James Fort is located on Castlepark

Castlepark

The Castlepark peninsula in Kinsale harbour on the coast of County Cork, on the south coast of Ireland is really more a presque-isle than a peninsula, being joined to the mainland only by an extremely narrow neck at its north-western corner....

 peninsula in Kinsale

Kinsale

Kinsale is a town in County Cork, Ireland. Located some 25 km south of Cork City on the coast near the Old Head of Kinsale, it sits at the mouth of the River Bandon and has a population of 2,257 which increases substantially during the summer months when the tourist season is at its peak and...

 harbour, downstream on the River Bandon

River Bandon

The River Bandon is a river in County Cork in Ireland. It rises at Nowen Hill , to the north of Drimoleague.The river then flows to Dunmanway, before turning eastward towards the twin villages of Ballineen and Enniskean...

 from Kinsale and overlooking the town. Charles Fort

Charles Fort (Ireland)

Charles Fort is a star fort located on the water's edge, at the southern end of the village of Summer Cove, on Kinsale harbour, County Cork, Ireland. James' Fort is located on the other side of the harbour....

 is located on the opposite side of the harbour.

History

Before James fort was constructed, an earlier medieval fortification existed on the site. This fortification, named Castle Ny-Parke was occupied for a time by Spanish

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

 forces during the early part of the Siege of Kinsale

Siege of Kinsale

The Siege or Battle of Kinsale was the ultimate battle in England's conquest of Gaelic Ireland. It took place during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, at the climax of the Nine Years War - a campaign by Aodh Mór Ó Néill, Aodh Rua Ó Dónaill and other Irish clan leaders against English rule...

. It was captured however from the Spanish by Sir Richard Smyth who led the attacking English forces of Charles Blount, Lord Mountjoy.

Construction of James Fort, which is named after James I of England

James I of England

James VI and I was King of Scots as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the English and Scottish crowns on 24 March 1603...

 and VI of Scotland, started in 1602 - immediately after the Siege of Kinsale. The new fort was constructed to designs by Paul Ive (to replace the older medieval structure) and was completed in 1607.

As with Charles Fort on the other side of the harbour, James Fort was occupied by Jacobite forces during the Williamite War in Ireland

Williamite war in Ireland

The Williamite War in Ireland—also called the Jacobite War in Ireland, the Williamite-Jacobite War in Ireland and in Irish as Cogadh an Dá Rí —was a conflict between Catholic King James II and Protestant King William of Orange over who would be King of England, Scotland and Ireland...

. It was captured however in 1690 by Williamite forces.