Palace Barracks, Holywood is a

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

installation in

Holywood Holy Wood or Holywood may refer to: Places * Holywood, County Down, a town and townland in Northern Ireland ** Holywood, County Down (civil parish), a civil parish in County Down, Northern Ireland ** Holywood railway station (Northern Ireland) * ...

County Down County Down () is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. It covers an area of and has a population of 531,665. It borders County Antrim to the ...

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

Palace Barracks occupies the site of a palatial house known as "Ardtullagh", the home of the

Bishop of Down, Connor and Dromore The Bishop of Down, Connor and Dromore was the Ordinary of the Church of Ireland diocese of Down, Connor and Dromore; comprising all County Down and County Antrim, including the city of Belfast. History The episcopal sees of Down and Connor ...

until it was bought by the UK

War Office The War Office was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the new Ministry of Defence (MoD). This article contains text from ...

in 1886. In 1933, six children of Lance Corporal Harry Poole and his wife, Mary, lost their lives from

asphyxia Asphyxia or asphyxiation is a condition of deficient supply of oxygen to the body which arises from abnormal breathing. Asphyxia causes generalized hypoxia, which affects primarily the tissues and organs. There are many circumstances that can i ...

tion following gas poisoning in the married quarters of the barracks. During the roughly three decades of "

The Troubles The Troubles ( ga, Na Trioblóidí) were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it is sometimes described as an "i ...

" in Northern Ireland, the barracks served as the home base for battalions rotating through the province, especially those on a two-year "accompanied" tour with their families. A wide variety of facilities are available for soldiers to use off duty, including a swimming pool, squash courts, saunas, bars and a gymnasium. Palace Barracks became the Regimental Headquarters of the Royal Irish Regiment in 2008. In March 2010, it was the site of a bombing. An elderly man was blown off his feet and had to be treated in hospital. The bomb was allegedly driven towards the base in a hijacked taxi. The

Real IRA The Real Irish Republican Army, or Real IRA (RIRA), is a dissident Irish republican paramilitary group that aims to bring about a United Ireland. It formed in 1997 following a split in the Provisional IRA by dissident members, who rejected the ...

claimed responsibility for the attack. In 2014, it became the base for the

Royal Scots Borderers The Royal Scots Borderers, 1st Battalion, the Royal Regiment of Scotland (1 SCOTS) was an infantry battalion of the Royal Regiment of Scotland. The battalion formed on 1 August 2006 when its antecedent regiments - the Royal Scots and the King's O ...

, 1st Battalion, The Royal Regiment of Scotland.

Current units

Current units stationed at the camp include:

British Army

*1st Battalion, Ranger Regiment *Regimental Headquarters, 152 (North Irish) Regiment,

Royal Logistic Corps The Royal Logistic Corps provides logistic support functions to the British Army. It is the largest Corps in the Army. History The Royal Logistic Corps (RLC) was formed on 5 April 1993, by the union of five British Army corps: * Royal Engine ...

**227 (Belfast) Headquarters Squadron **220 (Belfast) Tanker Squadron **400 Petroleum Operator Squadron *Regimental Headquarters, Royal Irish Regiment

Royal Navy

*Belfast Detachment,

Royal Marines Reserve The Royal Marines Reserve (RMR) is the volunteer reserve force used to augment the regular Royal Marines. The RMR consists of some 750 trained ranks distributed among the four units within the UK. About 10 percent of the force are working with t ...

Scotland

Security Service

*Northern Ireland Headquarters Palace Barracks is the declared headquarters of the MI5 for their investigations into Northern Ireland-related terrorism.

References

{{reflist 1886 establishments in Ireland 2010 in Northern Ireland Car and truck bombings in Northern Ireland Terrorism in Northern Ireland Military of Northern Ireland Barracks in Northern Ireland Military history of County Down Royal Irish Regiment (1992) Installations of the British Army Terrorist incidents in the United Kingdom in 2010 2010s crimes in Northern Ireland 2010 crimes in Ireland