Richmond Barracks was a British Army barracks in

Inchicore Inchicore () is a suburb of Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Located approximately west of the city centre, Inchicore was originally a small village separate from Dublin. The village developed around Richmond Barracks (built 1810) and Inchi ...

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. It is now a cultural centre.

History

The barracks, which were named after Charles Lennox, 4th Duke of Richmond, were completed in 1810 and first occupied by 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 ...

in 1814. Many Irishmen were stationed there before going overseas to fight in the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. During the First World War the barracks also served as the 2nd cavalry depot providing accommodation for the 4th Queen's Own Hussars, the

8th King's Royal Irish Hussars The 8th King's Royal Irish Hussars was a Cavalry regiments of the British Army, cavalry regiment in the British Army, first raised in 1693. It saw service for three centuries including the World War I, First and World War II, Second World Wars. ...

, the 11th Hussars and the 13th Hussars. Deputy Michael Conaghan of the Inchicore Kilmainham Heritage Group has said, "The remaining buildings of Richmond Barracks here have very specific connections to the

Easter Rising The Easter Rising (), also known as the Easter Rebellion, was an armed insurrection in Ireland during Easter Week in April 1916. The Rising was launched by Irish republicans against British rule in Ireland with the aim of establishing an ind ...

and its immediate aftermath. After the surrender, it was designated by the British as the holding centre for over 3,000 suspected rebels, until they were released or sent to prison camps in England, Wales and Northern Ireland... The signatories of the Proclamation (with the exception of James Connolly) and other leaders were also interned, court-martialed and sentenced to death in the barracks before they were sent to Kilmainham Gaol for execution." The

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

H. H. Asquith Herbert Henry Asquith, 1st Earl of Oxford and Asquith (12 September 1852 – 15 February 1928) was a British statesman and Liberal Party (UK), Liberal politician who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1908 to 1916. He was the last ...

visited on 12 May 1916, after which no further executions of prisoners took place. After the

Irish Free State The Irish Free State (6 December 192229 December 1937), also known by its Irish-language, Irish name ( , ), was a State (polity), state established in December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty of December 1921. The treaty ended the three-ye ...

was founded in 1922, the Barracks was occupied by the

Irish Army The Irish Army () is the land component of the Defence Forces (Ireland), Defence Forces of Republic of Ireland, Ireland.The Defence Forces are made up of the Permanent Defence Forces – the standing branches – and the Reserve Defence Forces. ...

, and briefly named ''Keogh Barracks'', after Commander Tom Keogh who fought in the war of independence. The Irish government closed Keogh Barracks down in 1922. The building came into possession of the

Dublin Corporation Dublin Corporation (), known by generations of Dubliners simply as ''The Corpo'', is the former name of the city government and its administrative organisation in Dublin since the 1100s. Significantly re-structured in 1660–1661, even more si ...

and was used to house Dublin families who were on the housing list; they built ''Keogh Square'', which was demolished in 1970, and this was replaced by St. Michaels Estate there. At the same time as the transfer of the barracks to the corporation, Christian Brothers purchased three of the buildings and turned two of them into class rooms and called it "St Michaels Christian Brothers School", a national school opening in 1929. President

Mary Robinson Mary Therese Winifred Robinson (; ; born 21 May 1944) is an Irish politician who served as the president of Ireland from December 1990 to September 1997. She was the country's first female president. Robinson had previously served as a senato ...

visited the school in October 1996. It closed down in 2006.

Visitor Attraction and Cultural Centre

In May 2016, as part of the centenary celebrations of the

, Richmond Barracks reopened as a visitor attraction, incorporating nearby Goldenbridge Cemetery.

References

External links

Official site
{{Museums and galleries in the Republic of Ireland by province Barracks in Dublin (city) Military and war museums in the Republic of Ireland 1810 establishments in Ireland Military installations established in 1810