Fort Eliza

Freestanding five-sided four-gun battery, constructed c.1812, and standing on the east side of the River Shannon. Three sides face the river and formed of broad parapets. The other two sides meet at the rear salient angle at a guardhouse, which is now ruined. The battery is surrounded by a dry moat, the entrance originally across a drawbridge close to the guardhouse. At the centre of the enclosure was the brick-vaulted powder magazine.

The possibility of war and invasion by France was recognised by the authorities at the end of the eighteenth century. The defence of crossings of the River Shannon was of strategic importance, particularly at points where the river could be forded. With the renewal of war with France, 1803 to 1814, plans were put in place for the construction of permanent defences at Banagher. This building forms part of a group of defensive structures including the remains of Fort Falkland, Keelogue Battery (14929006), Meelick Martello Tower (14929011) and in Galway, Cromwell's Castle (30410908). The Shannon fortifications are of special significance due to their inland location.