó Murchú, COMHARTaighde
- Saint Vincent's Church, Ballyferriter illustration: based on a St Vincent's Church, Ballyferriter by David Purchase. AI-assisted watercolour and ink adaptation; cream paper margins added, incidental clutter omitted and fine details simplified. Licence: CC BY-SA 2.0.
Name record retrieved 2026-10-25 · Source record modified 2011-11-10. How this page was prepared.