New trail takes in towers

A NEW multimedia trail along Dublin’s collection of Martello Towers from Bray to Balbriggan was launched at the restored tower at Seapoint, Monkstown last week as part of Heritage Week 2012.

The trail, which incorporates audio, a video slideshow and photographs of the towers, can be downloaded online at www.heritagetrails.ie, a new heritage trails hub from local producer Aileen O’Meara.

The 15-stop audio guided tour brings the listener the stories of how and why the Martello Towers were built, and how so many have survived.

“Heritage Week is a great week to celebrate heritage, and this year the theme is our built heritage,

? Aileen said.

“I hope this new trail helps Dubliners and visitors to understand and enjoy the great built heritage we have in the Martello Towers along our coastline.

“Most people know that the towers were built to withstand the threatened invasion by Napoleon’s forces, but there’s lots more to them as well. Thanks to the support of the Heritage Council, we’ve been able to produce this new trail.

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Dun Laoghaire Rathdown Heritage Officer Tim Carey gave a free tour of the renovated Seapoint tower as part of the launch.

“We’re delighted with this new Martello Heritage Trail,

? Tim said.

“It complements the new book about Dublin’s Martello Towers which we published in July of this year in association with Fingal County Council.

“We’re very lucky to have such a rich built heritage in Dún Laoghaire Rathdown, and there is terrific interest in it. Multimedia trails like this one are a whole new way of getting the story of our heritage out to people, via the internet and smartphone technology.

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The Martello Heritage Trail is one of the first trails uploaded to the new heritagetrails.ie website. Other locally based trails produced by Aileen O’Meara including the East Pier and the Metals, will be uploaded in the coming days.