|
There are two Martello towers in Skerries, one
on Red Island and the other on Shenick Island.
The word Martello is a corruption of Mortella,
the name of a headland in Corsica. It was here
that the original of these squat towers defended
the approaches to the Gulf of Fiorenza. In 1794
the British were helping the people of Corsica,
who rebelled against the French. Two British ships,
the "Fortitude" and the "Juno," bombarded the
tower, and 1400 troops with artillery were landed
to help in the attack. The ships were disabled,
and forced to retire with great loss of life.
The troops maintained their attack for a considerable
time without success. Finally a lucky shot started
a fire in the tower, which forced the soldiers
inside to surrender.
The English were amazed to find only thirty-three
men inside, with only three cannons. This incident
greatly impressed the military authorities in
England, and in 1804 when they feared that Napoleon
would invade Ireland, they built a long chain
of such towers on the eastern and southern coasts
of the country. They are all similar, being built
of solid stone, usually granite. The walls are
nine feet thick. Each tower has a guardroom and
an ammunition store. There is a platform on top,
on which three cannons were placed. The entrance
to the tower is through a door, which was usually
between ten and fifteen feet from the ground.
Each tower was built in a position where one could
see the two towers on either side. The invasion
that the British feared never happened .
Back to: History of Skerries
Index Page.
|
