Macamish Fort is one of several
Napoleonic
Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...
batteries built along the shores of
Lough Swilly in
county Donegal, to defend the north west of
Ireland. It was part of a scheme to fortify Lough Swilly and Lough Foyle against French Invasion during the Revolutionary and
Napoleonic Wars and was completed between 1812 and 1813. It was built on a rock outcrop overlooking the lough.
[Stevenson, Ian, 1995. ''Two Irish Loughs'', Redan: Journal of the Palmerston Forts Society, Gosport, pp11-28] It comprises a
Martello Tower mounting a single gun and battery mounting three guns. The fort was originally entered by a drawbridge.
After the end of the Napoleonic Wars the defences were neglected and not updated. By the 1860s the Fort was obsolete and disarmed.
The fort remains substantially intact, and is now in use as a private residence.
References
Publications
* {{cite book, title=Castles and fortifications in Ireland, 1485–1945 , isbn=1898256128 , author=Paul M. Kerrigan , date=1995 , publisher=Collins Press
* Col K W Maurice-Jones, 1959. The History of Coast Artillery in the British Army, Royal Artillery Institution, London
Forts in the Republic of Ireland
Buildings and structures in County Donegal
Towers in the Republic of Ireland
Martello towers