The Genealogical Society of Ireland has applied to Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council for permission to house its archive in the Martello tower at Seapoint, Blackrock, Co Dublin.
The tower, built as a fortress against Napoleonic invasion and since employed in part as a bathing shelter and as an ice-cream shop, is currently unused. It was built in 1804 and originally called Martello Tower 14, a name derived from its place in the ring of towers built to defend the Irish coastline
Constructed from solid granite with an entrance at first floor level, access to each floor is by a spiral staircase cut into the interior of its walls, which are several feet thick. However, while the structure was evidently built to last, the interior is showing the need for considerable repair and weather-proofing.
The planning application is unlikely to face opposition from the council, which, on the initiative of former assistant manager Mr Liam Byrne, had decided to offer the tower to the Genealogical Society.
It has also been suggested that the council might demolish the concrete bathing shelter attached to its seaward side, which diminishes the tower's overall appearance.
If successful, the application will see the tower follow the Sandycove Tower (Joyce Tower) into heritage-related use. According to Mr Michael Merrigan of the Genealogical Society, the restoration of the Sandycove tower has been "an object lesson in the admirable re-use of an important example of our architectural heritage". Given proper development, such should also be the case with the Seapoint tower - which is already in a good state of repair.
Mr Merrigan said the archive will greatly enhance the heritage portfolio of the area and could be integrated into the Public Library Service through the establishment of a "Heritage Partnership" between the council and the Genealogical Society.
The society was founded in 1990 and re-named the Genealogical Society of Ireland in 1999. It aims to collect and preserve genealogical material, and to date over 8,000 people have attended the society's open meetings where lectures, workshops and exhibitions are organised.
The acquisition of the tower would promote an awareness and appreciation of genealogy as an open-access educational leisure activity, according to Mr Merrigan. He added that it would be available to all in the community, irrespective of their socio-economic position or previous education.
The plans have been drawn up by the Society's architect, Sean Gaynor. Duchas The Heritage Service and the council's conservation officer are liaising on the project.
