Martello Tower at Millmount
year is the 200th anniversary of the passing of The Natural
Defence Actš which allowed for the construction of Martello
Towers as a defence against a possible Napoleonic invasion.
One such tower was built at Millmount on the south bank
of the Boyne at Drogheda.
Millmount Fort dominates the south Drogheda skyline but
its history stretches back a lot further back than 1808
when the Martello Tower was constructed on the site.
The story goes that it was originally a passage grave and
according to one legend it is the burial place of Amergin,
an early Celtic poet. One story records that Amergin of
the Fair Knee, a warrior bard in the army of Milesius was
the first of the Bronze Age settlers to set foot on Irish
Others sources claim that Amergin first set foot on Kenmare
Bay around 2,000 BC and if as we are lead to believe the
Milesians arrived from Spain, this would seem more likely.
Another legend claims Queen Scotia, wife of Milesius, the
daughter of an Egyptian Pharaoh is also buried here. But
a counter-claim suggests she travelled from he native land
to south Kerry, where she met the invader Milesius, married
him and had eight sons by him and was buried at Glenscoheen
overlooking Tralee Bay.
Milesius himself is also reputed to be buried on the mount.
However one version of the legend suggest he never even
set foot in Ireland. The story goes on to suggest that he
sent a scouting mission led by one of his sons here to fulfil
a druidic prophecy.
When one of his sons was murdered by one of the local kings
he gathered an army to avenge his death. But Milesius himself
died before it set sail and the eight surviving sons conquered
It is also reputed to be the resting-place of the legendary
stone mason, the Goban Saor, whose name translates as free
The Danish king Thurgesius is thought to have erected a
fort here in the ninth century. There is a suggestion that
a fort was built centuries earlier at a time when the Boyne
divided the Kingdoms of Heber and Heremon, sons of Milesius.
Hugh de Lacy, an Anglo-Norman built a motte here in the
12th century, when granted the Kingdom of Meath by Henry
II. It was later replaced by a fortified castle.
When Oliver Cromwell invaded the town in 1649 its occupants
put up fierce resistance. The summit of the hill offers
a magnificent view of the town and the surrounding countryside.
Imagine what it was like then when Drogheda was less built
All approaches to the town were clearly visible from here.
To the north the slopes of Tullyesker, to the south and
west the plains of Meath with Drogheda harbour and the mouth
of the Boyne clearly visible to the east. Thus it was an
ideal setting for a fort.
During the Civil War it was bombarded by Irish Free State
soldiers and many years later was restored by Drogheda
Corporation before being opened to the public in Millennium
However, the most visible reminder of its heritage if the
Martello Tower at its summit.
The Martello Tower was part of a defensive strategy put
in place by the British in early 19th century to warn of
an impending Napoleonic invasion. Though the threat receded
after the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805, they continued to
extend these ingenious towers round the Irish coastline.
The British navy first encountered them when trying to take
the island of Corsica in the troubled years that followed
the French Revolution. In 1793 the Corsicans rebelled against
the French and the British government decided to support
the insurgents against the common enemy.
The rebellion began with an attack on the strategic tower
at Cape Mortella, which they duly captured only to lose
it a short time later. This time the French strengthened
its defences and armaments.
In February 1794, the British supported the Corsican rebels
in a renewed attack on the tower. Those defending Port Mortella
kept the ships at bay for two days before being eventually
overtaken by land based troops.
When one Corsican native, Napoleon Bonaparte, started to
flex his muscles around Europe, Britain felt vulnerable
to a French invasion and constructed several of these towers
along the coast of Kent and Sussex.
The design of the tower made it difficult to capture. This
sturdy edifice was round with very thick walls, in some
cases the walls were as much as 11 feet thick, and had a
flat top with a gun that could be pointed in all directions.
Due to a linguistic mix-up these structures became known
as Martello Towers and by the end of the Napoleonic wars
several were built in Ireland as well as in the East Indies
Mortella is the Italian for myrtle, a glossy evergreen shrub
with white flowers and black oval berries abundant in the
vicinity of Cape Mortella.
Some sources believe the Martello towers are so named because
their name is derived from the Italian word, martello meaning
hammer. It is claimed that such towers were originally equipped
with a bell that was struck with a hammer to warn of an
Defensive towers erected on the south coast of Italy at
the back end of the 18th century were known as Tot di Martello
. In the middle of the 19th century similar towers were
built by the Austrian Empire on the shores of the Adriatic
Sea and were called Maximilian towers.
Next year, 2004, will mark the 200th anniversary of the
"The National Defence Act" which gave the green
light for the construction of these towers around the British
and Irish coasts. Each one took about six months to build
at a coast of 1,800.
Some regarded their construction as an unnecessary extravagance.
These three storey solid stone constructions had vaulted
rooms for the garrison, an ammunition store underneath and
a platform on top for up to three guns firing over a low
parapet. Access was gained by a moveable ladder to a door
18 to 20 feet above the ground.
The towers were defended in three ways; first, a 24 pounder
cannon mounted on rails which could be pointed in any direction.
Second, the garrison could fire muskets over the four foot
Finally there were loopholes for the discharge of carronades,
a short high calibre cannon, used chiefly in naval engagements.
It took its name from Carron, near Falkirk in Scotland,
where in was first made in the 18th century. A deadly weapon
at close range, the carronade was loaded with musket balls,
grapeshot, lengths of chain and scrap.
An interesting safety feature in the Martello towers was
the use of wooden nails, for fear that sparks from metal
nails could cause a fire.
Rather than using a bell to warn of an imminent invasion,
lookouts in the tower would set alight a bundle of wood
on the roof of the tower to alert the nearest tower, which
in many cases was just a couple of hundred yards away. It
would do the same until all towers along the coast were
aware of the danger.
Droghedas dominant landmark offers a superb view on
the modern extended town while at night it is lit up. Millmount
Museum, which won an International Gulbenkian Museum Award,
is open all-year round and admission includes access to
The museum is located in the former officers mess
and is regarded as one of the finest municipal museums in
the country and features an 18th century Irish kitchen,
dairy and laundry as well as an Irish History reading room.
Taken from Wee County 2003