1817-37 Fort is used as convict depot for transportation. Prisoners from all over Ireland held within fort, up to 250 at a time, while waiting for convict ships to leave for Australia. 1837 Samuel Lewis wrote that the women’s prison could hold 250 prisoners, often convicts awaiting transportation to America or Australia. 1845-52 Great Famine. Elizabeth Fort, by then an RIC station, is used as a food depot to address widespread starvation. This was one of ten food depots within the city, which together fed up to 20,000 people per day. 1847 The city looked at the possibility of using other premises to accommodate the growing numbers, as other fever hospitals were full, and were also turning people away. One of the buildings that was reviewed was the old barracks in Barrack Street, just outside Elizabeth Fort, as was Cat Fort as well. The Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, the Earl of Clarendon, gave permission on the proviso the police could be housed elsewhere, but it was soon discovered that the barracks did not provide enough space for an auxiliary workhouse, and so it was proposed to use it as a hospital for a period. By the end of April 1847, the hospitals in Barrack Street and in Cat Fort were full, with over 100 patients in Cat Fort alone. Other hospitals in the city were also overflowing with people. In the late nineteenth century, Elizabeth Fort was used as a station for the Cork City Artillery Militia. 1919-20 Elizabeth Fort was used by the Black and Tans, auxiliary forces brought in by Britain to fight against the Irish Republican Army. 1920-21 The fort was occupied by the Royal Irish Constabulary and handed over to the Irish government. 1922 During the Irish Civil War, the interior buildings of the fort were burned down by Anti-Treaty forces. The walls and bastions of the fort were undamaged.
David Kelly Partnership with Margaret Quinlan Architects
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