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Ned's Point Fort
Ned's 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][2] It was part of a scheme to fortify Lough Swilly and Lough Foyle against French Invasion during the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars.[3] It is situated on Ned's Point, near the once important naval town of Buncrana, and its current form largely dates to works completed between 1812 and 1813.[4][1] It comprised a rectangular blockhouse mounting two guns and a supporting battery mounting four guns. The fort is surrounded by a ditch.[2] 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. Parts of the site were restored by Buncrana Town Council in the 1990s,[2] and subject to some additional restoration as of 2012.[needs update] While there are a number of walking routes in the area, the fort itself is not open to the public.[8] References
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