Sandycove Battery — Bullock

Martello Tower and Battery No. 11 (Kerrigan 1995, 170). Annotated 'Sandycove Battery' on the 1837 ed. OSi 6-inch map. Martello Tower (DU023-019----) located 70m to S of the battery. 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. Depicted on the 1863 ed. OSi 25-inch map as a semi-circular shaped area (dims. c. 34m E-W x 19m N-S) enclosed by an ashlar built stone wall standing on a rocky headland overlooking Scotsman's Bay to the W. A plan of the Battery dated 1883 shows the presence of a 'path cut thro the rocks' which may represent the original rock cut defences contemporaneous with the construction of the 'Battery' (IE/MA/MPD/AD119456-003). The sea defences constructed at Sandycove consisted of a single-gun Martello Tower (DU023-019----) alongside a multi-gun, fortified emplacement known as the Sandycove Battery which was armed with one 68 pounder gun and five 8-inch smooth bore guns (Clements 2011, 94; Fishback 2021,329). A plan of the Battery dated 1883 shows the D-shaped battery with a rock platform in the S quadrant of interior, with Privy and Cess Pit in W quadrant, Store building with adjoining Guard Room to SE of Cess Pit, Soldiers Quarters No. 1 and No. 2 to SE of Guard Room with another store building to W of store. On the 1st of October, 1860 the construction of a Magazine was started inside the Battery which was completed on the 5th of May 1861 at a cost of £599. The magazine was designed to 'contain 100 cases or barrels of [gun]powder' (IE/MA/MPD/AD119456-003). According to De Courcy (1996, 365) Sandycove Battery No. 11 was one of three gun batteries (Dun Laoghaire Battery No. 13 and Dalkey Island DU023-029011-) built in the early 19th century to protect the shoreline of Dublin Bay. In 1802 Admiral James Hawkins-Whitshed had been appointed the naval adviser to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, with orders to make arrangements for the defence of the Irish coast and to organise the sea defences of the coastline which included the construction of the Martello Towers and the batteries along the shoreline of the east coast of Ireland during the Napoleonic Wars of 1803-15. In 1803 he was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Sea Fencibles [naval defence] in Ireland. Admiral Whitshed advised Lord (William) Cathcart, Commander in Chief in Ireland (1803-05), on the siting of the Martello towers. In 1804 the commander of the forces was authorised by the Chief Secretary to secure those parts of the coast between Drogheda and Wexford from an enemy landing. In September of that year, construction works commenced on the Martello towers and batteries defending Dublin Bay under the command of Royal Engineer, Lieutenant-Colonel Benjamin Fisher (Clements 2011, 71). By the end of 1806 the Dublin Martello Towers, of which their were 26 and their batteries had been completed (ibid. 72). According to Clements (2011, 72) 12 Martello Towers and their batteries 'were constructed between Balbriggan and Sutton Creek to the north of the city and fourteen more to the south from Sandymount to Bray. The building at Sandycove was described by De Courcy (ibid.) as follows; 'The battery at Sandycove, which had capacity for a garrison of 36 men, was on the rocky headland between the Forty-foot bathing place and Sandycove Harbour. The walled compound, which may still be seen, contained five gun emplacements commanding the bay to the west, north and east, and each gun was mounted on a roller system to enable precise aiming. A raised platform in the centre of the compound probably served as the command position, and a shot furnace was provided for heating cannon-balls as in the Sandymount Martello tower. Extensive stores and soldiers' quarters, as well as magazine, kitchen and guardroom, were included in and around the compound'. On August the 1st, 1860 The Dublin Builder recorded the following advertisement relating to works at Sandycove Battery; 'The War Department have issued advertisements for the following works in Ireland, viz.,for building a magazine and shafting-room at Sandycove battery, Dublin Bay'. Thom's Almanac of 1870 listed Master Gunner, Thomas Birks as the person in command of Sandycove battery (1870, 1640). The battery remained an active artillery installation until 1896 when it was demilitarized and leased to the Dublin Bay Sailing Club tor £30 per annum' (Fishback 2021, 329). In 1883 the battery possessed six, obsolete 150mm muzzle-loading guns, quartered 36 enlisted men, and served as a miltia artillery training facility (ibid., 329; Bolton 2008; IE/MA/MPD/AD119456-004). See attached plan of Sandycove Battery dated 1883 courtesy of the Military Archives, Irish Defense Forces, IE/MA/MPD/AD119456-007. See attached plan, elevation and section of Master Gunner's Store at Sandycove Battery, dated 1861, courtesy of the Military Archives, Irish Defense Forces, IE/MA/MPD/AD119456-001. See attached plan, elevation and section of Magazine and Shifting Room - Sandycove Battery Multiple Views, dated 1882, courtesy of the Military Archives, Irish Defense Forces, IE/MA/MPD/AD119456-003 See attached Taylor's Map showing the location of the Battery and 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 War Office Plan 1883. Military Archives, Irish Defense Forces, IE/MA/MPD/AD119456-004. Bolton, J. 2008 Martello Towers Research Project. Fingal and Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Councils. Clements, B. 2011 Martello Towers Worldwide. England. Pen & Sword Military. Fishback, P.L. 2021 The British Army in Ulysses: Volume 2 of the British Army on Bloomsday. Compiled by: Geraldine Stout and Padraig Clancy Revised by: Caimin O'Brien Date of revised upload: 20 January 2023