Martello Towers Worldwide [Hardcover]

This is an excellent comprehensive work on the Martello Towers.

It is written in clear English, well structured and laid out, and well and copiously illustrated.

As well as drawing on original documents and some earlier works, the author is personally familiar with most of the towers he describes and many of these are illustrated with his own photos.

This must surely be the definitive work on Martello Towers worldwide. It covers the subject from conception, through implementation and right up to the present state of those towers which still remain and the fate of those which don't.

Having said that, there is still plenty of scope for those who wish to develop the story further regarding individual locations or the precise military implications of some of the towers, or even their socio-military history, e.g. the soldiers who manned them, their living conditions, their impact on the surrounding communities. But, no matter what other angles one wishes to cover, this work is an absolutely essential starting point.

My own personal interest is in the towers of Killiney Bay, south of Dublin. I grew up in this area and have developed an interest in its history, much of which has been military. In recent times I have been taken with the herculean feat of Niall O'Donoghue who has restored Tower No.7 in the Bay and who gets due credit in this book. I am also glad to see mention of the late Paul M. Kerrigan who laboured incessantly in this particular vineyard over many years.

The author draws our attention to the only Martello Tower in Britain or Ireland captured by the enemy, as it were. The Fenians took the Marino Point tower in Cork Harbour in 1867, without firing a shot, and ran away with all the stores and arms held in the tower along with 300lb (131kg) of gunpowder from the magazine.

The Drogheda tower at Millmount was also successfully attacked in the course of the Irish civil war, but, as the author points out, this was not a Martello Tower as such, much as its fans would have us believe it was.

The book's publication unfortunately predated the first firing of a cannon from a Martello Tower at the French (August 2011), though fortunately not in anger on this particular occasion.

A few very small quibbles for the next edition.

The map on page 70 has a label "Towers 1-14 South" referring to the Dublin towers. While there were only 14 towers, they were labelled as 1-16 as the two stand alone batteries were included in the series numbering as Nos.5 and 8.

Tower No.6 (Dublin South) is incorrectly listed among those which have been destroyed (on pages 94 & 95) but correctly stated to have been converted into an ugly residence (page 95).

The "internet sources" in the Bibliography look a bit thin, but it is fair to say that such sources, for the most part, will not be primary sources and it is always dangerous to refer to potentially ephemeral websites in a publication as permanent as a hardcopy book.

Having seen Martello towers, and been round a few, but never really knowing their full histroy, or the extent to which they were built - this book told me everything I wanted to know - and more!
Well written - and not as dry/dusty/technical as some of the specialist books tend to be. Good text, and excellent illustrations throughout!