Neds Point Fort

Neds Point Fort is one of several Napoleonic batteries built along the shores of Lough Swilly in county Donegal, to defend the north west of Ireland.[1] It was part of a scheme to fortify Lough Swilly and Lough Foyle against French Invasion during the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars.[2] It is situated near the once important naval town of Buncrana and its current form largely dates to works completed between 1812 and 1813.[3][1] It comprised a rectangular blockhouse mounting two guns and a supporting battery mounting four guns. The fort is surrounded by a ditch.[4]

Neds Point Fort
County Donegal
Ireland
Neds Point Fort front entrance
Neds Point Fort
Coordinates
Site information
OwnerLocal Authority
ConditionIntact
Site history
Built1812-1813
Reconstructed 1895-1899
MaterialsStone, concrete, earth
Garrison information
GarrisonBritish Armed Forces

After the end of the Napoleonic Wars the defences were neglected and not updated. In 1874 the fort was armed with two 5.5-inch Howitzers in the tower and four 24 Pounder smooth bore guns in the main battery.[5]

It was remodeled in the 1890s as a battery with two 6-inch guns on hydropneumatic mountings. This included a central underground magazine complex and the height of the tower or blockhouse was also reduced. In addition two practice batteries were constructed for six 64 Pounder guns and four 5-inch Breech Loading (BL) guns. In 1905 it was recommended by the Owen Committee that the fort be disarmed.[6] This was completed by 1907, and no armament was listed at the fort in a report dated to 1913.[7]

The fort remains substantially intact, along with the practice batteries. As of 2012, the site was subject to some restoration and intended to be open to the public as a wildlife observation centre in spring of 2013.

References
  1. Malachy Walsh & Partners (15 February 2018). Desktop Archaeological Impact Assessment Report, Buncrana Pier, Lough Swilly (PDF) (Report). Donegal County Council. p. 17. Retrieved 11 November 2018 – via EPA.ie. Neds Point battery was [..] one of at least seven batteries built on both shores of Lough Swilly
  2. Lonely Planet (1 March 2012). Lonely Planet County Donegal: Chapter from Ireland Travel Guide. Lonely Planet. pp. 51–. ISBN 978-1-74321-154-0.
  3. Stevenson, Ian (1995). "Two Irish Loughs". Redan: Journal of the Palmerston Forts Society. Gosport: 11–28.
  4. "Ned's Point Fort, County Donegal". buildingsofireland.ie. National Inventory of Architectural Heritage. Retrieved 10 November 2018.
  5. War office (1862). Plans of Neds Point Fort and Down of Inch Fort. WO78/4747/1. The National Archives.
  6. Owen, J F (1905). Report of the Committee on the Armaments of Home Ports (Report). London: HMSO.
  7. Paul M. Kerrigan (1995). Castles and fortifications in Ireland, 1485–1945. Collins Press. p. 267. ISBN 1898256128. No armament in listed at Neids Point in 1913, and the garrison appears to have been withdrawn the following year
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