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SCENES from Southeast IRELAND The RING OF HOOK - places to visit - The Hook Peninsula, County Wexford Ring of Hook Index * SEARCH Doc's Pic's pages
A rather hazy picture of Duncannon
Harbour and Fort set
on the eastern shore of Waterford Harbour.
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The 'beach' sculpture SANDS OF TIME on Duncannon Beach.
The lovely long, safe and clean Duncannon Beach or Duncannon Strand!
The star shaped Duncannon Fort was built in 1588 in defence from the expected Spanish Armada invasion instigated by King Philip of Spain. The fort and museum complex boasts an internet cafe and IT office, craft shop, Military and Marine Museum, artists studios, Cockleshell Art Gallery, Child Museum, Wood Turning and a tourist information centre. There are glorious views across Waterford Harbour from the fort and down the western coast of the Hook Peninsula.
Duncannon Fort, an impressive example of military architecture, was in control of the British until the Irish War of Independence in 1919. It was burned by the IRA in the Ireland's civil war of 1922 and lay in ruins until the outbreak of World War Two when it was rebuilt and occupied by the Irish army. It was used as a summer camp until 1986 but from 1993 onwards it is being restored and now open to the public as a museum and visitor centre.
Duncannon Fort - The huge protective ditch around the fort which is in effect a dry moat!
Duncannon Fort - Some of the old cannon pointing out to sea.
Duncannon Fort - A tunnel down to where one of the gun batteries was mounted.
The Cockleshell Art gallery is also in the Fort complex with some lovely paintings and interesting sculptures.
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Some of the paintings of Maeve Doherty in the summer of 2010.
Some of the paintings of Anne McLeod? in the summer of 2010
Duncannon harbour with a few fishing boats and pleasure craft, its nice little stroll over from Duncannon beach.
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Fishing boats in Duncannon Harbour.
Fishing nets and other tackle by the harbour wall.
Looking out to sea across Waterford Harbour - the estuary of the great River Suir.
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The Cafe and the pub in Duncannon More on Duncannon Fort (from Wikipedia) Duncannon Fort is a star fort and National Monument located in County Wexford, Ireland. Duncannon Fort is located in a strategic position on a peninsula in the eastern part of Waterford Harbour, giving access to Ireland's Three Sisters: the River Barrow, River Nore and River Suir. History - A fort was built on this site by Normans in the 12th century, and there may have been an earlier earthen fort built by Gaelic Irish. The present star fort was built in 1587–88 by Queen Elizabeth I to defend Waterford from possible invasion by the Spanish Armada. Duncannon Fort saw major military action during the Irish Confederate Wars. Commanded by the Royalist governor Laurence Esmonde, 1st Baron Esmonde, it was besieged and captured by Irish Catholic Confederation forces under Thomas Preston, 1st Viscount Tara in January–March 1645, the first time that mortars were used in Ireland. Oliver Cromwell failed to retake Duncannon in 1649, but it surrendered in 1650 after a blockade led by Henry Ireton. In 1690 it hosted two kings: King James II sailed from Duncannon to Kinsale on 3 July, and thence to France, while King William III stayed at the Fort in September 1690 when bad weather delayed his return to England.[5] The site where James' boat departed bears the name "King James' Hole." A lighthouse was constructed in 1774 and remains in use. The fort at Duncannon (commanded by William Fawcett) was one of the few places in County Wexford that did not fall under United Irishmen (Rebel) control during the 1798 Rebellion; the fort and town thus became a sanctuary for fleeing loyalists and troops in south Wexford and was also used as a prison and place of execution for rebels, from which it gained infamy as the Croppy Boy's site of execution in the song "The Croppy Boy." A force sent out from the fort to defend Wexford town was defeated at the Battle of Three Rocks. Duncannon continued to be used as a fort by the British Army, being handed over to the Irish National Army only to burn down in 1922 during the Irish Civil War. It was occasionally used by the FCÁ (Army Reserve) for summer camps before being given to Wexford County Council in 1993 and later opening as a museum. The fort itself: Duncannon Fort is a star fort. Along the sides were guns facing upriver and downriver. On the west end were artillery batteries facing across the entire inlet. The landward defences had an angled redan projecting from the centre of the front, a deep ditch and a medieval wall. Primitive caponiers protect the ditch, and each counterscarp gallery had a sally port so that the garrison could enter the ditch without being seen. A nearby hill, Windmill Hill, would offer a perfect site to bombard the fort. Recognising this, the English raised the east wall in 1606 to guard against this. More on Duncannon (from Wikipedia) Duncannon (Irish: Dún Canann) is a village in southwest County Wexford, Ireland. Bordered to the west by Waterford harbour and sitting on a rocky headland jutting into the channel is the strategically prominent Duncannon Fort which dominates the village. Primarily a fishing village, Duncannon also relies heavily on tourism and is situated on the clearly signposted and very scenic Ring of Hook drive. Duncannon beach, a mile long golden beach, very popular spot with locals and tourists alike and once a blue flag recipient. Duncannon Fort, which was built in 1588 incorporates a maritime museum, Cockleshell Arts Gallery, Officer's Mess Café and Craft shop and various other Art and Craft outlets and is open daily to visitors 7 days from June to September. Rest of year 5 days Guided tours are available. Duncannon Fort was the location for the opening scenes of the 2002 remake of 'The Count of Monte Cristo', starring Jim Caviezel and Richard Harris. After being closed for some time, Duncannon Fort reopened to the public in 2016 when guided tours recommenced. According to legend, the settlement at Duncannon dates back to the time of Fionn mac Cumhaill (pop: Finn McCool) and the Fianna in the 3rd century AD. Duncannon was of vital strategic importance as its fort commanded the bay giving sea access to Waterford harbour. As a result, it was centrally involved in wars and sieges during the 17th and 18th centuries. During the Irish Confederate Wars (1641–1652), the fort at Duncannon was initially occupied by English soldiers and used as a base for an attack on nearby Redmond's Hall (now Loftus Hall). During this period it was besieged three times. In 1645, it was taken by an Irish Confederate army under general Thomas Preston. Its English garrison surrendered after lengthy bombardment, during which their second in command Larcan was killed, and a ship, The Great Lewis, trying to bring supplies to the garrison was sunk with the loss of 200 lives (see Siege of Duncannon). During the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland, Duncannon was besieged again, as part of the Siege of Waterford, firstly in November 1649 by Oliver Cromwell and Michael Jones in 1649. The fort's Irish garrison held out, and the siege was abandoned in December of that year. However, in July 1650, Henry Ireton renewed the siege, and the fort and town surrendered after the fall of Waterford, but before their food and supplies had run out. In 1659 and 1660, Duncannon was the only town to remain openly loyal to Edmund Ludlow after forces loyal to General George Monck took control of Dublin and other towns. In the Williamite war in Ireland (1689–1691) James II, after his defeat at the battle of the Boyne, embarked at Duncannon for Kinsale and then to exile in France. Later his son in law and enemy William of Orange, marched on its cobblestones as the town and fort surrendered to his army without resistance. The fort at Duncannon was one of the few places in county Wexford that did not fall to the rebels during the 1798 rebellion though a force sent out from the fort to defend Wexford town was defeated at the battle of Three Rocks. The fort and town then became a sanctuary for fleeing loyalists and troops in south Wexford and was also used as a prison and place of execution for suspected rebels. Duncannon's strategic importance continued to be recognised throughout the 19th century. Napoleon sought and got intelligence on its strength and weakness, in preparation for a possible invasion of Ireland. Duncannon fort was used by the FCA (Irish army reserve) as a barracks and training facility until recent years. 61a. Ballyhack and the Passage East Ferry 61b. Templetown 61c. Hook Head and Hook Lighthouse 61d. Slade Castle and Slade Harbour 61e. Baginbun Beach 61f. Fethard Castle 61g. Tintern Abbey, Saltmills 61h. Duncannon, Beach, Fort and Harbour Irish holiday tour docspics photos images pics photographs pictures © Phil Brown * Irish holiday tours, touring in Ireland, top tourist attractions, tourism information, luxury hotels, self-catering holiday cottages, airbnb air b and b air B&B accommodation, historic towns & cities in Ireland archaeological sites, museums, cheap flights, get there by flying of Ferry, Irish Ferries, Stena Line, Ryanair Travel, dining out in Ireland, good food guide to Ireland, top Irish restaurants, Irish coach tours, weekend breaks trips to Ireland docspics images photos of Duncannon Fort, Hook Peninsula, Co. 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