Although now a yachting destination, Kinsale has a history as an important military site and had long figured in English control of Ireland.
Charles Fort, the larger of two forts which once guarded the seaward entrance to the town, dates from the reign of Charles II in 1682 and is huge. Built high on a bluff overlooking Kinsale Harbor it was designed to withstand cannon fire and housed a large garrison force within. It was burned during the Irish Civil War in 1922.
