First recorded use:
An obituary notice in the Belfast News-Letter (20 August 1984) gives the address 3 Bandon Court, showing the court was occupied by summer 1984.
The postcode BT14 6PU was formally introduced in April 1985, suggesting the development was completed in late 1984 and then added to the Royal Mail system the following spring.
Background and naming:
Bandon Court forms part of a cluster of cul-de-sacs developed in the early 1980s off Cliftonpark Avenue, during Lower Oldpark housing renewal.
The surrounding streets include Foyle, Shannon, Liffey, Avoca, and others — several of which are names of Irish rivers.
It seems likely, though not certain, that Bandon was chosen in the same spirit, recalling the River Bandon in County Cork. This would fit a pattern of Belfast planners or developers grouping street names by shared themes (rivers, counties, trees, etc.).
Another possibility is that the choice echoed the older Bandon Street (Falls Road area), in use by 1880 but later lost in redevelopment — perhaps a way of keeping the name alive elsewhere in the city.
On speculation and naming practices:
The reasoning behind many Belfast street names is undocumented. Developers or municipal officers often applied themes for convenience or coherence, without leaving records of their choices.
As a result, connections — such as Bandon Court’s apparent link to the River Bandon or to the lost Bandon Street — must remain speculative. The pattern of nearby river names makes such an origin plausible, but it cannot be stated with certainty.
Summary:
Bandon Court was laid out as part of the Lower Oldpark housing developments of the early 1980s, first occupied by 1984. Its name probably reflects the nearby pattern of river-themed street names, and may ultimately commemorate the River Bandon in County Cork, or be a continuation of the older Bandon Street name once found off the Falls Road. Like many Belfast names, the precise reasoning remains undocumented and open to interpretation.