Fort Davis, County Cork
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Fort Davis ( Irish: ''Dún an Dáibhisigh''; previously ''Fort Carlisle''), is a coastal defence fortification close to
Whitegate, County Cork Whitegate () is a small village in East Cork on the eastern shore of Cork Harbour in County Cork, Ireland. It lies within the townlands of Ballincarroonig and Corkbeg. Whitegate is within the Cork East Dáil constituency. The ruins of a 14th-c ...
, Ireland. Together with similar structures at Fort Mitchel (Spike Island), Fort Camden (Crosshaven), and Templebreedy Battery (also close to Crosshaven), the fort was built to defend the mouth of
Cork Harbour Cork Harbour () is a natural harbour and river estuary at the mouth of the River Lee (Ireland), River Lee in County Cork, Ireland. It is one of several which lay claim to the title of "second largest natural harbour in the world by navigational ...
. Though used as a fortification from the early 17th century, the current structures of the 74-acre site date primarily from the 1860s. Originally named Fort Carlisle and operated by the
British Armed Forces The British Armed Forces are the unified military, military forces responsible for the defence of the United Kingdom, its British Overseas Territories, Overseas Territories and the Crown Dependencies. They also promote the UK's wider interests ...
, the fort was handed-over to the
Irish Defence Forces The Defence Forces (, officially styled ) derives its origins from the Irish Volunteers. Whilst the Irish for ''Defence Forces'' is , as Ó Cearúil (1999) points out, the Defence Forces are officially styled . is used in other contexts (e.g. ...
in 1938, and renamed Fort Davis. The facility is owned by the Department of Defence, and is used as a military training site with no public access.


History

The coastline at Whitegate, north of Roche's Point, is at a strategic position overlooking the entrance to Cork Harbour – one of the world's largest natural harbours, and historically of defensive and naval importance to Ireland and the region. One of the earliest documented fortifications at this point was built prior to 1607, and came to be known as "Prince Rupert's Tower" (for
Prince Rupert of the Rhine Prince Rupert of the Rhine, Duke of Cumberland, (17 December 1619 ( O.S.) 7 December 1619 (N.S.)– 29 November 1682 (O.S.) December 1682 (N.S) was an English-German army officer, admiral, scientist, and colonial governor. He first rose to ...
). By the period of the Williamite War (1689–1691) additional coastal defence fortifications were in place on the site, and known as "King John's Fort" (for
John, King of England John (24 December 1166 – 19 October 1216) was King of England from 1199 until his death in 1216. He lost the Duchy of Normandy and most of his other French lands to King Philip II of France, resulting in the collapse of the Angevin Empi ...
). Together with Fort Camden, this fort fell to Williamite forces under the
Duke of Marlborough General John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, 1st Prince of Mindelheim, 1st Count of Nellenburg, Prince of the Holy Roman Empire, (26 May 1650 – 16 June 1722 O.S.) was a British army officer and statesman. From a gentry family, he ...
in the lead-up to the
Siege of Cork The siege of Cork took place during the Williamite war in Ireland in the year of 1690 in Ireland, 1690. It happened shortly after the Battle of the Boyne during James II of England, James II's attempt to retake the English throne from William ...
(1690). Additional construction works were undertaken from the 1790s, and some of these tunnels and structures were used during the
Napoleonic Wars {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Napoleonic Wars , partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg , caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...
(1803–1815) to house French
prisoners of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of war for a ...
. By the mid-19th century the defences had been renamed to Fort Carlisle (for
Frederick Howard, 5th Earl of Carlisle Frederick Howard, 5th Earl of Carlisle (28 May 1748 – 4 September 1825) was a British statesman, diplomat and author. Life He was the son of Henry Howard, 4th Earl of Carlisle and his second wife Isabella Byron. His mother was a daughte ...
a previous
Lord Lieutenant of Ireland Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (), or more formally Lieutenant General and General Governor of Ireland, was the title of the chief governor of Ireland from the Williamite Wars of 1690 until the Partition of Ireland in 1922. This spanned the K ...
). In the 1850s, a
Royal Commission A royal commission is a major ad-hoc formal public inquiry into a defined issue in some monarchies. They have been held in the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Norway, Malaysia, Mauritius and Saudi Arabia. In republics an equi ...
gave renewed consideration to the strategic importance of the harbour, and proposed enhancements to the defences at Fort Mitchel (Spike Island), Fort Camden (Crosshaven), and Fort Carlisle. During the 1860s Fort Carlisle was therefore redeveloped along the lines of other "
Palmerston Forts The Palmerston Forts are a group of forts and associated structures around the coasts of the United Kingdom and Ireland. The forts were built during the Victorian period on the recommendations of the 1860 Royal Commission on the Defence of the ...
" in the region. Some of this development took advantage of 19th century advancements in the use of concrete. During the
First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
(1914–1918), the harbour was used as a naval base to cover the "
Western Approaches The Western Approaches is an approximately rectangular area of the Atlantic Ocean lying immediately to the west of Ireland and parts of Great Britain. Its north and south boundaries are defined by the corresponding extremities of Britain. The c ...
", and Fort Davis was used to complement the defences of Fort Camden on the opposite side of the harbour entrance. Royal Garrison Artillery Coastal Defence units were stationed in the fort at this time. The fort did not see significant action during the
Irish War of Independence The Irish War of Independence (), also known as the Anglo-Irish War, was a guerrilla war fought in Ireland from 1919 to 1921 between the Irish Republican Army (1919–1922), Irish Republican Army (IRA, the army of the Irish Republic) and Unite ...
– although a number of graves in the fort's military cemetery date from this period. Following the war, under the
Anglo-Irish Treaty The 1921 Anglo-Irish Treaty (), commonly known in Ireland as The Treaty and officially the Articles of Agreement for a Treaty Between Great Britain and Ireland, was an agreement between the government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain an ...
, the harbour defences remained in the control of British government. These Treaty Port installations, including Fort Carlisle, were handed-over to the Irish authorities in 1938. The fort was renamed ''Fort Davis'' for Thomas Davis – who was the chief organiser of the
Young Ireland Young Ireland (, ) was a political movement, political and cultural movement, cultural movement in the 1840s committed to an all-Ireland struggle for independence and democratic reform. Grouped around the Dublin weekly ''The Nation (Irish news ...
movement. (Similarly, "Fort Westmoreland" on Spike Island was renamed "Fort Mitchel", and "Fort Camden" near Crosshaven was renamed "Fort Meagher"). During " the Emergency" (1939–1945), elements of the Coastal Defence Artillery (CDA) of the Irish Artillery Corps operated from the fort. By the mid- to late-20th century the CDA was merged into other artillery regiments of the
Irish Army The Irish Army () is the land component of the Defence Forces (Ireland), Defence Forces of Republic of Ireland, Ireland.The Defence Forces are made up of the Permanent Defence Forces – the standing branches – and the Reserve Defence Forces. ...
, and the fort primarily used as a training site. The site remains in the ownership of the Department of Defence and is used by the Irish Army for exercises, ceremonial "gun salutes" and other training purposes.


Layout

The features of the fort date primarily to developments in the 19th century, when – at peak – the fort had upwards of 20 guns. On the landward side, a dry-moat, ramparts, ''
terreplein In fortification architecture, a terreplein or terre-plein is the top, platform, or horizontal surface of a rampart, on which cannon are placed,''Webster's International Dictionary of the English Language'', Vol 2, 1895 protected by a parapet. In ...
'', ''
caponier A caponier is a type of defensive structure in a fortification. Fire from this point could cover the ditch beyond the curtain wall (fortification), curtain wall to deter any attempt to storm the wall. The word originates from the French ', meaning ...
'' and flanking batteries defended the approaches. The dry-moat is deep and wide at points, and was originally crossed by a
drawbridge A drawbridge or draw-bridge is a type of moveable bridge typically at the entrance to a castle or tower surrounded by a moat. In some forms of English, including American English, the word ''drawbridge'' commonly refers to all types of moveable b ...
. The
star shaped A star is a luminous spheroid of plasma held together by self-gravity. The nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked eye at night; their immense distances from Earth make them appear as fixed points of lig ...
landward defences included three musketry caponiers, and a simple terreplein with movable guns. On the seaward side, land batteries were trained on the harbour from eight gun emplacements. These batteries were built with a number of underground shelters, vaulted
magazines A magazine is a periodical literature, periodical publication, print or digital, produced on a regular schedule, that contains any of a variety of subject-oriented textual and visual content (media), content forms. Magazines are generally fin ...
, and linked in places by bunkered tunnels. Though changed over time, the batteries were originally constructed to include: * Main emplacement – Dating from the Napoleonic era, this is triangular in layout with one full
bastion A bastion is a structure projecting outward from the curtain wall of a fortification, most commonly angular in shape and positioned at the corners of the fort. The fully developed bastion consists of two faces and two flanks, with fire from the ...
, two demi-bastions and one semi-circular bastion * Number 1 battery – As with several of the fort's other batteries, this dates from the Victorian reconstruction. Originally it had Moncrieff mountings for four
RML 7 inch gun The RML 7-inch guns were various designs of medium-sized rifled muzzle-loading guns used to arm small to medium-sized British warships in the late 19th century, and some were used ashore for coast defence. Design and history These guns were th ...
s (later reconstructed for three QF 12-pounder guns) * Number 2 battery –
Casemate A casemate is a fortified gun emplacement or armoured structure from which guns are fired, in a fortification, warship, or armoured fighting vehicle.Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary When referring to antiquity, the term "casemate wall" ...
d with shields for two RML 10 inch guns * Number 3 battery – Moncrieff mountings for four RML 7 inch guns * Number 4 battery – Casemated for four RML 10 inch guns (later converted to an oil store) * North Battery – Two BL 6 inch coastal defence guns * Rupert's Tower Battery – Two RML 12 inch guns (later rebuilt for two BL 6-inch Mk VII guns) * South Battery – Two BL 9.2 inch guns Other features of the fort include a military cemetery, a waterfront pier for sea-borne access, and a number of over-ground
barracks Barracks are buildings used to accommodate military personnel and quasi-military personnel such as police. The English word originates from the 17th century via French and Italian from an old Spanish word 'soldier's tent', but today barracks ar ...
and support buildings. Evidence of torpedo defences were discovered at the fort during clearing works in 2015.


See also

*
List of Irish military installations This is a list of Irish military installations occupied by the Defence Forces (Ireland), Defence Forces (including Irish Army, Army, Irish Air Corps, Air Corps, Irish Naval Service, Naval Service and Reserve Defence Forces) in the Republic of Ire ...


References

{{Cork Harbour , state=collapsed
Davis Davis may refer to: Places Antarctica * Mount Davis (Antarctica) * Davis Island (Palmer Archipelago) * Davis Station, an Australian base and research outpost in the Vestfold Hills * Davis Valley, Queen Elizabeth Land Canada * Davis, Sa ...
Buildings and structures in County Cork Davis, Fort