Camden Fort fate unknown
The fate of a hugely popular historic site in county Cork remains shrouded in uncertainty as volunteers continue to seek answers.
Heartbroken volunteers at Camden Fort Meagher in Crosshaven say they have been unable to enter the site since the end of September 2022 when owners Cork County Council announced that a health and safety audit would be carried out.
However, since the audit has been completed, volunteers say they have not been permitted to enter the fort and have had no communication from the council since September last year.
With summer nearly here, volunteers say it is now looking increasingly likely that the fort will not open to the public this year as they have been unable to do any maintenance work or prepare exhibitions.
“This is incredibly sad for us, our group has been involved with Camden since before it first opened to the public in August 2010 and we are, we believe, one of the key stakeholders in the entire project,” a post on the Fort's social media read this week.
The complete lack of communication from Cork County Council regarding the fort has been slammed by a number of local councillors.
Speaking to the Cork Independent, Independent Cllr Marcia D’Alton said volunteers have shown extraordinary loyalty to the place and the council’s silence is “very hurtful to the meaning of their effort."
Local Cllr D’Alton said: “Cork County Council did establish a council-owned company to run Camden as an entity which was part of council but nonetheless separate from it.
“We as councillors understand that they're trying to get some sort of a management regime in place that would enable the asset that is Camden to function optimally and to gain grants and move forward.
“That they're no communicating is, in my opinion, where that big breakdown is happening.”
Camden Fort Meagher was transferred to Cork County Council in 1989 by the Department of Defence in 1989 after which it laid dormant and unattended for years until in 2010 when a team of volunteers got permission from the council to begin to clearing away the overgrowth for the first time in decades.
Over the 13 years, the volunteers have opened the fort to the public every summer weekend, offering tours and information about the site’s history.
Carrigaline Cllr Seamus McGrath described the situation with Camden Fort Meagher as “entirely unacceptable” and said councillors will continue to raise the issue with council management until the is a satisfactory outcome.
He said: “The volunteers were the major support base in building the tremendous facility to what it is today. They deserve to be treated in way that reflects the huge contribution they’ve made to Camden Fort Meagher.
“There was outstanding local buy-in to the concept of Camden Fort Meagher and I genuinely fear it will be irreparably damaged as a result of the current situation.”
Cork County Council was contacted for response but none was received by time of going to print.