Aerial view of Charles Fort, Kinsale.
Image Š Dept. of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, photographic unit
Image F
of Charles Fort during their annual training exercises.
Commissioned Officers
Image C (far left) depicts some of the commissioned officers of the battalion photographed on the parade ground within Charles Fort in 1898. Many of these men were from well known families in County Cork, such as Beamish, Warren, Coppinger, Newenham and 'The O'Donovan'. Image D, Officers Mess in Charles Fort, 1898, illustrates the life to which many of the officers were accustomed. The mess was used to entertain dignitaries and invited guests such as the inspection of the battalion by the Right Honourable, The Earl of Bandon (K.P. Knight of the Order of St. Patrick) in 1904. The Earl of Bandon and his wife the Countess of Bandon (Hon. Georgina Evans-Freke) were strongly associated with the regiment. The Countess presented new colours to the regiment in 1897 having travelled from her family seat at Castle Bernard, Bandon. Image E (on p.38) depicts officers of the battalion in dress uniform with their wives in fashionable attire outside the officers quarters in Charles Fort.
Rank & File: Family life in Charles Fort
John Duggan and Martin Foley with the RMF Association Colours and the Colours of the RMF Old Comrades Association and the memorial to the Royal Munster Fusiliers, unveiled at Charles Fort Kinsale, Cork, May 2016.
Both single and married soldiers were accommodated within Charles Fort. The Married Soldiers Quarters were located opposite the Gunpowder Magazine and the Officers Quarters faced the Main Parade Ground. Though military life was strict and
regimented there are reports of festivities and celebrations such as Christmas 1894. The regiment's Christmas tree was dressed with presents for the women and children of the fort. Cakes, apples, oranges and sweets were distributed to the children who also enjoyed a raffle. Family life continued in tangent with military training, drills, marches and inspections. Photographed in front of their single room in the Married Soldier's Quarters in Charles Fort, circa 1912 are the Foley family in Image F. The head of the family is English born Thomas William Foley, Rifle Range Warden, age 40. He is accompanied by his Kerry born wife Julia and their three children Elizabeth, Christopher and baby Angela Mary. Angela was born in the military hospital in Charles Fort on the 5th July 1911. The grandchildren of Thomas and Julia live in Kinsale to this day. The 1911 census records 177 soldiers and officers, 22 women and 68 children residing in Charles Fort. Charles Fort remained in use by the 4th Battalion until the declaration of the First World War. At Charles Fort, on the 8th May 2016, the 101st anniversary of the Last Absolution of the Munsters at Rue de Bois, a moving Dedication ceremony was held to unveil a memorial in memory of the Munsters who had served there. Members of the association along with staff of Charles Fort, the OPW, The Great War Society, representatives from the disbanded Irish Regimental Associations and invited guests were present at the unveiling. The memorial was unveiled by Ollie Griffin, President of the RMFA. www.heritageireland.ie
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