A fort was built on this site by
Normans in the 12th century, and there may have been an earlier earthen fort built by
Gaelic Irish. The present
star fort was built in 1587–88 by
Queen Elizabeth I to defend
Waterford from possible invasion by the
Spanish Armada. Duncannon Fort saw major military action during the
Irish Confederate Wars. Commanded by the Royalist governor
Laurence Esmonde, 1st Baron Esmonde, it was besieged and captured by
Irish Catholic Confederation forces under
Thomas Preston, 1st Viscount Tara in January–March 1645, the first time that
mortars were used in Ireland.
Oliver Cromwell failed to retake Duncannon in 1649, but it surrendered in 1650 after a blockade led by
Henry Ireton. In 1690, the fort hosted two kings. After the
Battle of the Boyne and seeing little prospect of continuing his campaign,
King James II fled to Duncannon and on 3 July sailed from there to
Kinsale before departing for exile in
France. Later that year,
King William III stayed at the fort in September 1690 when bad weather delayed his return to England. The site where James' boat departed bears the name "King James' Hole." A
lighthouse was constructed in 1774 and remains in use. The fort at Duncannon (commanded by
William Fawcett) was one of the few places in
County Wexford that did not fall under
United Irishmen (Rebel) control during the
1798 Rebellion; the fort and town thus became a sanctuary for fleeing loyalists and troops in south Wexford and was also used as a prison and place of execution for rebels, from which it gained infamy as the Croppy Boy's site of execution in the song "
The Croppy Boy." A force sent out from the fort to defend
Wexford town was defeated at the
Battle of Three Rocks. Duncannon continued to be used as a fort by the
British Army, being handed over to the
Irish National Army only to burn down in 1922 during the
Irish Civil War. It was occasionally used by the
FCÁ (Army Reserve) for summer camps before being given to
Wexford County Council in 1993 and later opening as a museum. ==Fort==