Donegal Bay
Centre
St. Johns Point -
Watchtower
The Sea Fencibles (from ‘defensible’), were a naval
equivalent of the Home Guard formed during the Napoleonic wars.
They were formed in May 1798, at a time when there was a very real
threat of an invasion from France. At first, their duties were on
land. They were trained in the use of the cannon and pike, and it
was hoped they would provide some of the men needed for the line of
Martello towers being built along the south coast of England.
They were also employed in helping the naval signal stations,
and with the revenue service. This would appear to have been
somewhat ironic, as it was a common complaint that many of the sea
fencibles were themselves smugglers! Eventually, the sea fencibles
were given their own small boats, with which they were expected to
attack any French invasion barges as they approached the beaches.
The Sea Fencibles were recruited from volunteers in coastal areas.
It paid 1s per day, but the main incentive was immunity from
service in both the militia and from the press gang.
Unsurprisingly, there was no problem getting volunteers. There was
also no shortage of potential officers.The Royal Navy produced more
officers than it could easily use, especially with no concept of
retirement. This meant that there was a ready supply of
lieutenants, used to command the fencibles in individual towns, and
captains, who commanded entire districts.
Naval opinion was split over the usefulness of the fencibles.
Captain Schomberg, commanding the Dungeness Fencibles, considered
his men to be smugglers and wreckers. In fact, many were fishermen
or bargemen, including some who normally worked on the rivers. In
contrast, Lord Nelson, who had command of a force of sea fencibles
when he had command of the coastal defences, thought that they
could play an important role if the invasion came. The sea
fencibles were disbanded during the Peace of Amiens. In 1803, they
were reformed, but only after the press gang had had its chance to
fill the navy. They did take part in some minor skirmishes with the
French, although their lack of larger ships limited their
potential.
After 1803, the sea fencibles were given a more important role
at sea. Whenever there was an invasion scare, two lines of blockade
were formed – one off the French coast, provided by the navy,
and one off the British coast, mostly provided by the sea
fencibles, using smaller gunboats. As the war went on, it became
increasingly clear that the risk of a French invasion was over. At
the same time, the number of men involved was rising, reaching a
peak of 23,455 men in 1810. By this point, their original purpose
was clearly over, and the same year saw the sea fencibles
disbanded. The Authorities built Watchtowers along the coast as
part of the North-West defences of Ireland.
The towers at Malinbeg and Glen Head were built in 1804 and are
part of a chain of twelve such towers extending from St.
John’s Point, near Dunkineely, to Malin Head in the extreme
North of Donegal. These watchtowers were all in sight of each other
and were manned by a Naval reserve, known as the Sea Fencibles.
The Cache
The area from the beach to the lighthouse is classified as a SAC
(Special Area of Conservation) and is privatley owned. There is a
public right of way along the road to the lighthouse. Please do not
park on the grass either side of the road, use the parking areas at
the beach or just outside the gates of the lighthouse and walk to
the watch tower.
The cache is a small black bottle with a geocaching label on the
outside, placed near the watchtower.
Landowner permission granted with thanks
Visit the Geocaching Ireland discussion
forum HERE