Martello Towers dot the coast of Dublin and then more sporadically the coast of Ireland. They have been in my peripheral vision since we first started visiting our family in Dublin fifty years ago. Though they have been ever-present it is only in the last few years that I have come to know more about the history and intended use of the Martello Towers.
After deciding to document these beautifully situated structures I purchased a tiny book published in the 70s by Victor J. Enoch who owned and lived in a Martello Tower overlooking the beach in Killiney, South County Dublin. My initial intent was to find out where all the towers stood, to have a visual road map. However, this book, small in size turned out to be filled with great content that provided me with information well beyond location.
Prior to reading this publication my knowledge as a child was none, not even the name of them. Then as a young adult the fact that Bono from U2 bought and lived in a Martello Tower in the 1980’s made me much more conscious of their existence. Years passed, and Bono moved out of his tower. I thereafter had the idea to document a different kind of structure in Ireland but my cousin, Ann O’Laoghaire, quickly redirected me to the Martello Towers for which I am ever grateful. Ann informed me that the Martello Towers would make for a very interesting project because of their coastal locations and just how varied their uses are currently. Some are homes, others are museums–including the tower in Sandycove which now houses the James Joyce Museum aptly named because this is where Ulysses began from–and many are derelict.
The towers were originally built in 1804-1805 to defend against a Napoleonic invasion by sea. Napoleon never came, interestingly Victor J. Enoch’s book informs that the towers did in fact deter what seemed to be inevitable coastal attacks. The Martello Towers were built closely together so as to function as signal towers, when standing at one you will surely see at least one other. In Dublin you will see one to the left and one to the right. There are more in other countries too but Ireland is the filter through which I chose to document the towers.
Documenting each tower has been its own adventure, traveling by land and by sea to reach them has all been quite remarkable. The information people have shared, the help people have given me and the moments of awe as I stand solitary in the presence of these historical, coastal towers has been an honor.