Duncannon Fort

Duncannon Fort lies on the waterfront in the village of the same name, in County Wexford in Ireland.

The site of Duncannon Fort, a rocky promontory jutting out into the estuary, was probably first occupied by a castle, consisting of a tower house with a bawn, held by John Etchingham in 1508. In the 1580s and 1590s the site was completely rebuilt into a bastioned fort by the British to defend the city of Waterford from a feared Spanish invasion.

During the Irish Confederate Wars in the mid-17th century the fort was repeatedly fought over. It withstood a siege by the Irish Catholic Confederation in 1642. They besieged it again in 1645 and this time succeeded in taking it. Oliver Cromwell failed to retake Duncannon for the British in 1649, but it surrendered in 1650 after a blockade. The fort was visited by two English kings in 1690; first by James II and later by William III.

A British garrison was maintained at Duncannon until 1857 after which the fort was handed over to the Irish National Army in 1921. The following year however the fort was burned down by the IRA during the Irish Civil War. It was restored for use by the Irish army during WW II. In 1993 it was decommissioned and handed over to the Wexford County Council and later turned into a museum.

Duncannon Fort can be visited for a fee. Because I came by out of season, it was closed, sadly enough. A nice fort.

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