Massereene Barracks is a former

military installation A military base is a facility directly owned and operated by or for the military or one of its branches that shelters military equipment and personnel, and facilitates training and Military operation, operations. A military base always provides ...

in Antrim,

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

History

The site was acquired from

Clotworthy Skeffington, 11th Viscount Massereene Clotworthy John Eyre Skeffington, 11th Viscount Massereene (9 October 1842 – 26 June 1905) was an Anglo-Irish peer. He was the son of John Skeffington, 10th Viscount Massereene and Olivia Grady. He inherited his father's titles in the Peerage ...

for a shooting range in 1893. In 1942, during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the

Admiralty Admiralty most often refers to: *Admiralty, Hong Kong * Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964 *The rank of admiral *Admiralty law Admiralty can also refer to: Buildings * Admiralty, Tra ...

commissioned a torpedo factory there such that Mark 8 torpedoes could be manufactured in the factory and then tested on

Lough Neagh Lough Neagh ( ; ) is a freshwater lake in Northern Ireland and is the largest lake on the island of Ireland and in the British Isles. It has a surface area of and is about long and wide. According to Northern Ireland Water, it supplies 4 ...

. After the War the site became the Royal Naval Armaments Depot Antrim. 33 Independent Field Squadron

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is the engineering arm of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces ...

arrived at the barracks in July 1974 and, after 33 Independent Field Squadron was absorbed into 25 Regiment Royal Engineers, that regiment took over the barracks in 1992. The site was subsequently handed over to the

Royal Marines The Royal Marines provide the United Kingdom's amphibious warfare, amphibious special operations capable commando force, one of the :Fighting Arms of the Royal Navy, five fighting arms of the Royal Navy, a Company (military unit), company str ...

and, from 1993, it was used as a base for the Royal Marine vessels

Grey Wolf The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the grey wolf or gray wolf, is a canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, including the dog and dingo, though gr ...

and Grey Fox which were deployed in counter terrorism and police operations on Lough Neagh and inshore waterways in Northern Ireland; the barracks were the subject of considerable further development in 1998. The site then passed to the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

and became the home of 38 Engineer Regiment in July 2008. On 7 March 2009, two off-duty British soldiers of the regiment were shot dead outside the barracks. Two other soldiers and two

civilian A civilian is a person who is not a member of an armed force. It is war crime, illegal under the law of armed conflict to target civilians with military attacks, along with numerous other considerations for civilians during times of war. If a civi ...

delivery men were also shot and wounded during the

mass shooting A mass shooting is a violent crime in which one or more attackers use a firearm to Gun violence, kill or injure multiple individuals in rapid succession. There is no widely accepted specific definition, and different organizations tracking su ...

. A dissident Irish republican

paramilitary A paramilitary is a military that is not a part of a country's official or legitimate armed forces. The Oxford English Dictionary traces the use of the term "paramilitary" as far back as 1934. Overview Though a paramilitary is, by definiti ...

group, the

Real IRA The Real Irish Republican Army, or Real IRA (RIRA), was a Dissident republican, dissident Irish republican paramilitary group that aimed to bring about a United Ireland. It was formed in 1997 following a split in the Provisional Irish Republica ...

, claimed responsibility. After 38 Engineer Regiment moved to

RAF Aldergrove Aldergrove Flying Station, also known previously as JHC FS Aldergrove, is a British military base located south of Antrim, County Antrim, Antrim, Northern Ireland and northwest of Belfast, and adjoins Belfast International Airport. It is som ...

in 2010, the barracks were demolished and the site sold to Randox Laboratories in December 2013 for use as a science park.

References

{{reflist, 30em Antrim, County Antrim Barracks in Northern Ireland Installations of the British Army Royal Marines bases