Gough Barracks was a military installation in

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 ...

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

History

The barracks were first established on the site in 1773. In 1873 a system of recruiting areas based on counties was instituted under the

Cardwell Reforms The Cardwell Reforms were a series of reforms of the British Army undertaken by Secretary of State for War Edward Cardwell between 1868 and 1874 with the support of Liberal prime minister William Ewart Gladstone. Gladstone paid little attention ...

and the barracks became the depot for the

89th (Princess Victoria's) Regiment of Foot The 89th (Princess Victoria's) Regiment of Foot was a regiment of the British Army, raised on 3 December 1793. Under the Childers Reforms the regiment amalgamated with the 87th (Royal Irish Fusiliers) Regiment of Foot to form the Princess Victor ...

and the

94th Regiment of Foot The 94th Regiment of Foot was a British Army line infantry regiment, raised as the Scotch Brigade in October 1794. It was renumbered as the 94th Regiment of Foot in December 1802 and disbanded in December 1818. The regiment was reformed in Decemb ...

. Following the

Childers Reforms The Childers Reforms of 1881 reorganised the infantry regiments of the British Army. The reforms were done by Secretary of State for War Hugh Childers during 1881, and were a continuation of the earlier Cardwell Reforms. The reorganisation wa ...

, the 87th (Prince of Wales's Irish) Regiment of Foot and the 89th (The Princess Victoria's) Regiment of Foot amalgamated to form the

Royal Irish Fusiliers The Royal Irish Fusiliers (Princess Victoria's) was an Irish line infantry regiment of the British Army, formed by the amalgamation of the 87th (Prince of Wales's Irish) Regiment of Foot and the 89th (Princess Victoria's) Regiment of Foot in ...

with its depot in the barracks in 1881. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

the barracks were used as military accommodation by the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, ...

. In 1954 an

Irish Republican Army The Irish Republican Army (IRA) is a name used by various paramilitary organisations in Ireland throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. Organisations by this name have been dedicated to irredentism through Irish republicanism, the belief th ...

unit raided the barracks and seized 340

rifle A rifle is a long-barreled firearm designed for accurate shooting, with a barrel that has a helical pattern of grooves ( rifling) cut into the bore wall. In keeping with their focus on accuracy, rifles are typically designed to be held with ...

s, 50

Sten The STEN (or Sten gun) is a family of British submachine guns chambered in 9×19mm which were used extensively by British and Commonwealth forces throughout World War II and the Korean War. They had a simple design and very low production cos ...

guns, 12

Bren gun The Bren gun was a series of light machine guns (LMG) made by Britain in the 1930s and used in various roles until 1992. While best known for its role as the British and Commonwealth forces' primary infantry LMG in World War II, it was also use ...

s and a number of small arms. The barracks were closed as depot of the Royal Irish Fusiliers in April 1960. In 1970 Gough Barracks were re-opened as the Headquarters for

2nd Battalion, Ulster Defence Regiment 2nd (County Armagh) Battalion, Ulster Defence Regiment (2 UDR) was formed in 1970 as part of the seven original battalions specified in the Ulster Defence Regiment Act 1969, which received Royal Assent on 18 December 1969 and was brought into fo ...

: the battalion remained there until they moved out to more modern facilities

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 Tr ...

in 1975. The premises were then vacated completely 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 Gurkha ...

in 1976. A nuclear bunker was established at the site 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 t ...

and it continues to be used as a policing base by the

Police Service of Northern Ireland The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI; ga, Seirbhís Póilíneachta Thuaisceart Éireann; Ulster-Scots: ') is the police force that serves Northern Ireland. It is the successor to the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) after it was reform ...

References

Sources

*{{cite book, 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 Barracks in Northern Ireland Installations of the British Army 1773 establishments in Ireland 1976 disestablishments in Northern Ireland