Kilkerrin Point - The Battery

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I've great memories of Mom and my uncles sending Bro and I out to play while they dealt with the cattle, horses and hay. We would go out with pails and pick periwinkles from the river shoreline which would inevitably wind up on the dinner table. Bro and I fancied ourselves big time explorers as we braved the mad bull in one of the neighbouring fields and trudged what seemed like kilometres to reach the Kilkerrin Battery. Imagine my surprise yesterday when we found it was less than a 10 minute stroll from the farm, virtually in our own back yard. The Battery is a strategically positioned English fortification built to guard against French marauding ships in Napoleonic times. Erected in 1811, it features a deep moat, an artillery bunker and a lookout on the roof where a couple of 24 pounder cannons stood vigil.

When Steve and I used to play in the castle, we had to climb our way into the dark, dank basement…

...and scamper up what was left of the floor. While the drawbridge still doesn't work, the villagers have made it easily accessible with a metallic bridge to cross the moat and a new sturdy floor now prevents any mishaps. 

Soldiers must have been mighty slight as the staircase up to the lookout would never allow for a meatier lad.

On the lookout still sit the cannon anchors with a magnificent view over the artillery bunker and countryside.