School: Convent of Mercy, An Pasáiste, Corcaigh
- Location:
- Passage West, Co. Cork
- Teacher: Na Siúracha
Archival Reference
The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0390, Page 120
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- Near Passage West a Martello tower is built on Lord Barrymore's estate at Fota. It was built in 1804. This tower is about 40 ft high and 36 ft in diameter, it has two storeys the lower storey contained the magazine and stores and the upper the living rooms of the garrisons. The roof was shell proof. In order to reach the entrance it was necessary to use a step ladder as the entrance was eight ft. from the ground. These towers were built to keep the ammunition in and as hiding places for the soldiers. At the time when Napoleon I was threatening to invade the British Isles, towers such as this one were built along the coasts of Ireland and England.
The town of Passage was an important one at this time and it had a connection with this tower. On St. Stephen's day, a party of ten Fenians, having planned a raid on this tower, set out in a small boat from Passage. On account of the police that were stationed in Passage at this time they had to be careful to set out when they were not on duty. The entrance to the tower(continues on next page)
