2021:513 - Greenfort, Sligo town, Sligo

As stated in the Green Fort Conservation Plan, adopted by Sligo County Council in December 2017, the vision for the Green Fort is to preserve and protect the fort as a cultural heritage site within a public park and to explore its potential as a tourist attraction. Sligo County Council, in partnership with the relevant agencies and the local community, will endeavour to raise awareness of the Green Fort, protect and preserve the upstanding remains, and facilitate public access to the site.
Stage 1 of ground works consisted of the clearance of the invasive vegetation which had over the years obscured the monument. The clearance has revealed that the Green Fort is in a remarkably good state of preservation, with the sub-rectangular platform of the fort standing to some 5m in height from the surrounding ground. The four corner bastions are in good condition, with the works revealing a hitherto unknown half-moon entrance feature to the south-west. The bastion to the north-west has suffered some apparently relatively modern disturbance to its western flank and the south-east bastion, due to the potential presence of an active badger sett, remained uncleared of its vegetation cover. There is a series of modern gaps in the façades, the largest two being located in the western façade and the eastern end of the northern façade. Both of these represent modern pedestrian access into and across the site. There are other modern gaps, some ten in all of various sizes; some are disused pedestrian routes others probable animal in origin. A small pit-like feature in the southern end of the site may be the remains of the ‘well’ noted cartographically by Luttrell in 1689 and descriptively by Henry in 1739.
It is noteworthy that Henry’s description in addition to the well, notes that the fort
‘..contains near an Acre, is square, has at each Angle a large Bastion and Platform, has two Gates, Each Defended by an Half Moon.’
A half-moon entrance feature was uncovered in the south-west bastion and it is tempting to speculate that another similar entrance feature might exist under the dense bramble and thorn cover of the as yet unexplored south-east bastion.
The present phase of works has highlighted the strategic location of the site, with the vegetation removal opening up commanding views in all directions, to the north towards Benbulbin, to the west out across Sligo Bay, to the south, unrestricted views toward Knocknarea, but perhaps more spectacularly across Sligo Town. These new vistas have and will continue to attract visitors to the site in ever-increasing numbers and the management of the projected increased traffic will require careful consideration. The recently discovered original access into the site through the south-west bastion offers a ready solution to ameliorate the effects of the pedestrian traffic which has created ever-widening and deepening gaps in the western and northern façade. It is possible, as suggested above, that there is a corresponding entrance feature hidden in the dense undergrowth of the south-east bastion. Certainly Henry’s 1739 description strongly suggests that the fort originally had two entrances, and another entrance mirroring that in the south-west bastion might be expected. If this were the case then these two access points could create a natural route way into and across the fort causing the minimal amount of impact.

These works represent the first phase in the implementation of the adopted plan along with the implementation of the policies and actions contained therein, with the provision of adequate resources, both human and financial, to realise the vision proposed in this plan for the Green Fort.

References:

Henry, W. 1739 ‘Hints towards a natural and topographical history of the County of Sligoe’ in M. Timoney (ed.) 2013 Dedicated to Sligo pp. 129-156.
Luttrell, H. 1689 Plan of the town and forts of Sligo, reproduced in Wood-Martin, W.G., 1882-92, History of Sligo ii, p. 134.

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