Martello Tower

Williamstown Martello Tower No. 15 (Kerrigan 1995, 170). According to Kerrigan (1995, 168) construction of the Dublin area Martello Towers and their batteries commenced in 1804 under the supervision of Colonel Benjamin Fisher of the Royal Engineers and by December 1805 all towers were armed and complete. Kerrigan (ibid., 170) recorded that; ‘The towers and batteries south of Dublin are numbered from 1 to 16, but there were only fourteen towers, as at two locations there were batteries only, while several of the towers were close to adjacent batteries’. Situated on a E facing slope with views of the coastline N of Blackrock, now a park bordering on the railway line. Built of dressed granite, the tower is free-standing. Doorway is in the south. There are no traces of a machicolation which may have defended it. The upper parapet is carried on a double corbel. There are two openings in this on the west side above a blocked-up tall narrow opening which was probably the original entrance. Described by Kerrigan (1995, 174) as; 'the unusual tower no. 15 at Williamstown, the parapet supported on two courses of quadrant-shaped corbels. The tower is larger than usual, having a diameter of about 44 feet'. See attached plan of Williamstown Martello Tower No. 15 courtesy of the Irish Military Archives - Archival Reference Code: IE/MA/MPD/AD119455-008 See attached Taylor's 1816 Map showing the location of the Martello Tower. Taylor, J. 1816 Taylor's map of the environs of Dublin: extending 10 to 14 miles from the castle, by actual survey, on a scale of 2 inches to one mile. Drawing © National Library of Ireland; View of Dublin coastline at Blackrock, with two Martello Towers. Attributed to Samuel Frederick Brocas. NLI PD 2064 TX 122 Photo ©shane wilson https://www.ouririshheritage.org/content/knowyour5k/williamstown-martello-tower-2 DU023-002----_05 Patrick Healy Collection, https://hdl.handle.net/10599/1998, © South Dublin Libraries, Local Studies Collection, County Library, Town Centre, Tallaght, Dublin 24 Complied by: Geraldine Stout and Padraig Clancy Revised by: Caimin O'Brien Date of revised upload: 23 January 2023