Fort Templebreedy

Fort Templebreedy (Irish: Dún Theampall Bríde),[3] also known as Templebreedy Battery, was a coastal defence fortification close to Crosshaven, in County Cork, Ireland. Supplementing a number of earlier structures at Fort Camden and Fort Davis, the site was developed between 1904 and 1909 to defend the mouth of Cork Harbour.[4][5] Used as a coastal artillery position until the 1940s,[4] and as a military training camp until the late 20th century, many of the structures of the 37 acre site were dismantled over time, and part of the complex used as a pitch and putt course.[6] In 2009, Cork County Council added the site to a proposed list of protected structures[7] – though as of 2020 it remains in the ownership of the Department of Defence.[2]

Fort Templebreedy
Dún Theampall Bríde
Near Crosshaven in County Cork in Ireland
Irish Coastal Defence Artillery exercise at Fort Templebreedy in the 1940s
Fort Templebreedy
Coordinates51.79036°N 8.28306°W / 51.79036; -8.28306
TypeCoastal defence battery
Area37 acres (15 ha)[1][2]
Site information
OwnerDepartment of Defence
ConditionLargely deconstructed
EmplacementsTwo BL 9.2 inch Mark X guns
(Other Quick-firing practice guns)
Site history
Built1904 (1904)-1909 (1909)
In useUntil ~1940s (as coast defence)
Until ~1980s (as training camp)
Garrison information
OccupantsBritish Armed Forces, Irish Defence Forces

History

As with other earlier coastal defence fortifications at Fort Camden (Crosshaven) and Fort Carlisle (Whitegate), the batteries at Templebreedy were designed to defend the strategically important entrance to Cork Harbour.[8] By the early 20th century, a number of improvements were proposed to the harbour defences - including the installation of newer Breech-loading 9.2 Inch guns.[9] Rather than installing these guns at Fort Camden, it was decided to build separate batteries slightly south of the existing fort, at Templebreedy,[10] to cover threats outside the harbour approaches in the Celtic Sea.[11]

Built between 1904 and 1909, the fortification included concrete gun emplacements for two BL 9.2 inch Mark X guns,[12] underground magazines, searchlights, and a number of machine-gun positions.[9][13] A practice range was added later for smaller QF 12-pounder guns.[14] A further battery was constructed for BL 6-inch Mark VII guns; however, these were never installed.[9] By the end of construction in 1909, there was accommodation in place for four officers and 81 non-commissioned officers and men.[15]

Throughout the First World War (1914–1918), the harbour was used as a naval base to cover the "Western Approaches", and the battery complemented the defences of Fort Camden and Fort Carlisle. During the Irish War of Independence (1919–1921), Templebreedy was somewhat isolated, and ambushes by IRA Brigades were not uncommon on supplies to the fort.[16] Following the Anglo-Irish Treaty the harbour defences remained in the control of British Armed Forces, until July 1938 when the Treaty Port installations, including Templebreedy, were relinquished to Irish authorities.[12]

The Irish Defence Forces continued to maintain and operate the batteries throughout the Emergency (WWII), until the defences were largely decommissioned in 1946.[9] Though the large 9.2 inch guns remained in place until the 1960s,[13][17] the buildings and grounds continued to be used into the 1970s and later (including for training camps by Army Reserve (FCÁ) and Naval Reserve (Slua Muirí)).[17]

As of the early 21st century, though a number of buildings, concrete emplacements, underground magazine stores and other structures still stand, no guns or defensive elements remain, and the site is no longer used for military purposes.[7]

Today
Plan of lower harbour showing location relative to other installations: (A) Haulbowline Naval Base, (B) Fort Mitchel/Westmoreland, (C) Fort Meagher/Camden, (D) Fort Davis/Carlisle, (E) Fort Templebreedy

From the original construction of the fortifications at Templebreedy, there was some contention about access rights. This manifest in political debates about rights of way (as early as 1909),[18] suspected unauthorised access resulting in accidental shooting (in 1940),[19][20] building of houses off Defence Forces' access roads (1949),[21] and "overholding" of assigned quarters by Defence Forces' personnel (as late as 2012).[22][23]

Some years after the complex ceased to be used for active defence purposes, some of the site was laid-out as a pitch and putt course. However this was closed - amid some controversy - in 2005.[24] Though Cork County Council added Fort Templebreedy to a list of protected structures in 2009,[7][25] ostensibly to protect the site and potentially prepare it for development as a heritage and recreation site, as of 2020 it remained in the ownership of the Department of Defence.[2] Public access to the site therefore remains limited.

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See also

References
  1. "Schedule of Land and Buildings". Appropriation Account 2015 - Vote 36 - Defence (PDF) (Report). Comptroller and Auditor General. 2015. p. 24. Retrieved 13 November 2016.
  2. "Defence Forces Properties - Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 5 March 2020 - Written Answers (Question to Defence)". oireachtas.ie. Houses of the Oireachtas. 5 March 2020. Retrieved 21 March 2020. Fort Templebreedy, which comprises c.37 acres, remains an operational facility and continues to be used by the Defence Forces. There are no plans under consideration to dispose of the site at this time
  3. "Coastal Defence Artillery Collection" (in Irish). Irish Defence Forces- Military Archives. Archived from the original on 5 April 2015.
  4. "Coast Artillery Gallery: Ireland". Victorian Forts and Artillery. Retrieved 18 April 2015.
  5. "Co Cork, Templebrady (Crosshaven), Fort". Dictionary of Irish Architects. Retrieved 18 April 2015.
  6. "Templebreedy Fort Could Become a National Monument". CorkHarbour.ie. September 2008. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016.
  7. "Written Answers – Departmental Properties". Oireachtas Hansard. 24 February 2009.
  8. Ireland Green Guide Michelin 2012–2013. Michelin Green Guides. 2011. ISBN 9782067182172.
  9. "Victorian Forts and Artillery – Templebreedy PDF Datasheet" (PDF). Victorian Forts and Artillery. Retrieved 18 April 2015.
  10. Paul M. Kerrigan (1995). Castles and fortifications in Ireland, 1485–1945. Collins Press. p. 16. ISBN 1898256128.
  11. McIvor, Aidan (1994). A History of the Irish Naval Service. Irish Academic Press. p. 65. ISBN 9780716525233.
  12. Department of Foreign Affairs (1 June 1938). "Letter from John W. Dulanty to Joseph P. Walshe (Dublin) with copies of the minutes of the British-Irish meetings regarding the transfer of Treaty Ports". Documents on Irish Foreign Policy.
  13. Ian Stevenson (February 1998). "The Cork Harbour Defences". The Redan. Palmerston Forts Society (42).
  14. Adrian J. English (2005). Irish Army Orders of Battle 1923–2004. p. 39. ISBN 9780972029674.
  15. Richard Haldane (Secretary of State for War) (19 October 1909). "Templebreedy Fort, Crosshaven, County Cork". Hansard (Commons) - Written Answers.
  16. Bureau of Military History, 1913-21, Statement by Witness (PDF) (Report). Bureau of Military History. 1956.
  17. "23rd Infantry Battalion (History and notes)" (PDF). An Cosantóir. Irish Defence Forces. 36 (6): 158. June 1976. Retrieved April 19, 2015.
  18. Richard Haldane (Secretary of State for War) (16 September 1909). "Templebreedy Fort, Cork". Hansard (Commons) – Oral Answers.
  19. A Defence Forces sentry, who asserted that three figures were approaching the fort, fired a shot, and was himself injured. A Garda report suggested that the sentry had in fact fired towards three pillars, and was injured by a ricochet from his own weapon
  20. An Garda Síochána (20 February 1940). Shooting incident in Fort Templebreedy, county Cork (Report). National Archives of Ireland. Retrieved 18 April 2015.
  21. "Oral Answers – Department of Defence Rent Demands". Oireachtas Hansard. 14 December 1949.
  22. "Dept of Defence to move on "overholders" in Irish barracks". TheJournal. 14 February 2012.
  23. "Defence Forces Property". Oireachtas Hansard. 19 January 2012.
  24. "Dangerous pitch-and-putt course closed". Irish Independent. 12 April 2005.
  25. "Record of Protected Structures" (PDF). Cork County Council. 2009. p. 68. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-04.
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