Charles Fort

Charles Fort, by TheLizardQueen

Built in 1680 during the reign of King Charles II, this fort remained a British army base until Irish Independence in 1921. A huge fort, with walls up to 6m thick and five defensive bastions around its perimeter, it was built in a star shape, a configuration that provided better defence against cannon fire than the older circular forts.

This style of fort was common throughout Europe at that time and Charles Fort is one of the best remaining examples of a star-shaped fort in Europe.

It’s a huge complex, with troop sleeping quarters including married quarters, parade grounds, a hospital, gun and ammunition stores, barracks and stables. While many of the buildings are in a poor state there has been a lot of restoration and it is very well kept to-day.

The Siege of Kinsale

The fort was intended to defend the  town of Kinsale from an expected attack by Louis XIV of France, an attack which did not materialise. French forces eventually did arrive,  in 1689, when the were sent to support Charles’ son, the Catholic King James II who had lost the throne of England to the Protestant William of Orange.

James, with the aid of the French, was determined to retain control of Ireland and Kinsale was the base from which he launched his ultimately doomed campaign which eventually ended in total defeat to King William at the Battle of the Boyne in July 1690.

In September of that year, Williamite forces led by the Duke of Marlborough proved that although Charles Fort was pretty much impregnable from the sea, it was vulnerable to attack from the land side.

In the image on the left the entrance gate to the fort is clearly much older than the walls and was built to replace the one destroyed during the 13 day siege which ended in victory for King William.

Irish Civil War

At the time of its abandonment by the British in 1921 the fort had accommodation for 9 officers and 200 men, some of whom lived with their families in married quarters. The fort was taken over by the new Irish Free State but became embroiled in the civil war which erupted between the state and anti-treaty forces.

The damaged state of the fort to-day is largely a result of fighting during the Civil War and it was finally set on fire by retreating anti-treaty forces and burned extensively. Neglected for decades, in 1973 it was declared a National Monument and taken into the care of the Office of Public Works who began an extensive restoration programme which is still on-going.

What to See at Charles Fort

Although much of the fort is in ruins, it is a fascinating place to visit and kids in particular enjoy rampaging around on top of the thick walls and taking up positions in the bastions!

In an early nod to health and safety, the gunpowder store was cleverly designed to prevent disastrous accidents. It has an outer stone wall within which is a double brick cavity wall enclosing a small room. The idea was that the force of an explosion within the room would be dissipated by the two inner walls and leaving the outer one intact and the occupants of the fort unharmed.

The octagonal structures in the image on the left were built to support huge water tanks. The former commander’s quarters are still intact and now house an exhibition centre.

As you can imagine since it was designed to provide defence against attacks from the sea, the views from the top of the walls and from the bastions are spectacular.

Visiting Charles Fort

Charles Fort is open daily from March to October and at weekends the rest of the year. Free guided tours are available and are well worth taking.

It is located about 3km east of Kinsale, close to Summercove. The walk from Kinsale is a very pleasant one on a good day, but there is a car park on site for those coming by car. It is well sign-posted.

Free with a Heritage Card. During the Summer only there is a café serving light snacks available.

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