Terry Prone: Note the rules of Martello tour — book in advance and don't break the gate

Originally published in the Irish Examiner.

I'm thinking of suing the Heritage Council for €780. Plus Vat. Here’s the thinking behind me turning litigious.

The Martello tower wherein I live is one of the hits of Heritage Week, a late-summer event that, in an engagingly Irish way, lasts nine days.

All sorts of attractions are open to the public during the “week”, some of them for a couple of hours a day, some (like my Martello) for the full nine to five.

We know we’re a hit because we start out with lots of tours booked, and they grow during the week as people who have been on the tour tell other people.

Wayne, who serves coffee and croissants up at the viewing point where the three saunas are, also instructs his customers to come to us. It’s thrilling to start popular and get more popular over just a few days.

Now, here’s the thing. As more and more people book tours, they contact us online, by text or phone call, and Bryan sorts them.

Bryan came to the tower nearly 20 years ago with the original construction company which tore the tower apart and reconstructed it. He fell in love with it and has stuck around ever since, doing everything from gardening to booking people in for Heritage Week.

"The problem, this time around, was that some potential visitors became impatient"

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