Balcarrick Bay

Above: Balcarrick Bay

North 6 Balcarrick. Donabate is one of twelve Martello tower built along the Fingal coastline to defend against the possibility of invasion by Napoleon. Each tower can be seen by the next in line and had rooftop flagpoles allowing signals to be passed rapidly up and down the coast. John King who owned a coach building factory bought Balcarrick in 1909 and it passed through various owners who used it as a summer retreat. It remains in private ownership today.

Photo credit: Balcarrick Martello Tower by Mark Broderick

Did you know….

In the early 19th century there was no coast road so building stone, cannon and equipment would have been landed by boat.

Find out more

Bolton J., Carey T., Goodbody R. & Clabby G. 2012, The Martello Towers of Dublin. Dublin, Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown & Fingal County Council