Restoration of Athlone's No 1 Gun Battery to enter concluding phase

By Rebekah O'Reilly

The No 1 Gun Battery restoration project is now preparing to enter its final phase, as the volunteer group responsible prepares to welcome the public to the historical site.

The final dig on the site took place throughout 2024, and saw the team uncover the complete shape of the original battery.

This included a third gun platform, the back boundary wall of the battlement, and a rectangular shape which was not identified in the original plans for the site.

Going forward, the No 1 Gun Battery Heritage Group is now responsible for deciding how the historical site should be presented to the public.

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“We have to look at the original conservation and restoration plan and see where we go from there. [We can see] the locations where the 12 pounder [guns] – we have to ask ourselves the question do we put those on the site,” said Shay Hamilton, Chair of the No 1 Gun Battery Heritage Group.

“We have to look at other elements [like] accessibility and the safety features on the site, and last but not least, how we present the site to the public.”

The No 1 Gun Battery is the last remaining battery of eight which existed in Athlone in the late 18th century, and the group intends the use the site to educate the public on the significance of the batteries to the defence of the town.

Frankie Keena, member of the No 1 Gun Battery Heritage Group, said that the aim of the project is to make the historical site available for educational purposes.

“It's a listed site, and it's something that is part of our heritage [in Athlone],” he said. “We need to make it available for educational purposes to schools, to the local community, and indeed to visitors to the town.”

The project received grant assistance from the Historic Structures Fund, the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, and was supported by Westmeath County Council..