The tower at Sandycove is one of the most recognisable buildings in Irish literature. Perched above the sea on Dublin’s southern coastline, it is the setting for the opening of Ulysses and now home to a museum to James Joyce. Long before it entered the world of fiction, the tower served a very real purpose — built to defend against the threat of invasion.
Martello towers were constructed by the British military in the early 1800s, during the Napoleonic Wars. The design was inspired by a tower at Cape Mortella in Corsica, which had famously resisted a British naval attack. Although eventually captured, the tower’s defence was so effective that its design and name were adopted by the British for a new network of coastal fortifications. The word “Martello” is a mishearing of the original “Mortella.”
Over 100 of these towers were built across Britain, with around 50 along the Irish coast. Dublin alone had 28 towers — 16 to the south of the city and 12 to the north — forming a chain of lookout posts from Bray to Balbriggan. Built within sight of each other, they were designed to relay warnings quickly and respond to any threat approaching from the sea.
The Sandycove tower is a classic example. It has three floors and a raised entrance designed for protection. The ground floor was used to store gunpowder, provisions, and equipment, while the middle floor housed the garrison. On the roof, a rotating cannon allowed for coverage in every direction.
Today, the tower’s original purpose has faded into history, but its structure remains largely intact. What once stood as a defensive outpost is now a place forever imbued with literary signification. Visitors from all over the world come to stand where Ulysses begins and experience a building that has lived many lives — military and cultural.
