Custume Barracks () is a military installation at

Athlone Athlone (; ) is a town on the border of County Roscommon and County Westmeath, Ireland. It is located on the River Shannon near the southern shore of Lough Ree. It is the second most populous town in the Midlands Region with a population of ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

History

Barracks

The barracks were built originally as temporary accommodation for cavalry and infantry units in 1691. The barracks are named after a Sergeant Custume, who defended the bridge from the forces of

King William III William III (William Henry; ; 4 November 16508 March 1702), also widely known as William of Orange, was the sovereign Prince of Orange from birth, Stadtholder of Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, and Overijssel in the Dutch Republic from the ...

during the 1690

Siege of Athlone Athlone was besieged twice during the Williamite War in Ireland (1689–91). The town is situated in the centre of Ireland on the River Shannon and commanded the bridge crossing the river into the Jacobite-held province of Connacht. For this ...

. The barracks were taken over by forces of the

Irish Free State The Irish Free State ( ga, Saorstát Éireann, , ; 6 December 192229 December 1937) was a state established in December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty of December 1921. The treaty ended the three-year Irish War of Independence between th ...

in 1922 and served as the headquarters of 4th Western Brigade until the brigade was disbanded and is now part of 2 Brigade which is headquartered from Cathal Brugha Barracks in Dublin. The barracks remains the home of 6th Infantry Battalion as the lead unit, and 2nd Brigade Artillery Regiment and detachments of 2 Engineer Company and the Medical Corps.

Nuclear bunker

During the

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...

, there were contingency plans in place that, in the event of a nuclear exchange, cabinet ministers, senior civil servants and military advisers would use an underground nuclear bunker at Custume Barracks. The bunker was equipped with a command and control centre with communications equipment – which had a hotline to the

British government ga, Rialtas a Shoilse gd, Riaghaltas a Mhòrachd , image = HM Government logo.svg , image_size = 220px , image2 = Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (HM Government).svg , image_size2 = 180px , caption = Royal Arms , date_es ...

Whitehall Whitehall is a road and area in the City of Westminster, Central London. The road forms the first part of the A roads in Zone 3 of the Great Britain numbering scheme, A3212 road from Trafalgar Square to Chelsea, London, Chelsea. It is the main ...

– a map room pointing out important areas for protection, kitchen, bedroom and bathroom facilities to accommodate up to 100 persons. In 1968 a larger nuclear bunker, housing the Integrated National Control Centre (INCC), was planned for Athlone. This was planned to have capacity to accommodate and feed up to 300 people for a month, and allow the Government to continue in the event of a nuclear emergency. The

Department of Defence Department of Defence or Department of Defense may refer to: Current departments of defence * Department of Defence (Australia) * Department of National Defence (Canada) * Department of Defence (Ireland) * Department of National Defense (Philipp ...

and the

Office of Public Works The Office of Public Works (OPW) ( ga, Oifig na nOibreacha Poiblí) (legally the Commissioners of Public Works in Ireland) is a major Irish Government agency, which manages most of the Irish State's property portfolio, including hundreds of ow ...

(OPW) drew up secret plans for a larger underground bunker to include operations rooms, message centre, broadcasting studio, kitchens, offices, committee rooms, sleeping accommodation and of uncontaminated drinking water. The plans for this new bunker never went ahead.

References

{{Irish Army & Army Reserve Barracks in the Republic of Ireland Buildings and structures in Athlone

History

Barracks

Nuclear bunker

See also

References