Passage East Fort

Passage East Fort lies on the waterfront in the village of the same name, in County Waterford in Ireland.

The fort at Passage East was first built around 1568. It was meant to control the passage of ships up and down the River Barrow and thus protect the city of Waterford further upstream. At first it consisted of just a blockhouse but between 1590 and 1592 a wall was added, thus forming an oblong enclosure with the blockhouse on one corner and round flankers on the other 3 corners. The remaining ruin is the remnant of one of these flankers.

In 1649, during the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland, Passage East Fort was taken by Cromwell's troops, even though the fort had been strengthened by sending extra troops from the city of Waterford. Later that year Waterford troops tried to recapture it but failed. In the 1660s the fort was repaired. It was said to be armed with 7 cannons in 1684 and served to control the river traffic together with Duncannon Fort on the other side of the river.

Although the fort was repaired again in the 1690s, it was demilitarized in 1711 and apparently abandoned. In 1777 only its walls were left standing. Between 1777 and 1783 the fort was repaired, updated and armed again due to the outbreak of the American wars and the alliance with France. But shortly thereafter it was abandoned again. In 1796 the British feared a French invasion and plans were made to revive the fort once again. This did not happen and after the French defeat in 1815 the fort was completely forgotten and slowly crumbled away.

The ruin of Passage East Fort was then probably used as a quarry by the locals and part was probably lost due to coastal erosion.

The remnant of the fort can freely be visited as it is situated in a small public park. Just a simple ruin.

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