Martello Tower finally engages the French!

The cannon being fired from Tower No. 7

During the Napoleonic Wars Ireland was girdled with Martello Towers, gun emplacements and batteries as England feared, with some reason that the French would invade Ireland as a backdoor to invade England and to neutralise their naval power. There was some reason to believe Les Grenouilles would have been warmly welcomed by the natives;

http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2008/03/years-of-french.html

There was only one problem with this huge expenditure and build up of manpower. You guessed it, the French didn’t turn up, something which was to become a bit of a habit. Well now they have made amends for on the 14th August 2011 a French Frigate arrived in Dun Laoghaire Harbour, south of Dublin and the 18lb. Bloemfield Cannon on the Killiney Martello Tower was fired. However, these shots were not fired in anger as this military response to an armed French invasion was a salute to the yachts, and their military escort, departing on the third leg of the Solitaire du Figaro single handed coastal yacht race. The shore batteries fired 3 blank shots to salute the French frigate, which whistled 3 times in response and the shore guns replied with the further traditional 3 shots. Waiting 200 years to do this was no fun!


Tower No. 7 with the musket points which covered the gun battery

No. 7 Martello Tower on Killiney Hill was one element in the defences of Killiney Bay against a possible French invasion in the period 1804 to 1815. It has been restored privately and with some altruism to its original glory and function by Niall O'Donoghue. The restored Tower was inaugurated on the 12th of July 2008, with firing of the specially cast working cannon.

This was (almost) the culmination of a project aimed at restoring the Tower to its original state. Niall O'Donoghue has undertaken the restoration at great expense, both financially and in terms of effort, and the result is stunning. The smaller Killiney Martello Tower (Tower No. 7) is a free-standing, compact, squat, circular, two-storey structure built over a vaulted cellar with a parapet- protected roof which has a fixture for a large traversing cannon. The tower stands 10m high, with bomb-proof walls, over 3 metres thick in places. It is built with large granite blocks and is a magnificent feat of engineering.


Inauguration of restored Martello Tower No. 7 at Killiney, Co. Dublin, Ireland on Saturday 12th July 2008 and firing of 18 lb. Cannon.

No. 7 Tower was part of the defences of Killiney Bay against a possible French invasion in the period 1804 to 1815. The other towers and batteries have suffered a variety of fates, but this one was rescued and restored to its original state by Niall, who bought the much neglected site off the local council where it had been used as a maintenance yard for storing building materials and equipment.


Model of Tower No. 7 by Terry O'Sullivan showing the 3 gun artillery battery in front and the defensive glacis or bank

Niall was interviewed on Irish Television and pointed out the uniqueness of what he has created on Killiney Hill. For this is the only Martello Tower restored to its original state with a rotating working cannon, musket points, battery and defensive glacis in the world. It has been a great achievement and since Niall’s appearance on RTE he is pointed out as he walks through Killiney and Dalkey as “yer man on the telly.” Fame at last!

To see Tower No. 7’s details and news go to Pol’s webpage;

http://www.photopol.com/martello/no7.html

For the background to Martello Towers see;

http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2008/09/martello-towers.html

There is still a huge amount of work required on the site which will take a lot of dedication and a lump of funding. To help or arrange a visit email Niall;

niall.tower@iol.ie


Niall and the Tower Click for larger view

The Tower is available for events. It is ne of the most unusual locations in Ireland, 25 mins south of Dublin, 300 yards from the sea spectacular panoramic views overlooking Killiney bay from Dalkey Island to Bray head, Sugar Loaf and Wicklow mountains. Fully restored Martello Tower with 2 large internal rooms, and fully working cannon on the roof. There is also a beautiful battery area with large lawn. Ideal for hosting special events, product launches, parties, outdoor theatre, film locations and various types of daytime workshops. It is also available on special request for events, period re-enactments’ including soldiers and cannon firing.

Tower No. 7 on Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/martellotower

Protest at U2 Glastonbury debut

I for one never begrudged U2 their success and I am not one of their knockers. They are a hard working professional Band who have worked hard at their craft for over 30 years. They have stayed living in Ireland and invest in the country. Indeed Bono (Paul Hewson) and The Edge (David Evans) live within bombast distance of a friend’s Martello Tower in Killiney Co. Dublin.

http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2009/07/killiney-martello-tower-no-7.html

Paul was a near neighbour on the Northside of Dublin growing up in Cedarwood whilst I lived down the road in Willow Park. I never knew him but Dublin is not a huge city and I would see him at the next bustop by the roundabout on Ballymun Avenue with a Dunnes Stores bag of records waiting for the 19A bus into town. There, like all of us in Dublin at the time, he and the guys would hang out in the Dandelion Market on Stephen’s Green, a development site which became a bit of a groovy market a bit like Camden Lock in London. We also had some mutual acquaintances and I caught some of their early concerts in the Project Arts Centre which acted as a catalyst for so much in the visual and performing arts in Dublin.

In common with others U2 have taken advantage of an extraordinary tax break introduced by Charles Haughey when he was Finance Minister which exempted royalties earned abroad from creative writing from income tax. Now this was originally intended to get writers to settle in Ireland and encourage native talent but it has been availed of by film directors, script writers and pop musicians all of whom structure their tax affairs to take the bulk of their income in royalties.


The Boys

Glastonbury organisers were accused yesterday of using heavy-handed tactics against demonstrators who tried to embarrass U2 during the rock group’s debut at the festival. Activists from protest group Art Uncut made their point by unfurling a 25-metre inflatable balloon bearing the slogan ‘U pay tax 2?’ in front of the 50,000 fans watching the band perform on the festivals Pyramid Stage. Friday’s protest was directed at U2’s 2006 decision to cut their tax bill by moving their business affairs from Ireland to the Netherlands.

Before 2006 U2 Ltd, which deals with U2’s royalties payments, was registered in Ireland, the band’s native country, for tax purposes. At the time, Ireland had an astonishing policy of allowing artists to pay zero tax on royalties. In 2006, the Irish government decided to cap the income which can be subject to this exemption at 250,000 Euros per annum. Following this change in the law, U2 Ltd decided to move their tax affairs to Holland in order to pay less tax.

Irish politicians called it a cynical tax-avoidance ploy by the world’s highest-earning musicians, who last year raked in about £80 million. Members of the 30-strong group of activists, who were aged between 18 and 35 and included a teacher, artists and musicians, said within minutes of the unveiling they were set upon by security guards, who pinned protesters to the wall and left one, 23-year-old Claudia Stevens, with a broken finger.



U2 business acumen is legendary directed by their “5th Member”, their Manager Paul McGuiness who has always directed their affairs and who takes an equal share with the band members. U2’s members are worth almost £1 billion between them through savvy investments. The band was one of the first music successes to obtain all rights to its music. Frontman Bono, 51, and lead guitarist The Edge, 49, each own 25 per cent of Dublin’s Clarence Hotel. Bono, who has a £300 million stake in Facebook and a £220 million share in media company Forbes Media LLC, owns properties worth more than £30 million.



Meanwhile, The Edge has a £30 million Californian mansion; bassist Adam Clayton, 51, has a £12.5 million house in London plus a home near Nice, and drummer Larry Mullen Jr, 49, owns properties in upstate New York and the French Riviera worth a total of £30 million. Now they are not the first band to organise their affairs to minimise their tax payments, the Rolling Stones for instance have always been a company in the Netherland Antilles, but it does sit uneasily with Bono’s pronouncements on Western Nations not giving enough to Africa.

Indeed I am worried that with Bono and Chris Martin both at Glastonbury nobody is looking after Africa. I shouldn’t have worried as it turns out Bono asked God to deputise for him over the weekend!

Here is UK Uncuts argument on their website;

http://www.ukuncut.org.uk/blog/art-uncut-its-crucial-we-send-a-message-to-bono-that-what-he-is-doing-is-wrong