The Mahon Road Barracks was a military installation in

Portadown Portadown () is a town in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. The town sits on the River Bann in the north of the county, about southwest of Belfast. It is in the Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council area and had a population of a ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

History

The barracks were built on the Mahon Road in

in 1972 to accommodate the

11th Battalion, Ulster Defence Regiment The 11th (Craigavon) Battalion, Ulster Defence Regiment was formed from companies of the 2nd Battalion Ulster Defence Regiment (2 UDR) and the 3rd Battalion Ulster Defence Regiment in 1972. In 1991 under the reductions planned in Options for ...

and were originally dubbed "Fort Mahon". In February 1974 the barracks also became the Headquarters for 3rd Infantry Brigade where the brigade's units included, along with Brigade Staff, 174 (Provost) Company,

Royal Military Police The Royal Military Police (RMP) is the corps of the British Army responsible for the policing of army service personnel, and for providing a military police presence both in the UK and while service personnel are deployed overseas on operation ...

. The barracks were also the home of G Squadron, 22nd SAS Regiment and were the centre of many of their operations in Northern Ireland including the interception of eight members of a

Provisional Irish Republican Army The Irish Republican Army (IRA; ), also known as the Provisional Irish Republican Army, and informally as the Provos, was an Irish republican paramilitary organisation that sought to end British rule in Northern Ireland, facilitate Irish reun ...

team at

Loughgall Loughgall ( ; ) is a small village, townland (of 131 acres) and civil parish in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. It is in the historic baronies of Armagh and Oneilland West. It had a population of 282 people (116 households) in the 2011 Census. ...

RUC Barracks in 1987; G Squadron operated under the working name of 4 Field Survey Troop, Royal Engineers. 3rd brigade was moved to

Drumadd Barracks Drumadd Barracks is a former military installation in Armagh, Northern Ireland. History The barracks were established on Hamiltonsbawn Road in Armagh in 1975. They became a base for 2nd Battalion, Ulster Defence Regiment in 1976, during the Trou ...

Armagh Armagh ( ; ga, Ard Mhacha, , "Macha's height") is the county town of County Armagh and a city in Northern Ireland, as well as a civil parish. It is the ecclesiastical capital of Ireland – the seat of the Archbishops of Armagh, the Pri ...

in 1988 during a restructuring of land forces in Northern Ireland. In July 2000 the barracks were used by the security forces during the

Drumcree conflict The Drumcree conflict or Drumcree standoff is a dispute over yearly parades in the town of Portadown, Northern Ireland. The town is mainly Protestant and hosts numerous Protestant/loyalist marches each summer, but has a significant Catholic mi ...

. The barracks were closed in January 2007. The adjacent site to the South has since been marketed as a private housing development under the name "Maghon Park".

References

Sources

* *{{cite book, url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PPubS8JGOngC&q=Drumadd+Barracks+3rd+Infantry+Brigade&pg=PT220, title=Testimony to Courage: The History of the Ulster Defence Regiment 1969-1992, first=John, last=Potter, publisher=Pen & Sword Books, year=2001, isbn=978-0850528190 Installations of the British Army Barracks in Northern Ireland