James Fort ( ga, Dún Rí Shéamuis) is an early 17th-century pentagonal bastion fort located on

Castlepark The Castlepark peninsula in Kinsale harbour on the coast of County Cork, on the south coast of Ireland is really more a presque-isle than a peninsula, being joined to the mainland only by an extremely narrow neck at its north-western corner. T ...

peninsula in

Kinsale Kinsale ( ; ) is a historic port and fishing town in County Cork, Ireland. Located approximately south of Cork City on the southeast coast near the Old Head of Kinsale, it sits at the mouth of the River Bandon, and has a population of 5,281 (a ...

harbour,

County Cork County Cork ( ga, Contae Chorcaí) is the largest and the southernmost county of Ireland, named after the city of Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. Its largest market towns a ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. Situated downstream from Kinsale on the

River Bandon The River Bandon ( ga, Abhainn na Bandan, from ''ban-dea'', meaning "goddess") is a river in County Cork, Ireland. The Bandon rises at Nowen Hill (one of the Shehy Mountains), to the north of Drimoleague. The river then flows to Dunmanway, ...

, the fort was built to defend the harbour and seaborne approaches of the town. Following the construction of

Charles Fort Charles Hoy Fort (August 6, 1874 – May 3, 1932) was an American writer and researcher who specialized in anomalous phenomena. The terms "Fortean" and "Forteana" are sometimes used to characterize various such phenomena. Fort's books sold ...

on the opposite side of the harbour in the late 17th century, James Fort became known as the "old fort" ( ga, an Seandaingean). Listed as a protected National Monument, and managed by the

Office of Public Works The Office of Public Works (OPW) ( ga, Oifig na nOibreacha Poiblí) (legally the Commissioners of Public Works in Ireland) is a major Irish Government agency, which manages most of the Irish State's property portfolio, including hundreds of o ...

, the fort is open to visitors.

History

Before James fort was constructed, an earlier medieval fortification existed on the site. This fortification, named ''Castle Ny-Parke'' was occupied for a time by

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

forces during the early part of the

Siege of Kinsale The siege of Kinsale, or Battle of Kinsale ( ga, Léigear/Cath Chionn tSáile), was the ultimate battle in England's conquest of Gaelic Ireland, commencing in October 1601, near the end of the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, and at the climax of t ...

(1601). It was captured however from the Spanish by Sir Richard Smyth who led the attacking English forces of Charles Blount, Lord Mountjoy. Construction of James Fort commenced in 1602 - immediately after the Siege of Kinsale. The fort was named after

James I of England James VI and I (James Charles Stuart; 19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625) was King of Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the Scottish and English crowns on 24 March 1603 until ...

and VI of Scotland, and was built to designs by Paul Ive (to replace and supplement the older medieval structure). Completed by 1607, the central structure was a half-bastioned four-sided stone fortification, surrounded by pentagonal earthworks to a bastion fort or star-shaped fort design. A hexagonal blockhouse was built on the water's edge - a '' water battery'' at the narrowest point in the channel. As with Charles Fort on the other side of the harbour, James Fort was occupied by Jacobite forces during the

Williamite War in Ireland The Williamite War in Ireland (1688–1691; ga, Cogadh an Dá Rí, "war of the two kings"), was a conflict between Jacobite supporters of deposed monarch James II and Williamite supporters of his successor, William III. It is also called th ...

. It was captured however in 1690 by Williamite forces, after being damaged by an explosion of gunpowder stores. Though Charles Fort (the "new fort") was operated as a military garrison through to the early 20th century, James Fort (the "old fort") declined in use during the 18th century, and texts and maps describe it as a ruin by the 19th century.

Today

James Fort was subject to a number of archaeological excavations in the late 20th and early 21st centuries - including a survey commissioned by Dúchas (the Heritage Service) in 1998. The fort site is listed as a National Monument (number 525), and as such under "state guardianship". As of 2016, An Taisce (the National Trust for Ireland) listed the fort in an "at risk" category, noting that while it had been subject to preservation works, it required "a long-term conservation management plan to prevent future deterioration". The James Fort site is publicly accessible, and visited both as a tourist attraction and as an amenity park (by walkers and runners).

References

{{reflist Buildings and structures in County Cork Kinsale Forts in the Republic of Ireland Tourist attractions in County Cork National Monuments in County Cork