On my visits to Ireland of late I’ve encountered very few U.S. citizens, which is a pity. We wandered into the Kennedy Homestead near New Ross and visited the John F. Kennedy Memorial Arboretum nearby, and met none. Ireland is a place which fills a great corner of American life and I hope that changes soon and U.S. visitors flood back to the Emerald Isle.
For me, living in Wales, it’s a simple ferry trip of a couple of hours over the Irish Sea to another Celtic country — a Celtic country crammed with guns and history and fortresses.
Duncannon Fort is one which has to be seen to be believed.
About hand an hour’s drive from both Waterford and Wexford, it lies on the southern coast of Ireland and has long been the key to that island’s defense. It was built in 1587, well armed with long culverin guns in expectation of an attack by the Spanish fleet. The first time its guns were fired in anger was by a jittery lieutenant, George Flower, who mistook an English merchant ship for invaders.
During the English Civil Wars in the 1640s the fort suffered three hard poundings by heavy siege guns and finally, in 1650, plague forced its surrender to Oliver Cromwell and the army of the English Parliament.
Forty years later King James II of England fled to Duncannon after he lost his crown at the Battle of the Boyne, only to be followed hot foot by his successor, King William III. The fort was steadily strengthened and by 1724 there were 18 heavy muzzle-loading guns to contest the passage up the river to Waterford City.
During the Irish Rebellion of 1798 the fort’s guns again fired in anger and withstood the attack of the insurgent army, the “croppy boys.” Through the Napoleonic Wars of 1793-1815 and on into the 19th century the fort remained the strongest point of defense of the rich city of Waterford and its guns were constantly updated and improved.
By the end of the 1800s the muzzle-loaders gave way to new coastal guns, and were relegated to firing salutes. Though the fort was manned and ready against the Germans in World War I, its main use was as a strongpoint and barracks against the Irish Republicans until the British withdrew in 1921.
A year later Duncannon suffered greater devastation in the Irish Civil War than it had ever seen, when it was partly destroyed by fire and explosion in fighting between two groups of Irish patriots.
During World War II the fort was rebuilt by the Irish Army to withstand invasion and attack by German raiders and was armed with modern guns and searchlights. It continued to be used by the Irish armed forces until 1986. Four hundred years of ordnance history had come to an end.
The fort still bears some of its guns, which are being restored with great patience by Duncannon Fort Trust which owns the site and opens it to visitors from all over the world. There are five guns on display on Duncannon’s parade square — Armstrong pattern 6 pdr. guns bearing the arms of America’s favorite king, George III (1760-1820) and bearing the “broad arrow” mark so well known on British guns.
The guns are around 6 feet in length and have a 4-inch muzzle bore. Each bears its weight mark in hundredweights, quarters and pounds and has been placed on a modern replica garrison or ship’s carriage of 1776 design.
The unpainted, oiled wood carriages were built by local experts and, what’s more, were built to withstand the stress of live firing. As yet this hasn’t been undertaken, but with luck as the fort’s potential is unleashed, live firing will happen.
Certainly these original barrels are capable of withstanding a little action. Indeed, some of them were mounted at Duncannon well into the 19th century, being sturdy reliable pieces. But they were of little value against the “wooden walled” men o’war and they were largely relegated to defending the approaches to the fort by that time.
The historic positions around the fort where these weapons would have been sited, at the Landface Battery and the Casemate Battery, can still be visited and patiently await their guns.
A sixth gun in a sad state at present is in process of being cleaned and will be remounted in the near future. Mysteriously, some of the fort’s smaller pieces of muzzle-loading ordnance have traveled a few hundred yards and can be seen outside the pub in the center of the village of Duncannon, a very handily placed establishment for a thirsty gunner.
There are two other pieces awaiting attention from the restoration team. One is believed to be a “Falconett” from about 1685 or thereabouts, which may turn out to have been one of the guns to salute King James as he fled Ireland and his crown forever, back in 1690.
This is a historical site full of ghosts and memories, a site at which the ordnance that defended it is only beginning to be restored to its rightful place defending the coast. Over the next few years Duncannon Fort will develop into a site which any visitor with an interest in the black arts of gunnery could not afford to miss on a visit to Ireland.
(About the Author: Military and maritime historian Robert Morgan is secretary of the Welsh Maritime Association and a member of the Ordnance Society who writes frequently about artillery and fortifications.)