Kilkerin Point
Kilkerin Point is a small headland in the Shannon Estuary. From here you can watch the Killimer-Tarbert ferries crossing the estuary as well as having a good view of the Money Point power station and dock for unloading coal. It is also a great spot for watching large tankers and cargo ships moving up and down the estuary.
Napoleonic Era Gun Battery
pKilkerin Point has one of six gun batteries built in the early 1800s to protect the Shannon Estuary from invasion by Napoleon’s forces. The batteries were paired across the estuary, with three on the County Clare coast and three on the County Kerry coast. Kilkerin was paired with a battery on Tarbert Island, which was demolished to make way for the Tarbert Island power station. All of the batteries are of similar design (with the exception of Tarbert Island), consisting of a semi-circular or ‘D’ shape design surrounded by a dry moat. A series of six gun emplacements pointed out into the estuary on the curved part of the semi-circle. Behind the gun emplacements are a ‘shell filling room’ and a large rectangular block house built into the moat at the landward side of the battery. The block house had two 24 pounder Howitzer gun emplacements on the roof of the battery and provided accommodation for troops. Ultimately, not one of the guns was fired to repel Napoleon’s forces as he was defeated at the battle of Waterloo in 1815.
Kilkerin Point is probably the best preserved and most accessible of the five remaining batteries in the estuary. Work was carried out in the 1990s to restore the wooden first floor, the drawbridge and basement access in the blockhouse. The blockhouse still has steel cable surrounding the blockhouse which was used to brace the structure after lightning struck the building.
Although the gun battery is privately owned, it is possible to visit the site and go into the blockhouse. We have visited a number of times and have seen many others doing likewise. The battery can be accessed by heading to the right along the stony beach, over a stile and then across a field. During high winter/spring tides it may not be possible to cross the beach. The field and vegetation around the battery are maintained periodically so depending on when you go you may find the grass quite high. Please respect the site and follow the leave-no-trace principals.
There is no need to go to the battery to find the cache.
The cache, parking, etc.
The cache itself is a 1 L Tupperware container with room for small trade items/trackables. There was a pencil and sharpener in the container for signing the log at the time of placing the cache however, as always, BYOP just in case. There is plenty of space for parking near the cache – it is potentially just a park and grab although it would be a shame not to spend some time here. If you are visiting in hot weather please be aware that there is no shade to speak of so remember to bring water, sunscreen, hat, and try to get the cachemobile out of direct sun if possible. We have learned from experience! Although the beach here is stony it is a nice place to sit and watch the estuary so maybe bring something comfy to sit on if you plan to stay a while.
Directions
When you drive through Labasheeda you will come to a fork in the road. The road to the left has a signpost pointing to St Kieran’s Well and is downhill whereas the road to the right is uphill. The road to the right is normally the road to take to reach Kilkerin Point. However, when placing the cache there were some resurfacing works being carried out on the road to the right and there is a diversion in place onto the road to the left. During the weekend we found there was no need to take the diversion as there was no-one working on the road but you may have to take the signposted diversions during the week.