Grey Point Fort (map reference ) is a

battery Battery most often refers to: * Electric battery, a device that provides electrical power * Battery (crime), a crime involving unlawful physical contact Battery may also refer to: Energy source *Automotive battery, a device to provide power t ...

located at Helen's Bay on the south side of

Belfast Lough Belfast Lough is a large, intertidal sea inlet on the east coast of Northern Ireland. At its head is the city and port of Belfast, which sits at the mouth of the River Lagan. The lough opens into the North Channel and connects Belfast to th ...

. It was part of the defences of

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...

. Construction of the battery began in 1904, with the guns mounted by 1907. The construction of the battery and another battery on the opposite side of the Lough at

Kilroot , translit_lang1 = Irish , translit_lang1_type = Derivation: , translit_lang1_info = , translit_lang1_type1 = Meaning: , translit_lang1_info1 = Church of the redhead , image_sk ...

was noted by the Owen Report of 1905.Colonel J F Owen, 1905. Report of the Committee of the Armaments of the Home Ports, HMSO, p12 The battery was armed with two 6-inch Mark VII Breech loading guns. During the First World War additional buildings were constructed to provide accommodation for men of

Kitchener's Army The New Army, often referred to as Kitchener's Army or, disparagingly, as Kitchener's Mob, was an (initially) all-volunteer portion of the British Army formed in the United Kingdom from 1914 onwards following the outbreak of hostilities in the Fi ...

. Following the war, the battery remained in use with two coastal defence search lights being installed in 1936. Grey Point Fort, Helen's Bay (3) - geograph

Grey Point Fort, Helen's Bay (3) - geograph

During the Second World War, it was operated by a Territorial Army unit, the 525th (Antrim) Coast Regiment, Royal Artillery. Concrete overhead covers were added to both gun positions. Following the war. the battery continued to be maintained with a mobile radar being installed in 1954. On the abolition of coast artillery in 1956 the fort was disarmed. Between 1992 and 1996 original guns were obtained and installed from fortifications in Cork – one from Fort Mitchel on

Spike Island, County Cork Spike Island ( gle, Inis Píc) is an island of in Cork Harbour, Ireland. Originally the site of a monastic settlement, the island is dominated by an 18th-century bastion fort now named Fort Mitchel. The island's strategic location within th ...

and the other from

Fort Davis, County Cork Fort Davis (Irish: ''Dún an Dáibhisigh''; previously ''Fort Carlisle''), is a coastal defence fortification close to Whitegate, County Cork, Ireland. Together with similar structures at Fort Mitchel (Spike Island), Fort Camden (Crosshaven), ...

. Since 2008 the Fort has been opened by the Grey Point Amateur Radio Society.

References

Publications

* Clements, Bill, 2003. ''Defending the North:The Fortifications of Ulster 1796-1956'', Colourpoint Books, Gosport. {{ISBN, 1904242073 Forts in Northern Ireland Military installations of Ireland Artillery batteries