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Fort Davis (Irish: ''Dún an Dáibhisigh''; previously ''Fort Carlisle''), is a coastal defence fortification close to Whitegate, County Cork, Ireland. Together with similar structures at Fort Mitchell (Spike Island), Fort Camden (Crosshaven), and Templebreedy Battery (also close to Crosshaven), the fort was built to defend the mouth of Cork Harbour. Though used as a fortification from the early 17th century, the current structures of the 74 acre site date primarily from the 1860s.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Victorian Forts and Artillery – Fort Carlisle PDF Datasheet )〕 Originally named Fort Carlisle and operated by the British Armed Forces, the fort was handed-over to the Irish Defence Forces in 1938, and renamed Fort Davis.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=A Yankee and Rebel Side by Side in Cork Harbour )〕 The facility is owned by the Department of Defence, and is used as a military training site with no public access.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title= Your Town – Cork Harbour: Forts Camden and Carlisle )〕 ==History== The coastline at Whitegate, north of Roche's Point, is at a strategic position overlooking the entrance to Cork Harbour – one of the world's largest natural harbours, and historically of defensive and naval importance to Ireland and the region. One of the earliest documented fortifications at this point was built prior to 1607, and came to be known as "Prince Rupert's Tower" (for Prince Rupert of the Rhine).〔 By the period of the Williamite War (1689–1691) additional coastal defence fortifications were in place on the site, and known as "King John's Fort" (for John, King of England). Together with Fort Camden, this fort fell to Williamite forces under the Duke of Marlborough in the lead-up to the Siege of Cork (1690). Additional construction works were undertaken from the 1790s,〔A fortified tunnel still bears the date 1797〕 and some of these tunnels and structures were used during the Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) to house French prisoners of war.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=1830s OS Map )〕 By the mid-19th century the defences had been renamed to Fort Carlisle (for Frederick Howard, 5th Earl of Carlisle a previous Lord Lieutenant of Ireland). In the 1850s, a Royal Commission gave renewed consideration to the strategic importance of the harbour, and proposed enhancements to the defences at Fort Mitchell (Spike Island), Fort Camden (Crosshaven), and Fort Carlisle. During the 1860s Fort Carlisle was therefore redeveloped along the lines of other "Palmerston Forts" in the region. Some of this development took advantage of 19th century advancements in the use of concrete.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title= Buildings of Ireland - Fort Davis )〕 During the First World War (1914–1918), the harbour was used as a naval base to cover the "Western Approaches", and Fort Davis was used to complement the defences of Fort Camden on the opposite side of the harbour entrance. Royal Garrison Artillery Coastal Defence units were stationed in the fort at this time. The fort did not see significant action during the Irish War of Independence – although a number of graves in the fort's military cemetery date from this period.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=British Soldiers killed Ireland 1919–21 – Major Geoffry Lee Compton Smith )〕 Following the war, under the Anglo-Irish Treaty, the harbour defences remained in the control of British government. These Treaty Port installations, including Fort Carlisle, were handed-over to the Irish authorities in 1938. The fort was renamed ''Fort Davis'' for Thomas Davis – who was the chief organiser of the Young Ireland movement. (Similarly, "Fort Westmoreland" on Spike Island was renamed "Fort Mitchell", and "Fort Camden" near Crosshaven was renamed "Fort Meagher").〔 During "the Emergency" (1939–1945), elements of the Coastal Defence Artillery (CDA) of the Irish Artillery Corps operated from the fort.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Military Archives – Coastal Defence Artillery Collection )〕 By the mid- to late-20th century the CDA was merged into other artillery regiments of the Irish Army, and the fort primarily used as a training site. The site remains in the ownership of the Department of Defence and is used by the Irish Army for exercises, ceremonial "gun salutes" and other training purposes.〔(【引用サイトリンク】publisher=Irish Defence Forces )〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Fort Davis, County Cork」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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