Local heritage group hopes to turn No. 1 Gun Battery into military trail

The first phase of conservation works at the Athlone Number One (No. 1) Gun Battery were completed recently and it is hoped that the site will become an outdoor visitor attraction centre or military trail linked with Custume Barracks and Athlone Castle in the future.

Since the No. 1 Gun Battery is a recorded monument, the works were carried out under ministerial consent from the National Monuments Service and supervised by an archaeologist. The works revealed the original structure and some interesting artifacts that tell us about the history of the site such as musket balls, a mini ball, Lee Enfield rifle bullets, an Óglaigh na hÉireann (Defence Forces) Fianna Fáíl cap badge and a Queen Victoria uniform button.

The gun batteries were originally built in 1805 to defend against a possible invasion and works began to uncover the battery and to clear vegetation in 2020.

Local historian Gearoid O'Brien explained that eight gun batteries were built during the Napoleonic era as Athlonians were “afraid that the French were going to invade Ireland so they were protecting Athlone from anybody coming from the west.” There would have been three 12 pounder guns there originally.

There are now visibly three areas on the site where the guns would have been along with the remains of the outline of a guardhouse. Mr O'Brien said: “There was a guard house and the battery was still in use up until about 1869 or 1870 so the British Army would've had a presence here up to that time.”

Last year, the Athlone No. 1 Gun Battery Heritage Group asked Athlone Sub Aqua Group to dive in the northern section of the canal opposite the site and they found a cannonball. “Over the years, there'd be a lot of cannonballs found around Athlone but it was interesting just to find one here in the canal, which probably was one that was fired from here and fell short at some point,” said the local historian.

The group also contacted the British Museum to obtain a map of the layout of the original battery which was utilised to find the exact location of the remaining battery (known as No 1).

Mr O'Brien explained: “It meant that we now have a much better idea of what all the batteries kind of looked like and what they were. Twenty years ago if you brought somebody up here, all you were looking at was an overgrown hill.. but now you can actually work it out.”

“It's a big breakthrough really to get to this point, it just needs continued funding to keep going.” Mr O'Brien said that all the other previous batteries disappeared and that the remaining one is “worth protecting.”

The Athlone historian highlighted that he “always knew that No. 1`was important” and about 15 years ago he visited the site with some military historians but was “no more the wiser because there was so little to be seen.” Mr O'Brien realised that the site was just so overgrown that they couldn't make it out.

He continued: “There was unnecessary loss of batteries. We could have had quite a spectacular sight between the whole batteries.

“I think that getting the maps really focused our attention on it and showed us the definite potential that was there and I think this year's work has just even confirmed that for us. I'm bowled over by what I can see on the site now compared to what it was years ago.”

Mr O'Brien said that Athlone has always been a place where defence was “very important” and that it “needs to be protected and developed in some way.”

“I'd like to see it being a place where school groups would be brought and that they'd be shown what a battery was. You have so many people living on The Batteries that don't know why The Batteries are called The Batteries so I think it would just be nice that kids in this area would get to see them, get to understand what they're all about and have a better appreciation of their own history.”

Mr O'Brien suggested that the No. 1 Gun Battery could also “tie in with the castle and the history of the military barracks” and that it would be a good idea to have storyboards on site to explain the history.

Shay Hamilton from Athlone Canal Heritage group said that they are hoping to do further work on the protected site. “We have to have a good think about how this is presented to the public. There's an educational theme here as well for schools.”

Initial work on the project began in 2015 and a conservation report was carried out in 2018 before the Athlone No. 1 Gun Battery Heritage Group started to apply for funding.

Mr Hamilton said that there was a previous heritage plan to look at the conservation and restoration of the gun battery so they decided to gather a group to do that.

Cllr Frankie Keena has been on the committee of the Athlone No 1 Gun Battery Heritage Group since 2015 when Shay and Mary Hamilton contacted him as they felt the site needed to be looked after.

Cllr Keena said that they initially “started off doing some strimming on Saturdays” to clear the area which was “completely overgrown.” The group then contacted community archaeologist Owen Sullivan to get his advice on how best to proceed.

The Athlone councillor added that an archaeological dig was carried out three years ago and their overall plan is to make the protected site a centre for locals and tourists to visit so that they can see the significance of the site.

“My ambition and aim for this would be to create a military historical trail,” between Athlone Castle, Custume Barracks and the No. 1 Gun Battery “so for local residents and for tourists who come to the area, this would be a very important feature to have this. We've so much to offer from a historical point of view.”

Cllr Keena continued: “I'm just delighted to be part of this committee here and look forward to the day when we can open it up to the public. At the moment it's a working site.”

The Fianna Fáil councillor was successful in securing funding for the project under the West Side Regeneration Scheme and he is hoping to secure more funding streams in the future.

Johnny Duncan of Malachi Cullen Consulting Engineers, lived in Talbot Avenue from 1985 to 2005 and said that it was “fantastic to see” the progress made at the site.

“This is the last remnants of a gun battery left in Athlone and it's right to have it,” Mr Duncan stated. The local engineer was involved in the initial clearing of the gun battery site and also worked on some design proposals and in providing advice.

The vision for the No. 1 Gun Battery is not to reconstruct the site, but rather to conserve the remaining features and to present the site as an outdoor visitor attraction that would allow for active exploration.

To date the Athlone No. 1 Gun Battery Heritage Group has received funding from Creative Ireland, the Heritage Council Community Grant Scheme and the Historic Structures fund from the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, with match funding provided by Westmeath County Council.