Richmond Barracks was a British Army barracks in

Inchicore Inchicore () is a suburb of Dublin, 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 Inchicore railway works (b ...

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

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 ...

. It is now a cultural centre.

History

The barracks, which were named after

Charles Lennox, 4th Duke of Richmond General Charles Lennox, 4th Duke of Richmond, 4th Duke of Lennox, 4th Duke of Aubigny, (9 December 176428 August 1819) was a Scottish peer, soldier, politician, and Governor-general of British North America. Background Richmond was born to Ge ...

, were completed in 1810 and first occupied by the

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 ...

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

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. During the First World War the barracks also served as the 2nd cavalry depot providing accommodation for the

4th Queen's Own Hussars The 4th Queen's Own Hussars was a cavalry regiment in the British Army, first raised in 1685. It saw service for three centuries, including the First World War and the Second World War. It amalgamated with the 8th King's Royal Irish Hussars, to ...

, the

8th King's Royal Irish Hussars The 8th King's Royal Irish Hussars was a cavalry regiment in the British Army, first raised in 1693. It saw service for three centuries including the First and Second World Wars. The regiment survived the immediate post-war reduction in forces ...

, the

11th Hussars The 11th Hussars (Prince Albert's Own) was a cavalry regiment of the British Army established in 1715. It saw service for three centuries including the First World War and Second World War but then amalgamated with the 10th Royal Hussars (Pri ...

and the

13th Hussars The 13th Hussars (previously the 13th Light Dragoons) was a cavalry regiment of the British Army established in 1715. It saw service for three centuries including the Napoleonic Wars, the Crimean War and the First World War but then amalgamated wi ...

. 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 ( ga, Éirí Amach na Cásca), 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 a ...

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 Kilmainham Gaol ( ga, Príosún Chill Mhaighneann) is a former prison in Kilmainham, Dublin, Ireland. It is now a museum run by the Office of Public Works, an agency of the Government of Ireland. Many Irish revolutionaries, including the leade ...

for execution." The

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier 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. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

H. H. Asquith Herbert Henry Asquith, 1st Earl of Oxford and Asquith, (12 September 1852 – 15 February 1928), generally known as H. H. Asquith, was a British statesman and Liberal Party politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom f ...

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

was founded in 1922, the Barracks was occupied by the

Irish Army The Irish Army, known simply as the Army ( ga, an tArm), is the land component of the Defence Forces of Ireland.The Defence Forces are made up of the Permanent Defence Forces – the standing branches – and the Reserve Defence Forces. The Ar ...

, 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 sign ...

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 ( ga, Máire Mhic Róibín; ; born 21 May 1944) is an Irish politician who was the 7th president of Ireland, serving from December 1990 to September 1997, the first woman to hold this office. Prior to her electi ...

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 Goldenbridge Cemetery ( ga, Reilig an Droichid Órga) is a Roman Catholic garden cemetery located in Inchicore, Dublin, Ireland. History Under the Penal Laws, Irish Catholics could only be buried in Church of Ireland (Anglican) cemeteries, and ...

References

External links

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