Camden Fort Meagher

Camden Fort Meagher
Near Crosshaven in County Cork in Ireland
Landward wall and moat of Fort Camden
Camden Fort Meagher
Coordinates	51°48′29″N 8°16′44″W / 51.808°N 8.279°W / 51.808; -8.279
Type	Coastal defence fortification
Site information
Owner	Cork County Council
Open to the public	Yes (seasonal, weekends)
Condition	Largely restored
Website	Camdenfortmeagher.ie
Site history
Built	1550 (1550) (original structure) 1860 (1860)s (significant reconstruction)
In use	1980 (1980)s (demilitarisation)
Events	Siege of Kinsale (1601), Williamite War in Ireland (1690), Brennan torpedo installation (1891), Treaty Port handover (1938)
Garrison information
Occupants	British Armed Forces, Irish Defence Forces

Camden Fort Meagher is a coastal defence fortification close to Crosshaven, County Cork, Ireland. Together with similar structures at Fort Mitchell (Spike Island), Fort Davis (Whitegate), and Templebreedy Battery (also close to Crosshaven), the fort was built to defend the mouth of Cork Harbour.^[1] Though originally constructed in the 16th century, the current structures of the fort date to the 1860s.^[2] Originally named Fort Camden and operated by the British Armed Forces, the fort (along with other Treaty Port installations) was handed-over to the Irish Defence Forces in 1938.^[3] Renamed Fort Meagher in honour of Thomas Francis Meagher, it remained an Irish military installation until 1989 when the Irish Army handed the fort over to Cork County Council.^[4] It remained largely overgrown until 2010 when a group of local volunteers began restoration and development of the fort for heritage and tourism purposes.^[3] The fort was renamed Camden Fort Meagher and is now open seasonally to visitors, with exhibits on the fort's Brennan torpedo installation (the world's first "practical guided weapon").^[5][6]