Lonely outpost opened to public

Built to deter a French landing the Martello Tower was obsolete after the battle of Trafalgar

It was built to combat the threat of a French invasion in the 18th Century, yet by the time it was finished its military need was gone.

For 200 years the Martello Tower at Magilligan Point has kept a lonely vigil over the Lough Foyle estuary.

But recently a series of open weekends have been bringing a forgotten piece of history to light.

The history of the towers in Ireland is connected to the United Irishmen's Rebellion.

In 1786 Wolfe Tone just failed to land with a large French fleet in Bantry Bay, County Cork.

Ivan Minnis, history educator with the Northern Ireland Environment Agency said the Ireland-France link in the rising caused panic at the heart of the Empire.

"The links between the United Irishmen and Napoleon's France led to panic among the British," he said.

Thomas Brogan dressed in the uniform of the period

"They were afraid of a French invasion in much the same way as Britain was in fear of a Nazi invasion in 1940. Martello towers were constructed all around Ireland and Britain to repulse this feared attack," he said.

The tower itself is an impressive piece of military engineering.

More than 30,000 huge stones were used to construct a tower that could withstand any attack of that time.

The walls are 10-feet thick and there are three floors.

The middle floor provided accommodation for the soldiers who manned the tower. The bottom floor was used for storage of water, food and ammunition.

The roof of the tower supported a swivelling 24-pound gun that could fire red hot cannon balls heated in a specially constructed furnace.

Seventy four of these towers were built around Ireland, possibly the most famous is the Martello tower in Sandycove, near Dun Laoghaire, in which James Joyce lived for a few days.

Mr Minnis said the one at Magilligan is perhaps the best preserved.

"In spite of the huge effort to build this defensive network the towers were never actually used," he said.

"The towers were not built until 1812. By that time the threat of invasion by the French had all but disappeared after their defeat at Trafalgar in 1807."

It has been opened for the last two weekends with tourists from Italy, France and Germany treading its historic stones.

The tower is one of a number of monuments opened up as part of the NIEA's Living History Programme and the agency has said it intends to continue with the programme next year.