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Displaying items by tag: Crimean War cannon

Guided tours of Dun Laoghaire Harbour's 'Seafront Memorials' that includes the anchor of RMS Leinster, the Crimean War Cannon and the 1895 Lifeboat Disaster start this Saturday, writes Jehan Ashmore.
Tours will also be held on every Saturday (1 per day) until 3 September and the maximum number participating is 20 people. Each tour is approximately an hour-long and the outdoor event is wheelchair accessible.

The tour which is free starts at the meeting point of the Queen Victoria Fountain which too forms part of the tour alongside the George VI memorial
and the Christ the King monument.

The outdoor event is part of the 'Summer of Heritage' which is organised by Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council. The initiative is now in its fourth year and this year's highlight of the programme are tours of the newly renovated Seapoint Martello tower.

The coastal structure has been restored and is a fine example of these 19th century defensive forts, built along the coast to defend during the Napoleonic wars.

This summer also sees Carrickbrennan graveyard feature for the first time, the resting place of many sailors lost in maritime disasters since the 17th century.

Sightseeing along 'The Metals', a historic pathway that linked the quarry in Dalkey to the harbour in Dún Laoghaire also returns in the programme due to its popularity last year.

To read more about the the Summer of Heritage other free events in the arts, literature, sports, music and for the family, go to www.dunlaoghaire.ie/summer-of-heritage/ and www.dlrevents.ie/heritage11.html

Published in Dublin Bay

About Commander Bill King, Solo Circumnavigator

William Donald Aelian King was the last surviving submarine commander in the Second World War - in charge of the British Navy's T-class Telemachus that sank a Japanese sub in the Strait of Malacca, between Malaysia and Sumatra, in 1944.

Decorated many times for his service by the end of the war, King became a trailblazing solo sailor.

At the age of 58, he was the oldest participant in The Sunday Times Golden Globe Race sailing Galway Blazer II, a junk-rigged schooner he designed himself.

After a number of abortive attempts, including an incident with "a large sea creature", he finally completed his solo circumnavigation of the globe in 1973.

Beyond his aquatic escapades, King settled with his wife Anita (who died in 1984, aged 70) at Oranmore Castle outside Galway after the war, where he later developed a pioneering organic farm and garden to help tackle his wife's asthma.

The round-the-world sailor and Galway native Bill King died on Friday, 21 September, 2012, aged 102.