Griffith Barracks ( Irish: ''Dún Uí Ghríofa'') is a former military barracks on the South Circular Road,

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...

History

The site, which had been known as Grimswoods Nurseries, was developed as a remand prison, designed by Francis Johnston to relieve pressure on the

Newgate Prison, Dublin Newgate Prison () was a place of detention in Dublin, Ireland. It was initially located at Cornmarket, near Christ Church Cathedral, on the south side of the Liffey and was originally one of the city gates before being moved to a new purpose ...

and completed in 1813. On the reorganisation of the government following Thomas Drummond's appointment in 1835 as

Under-Secretary for Ireland The Under-Secretary for Ireland (Permanent Under-Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland) was the permanent head (or most senior civil servant) of the British administration in Ireland prior to the establishment of the Irish Free State in 1922 ...

, it became a male penitentiary known as the Richmond Bridewell. The motto above the door read ''Cease to do evil; learn to do well''. In 1844 it was linked with

Catholic emancipation Catholic emancipation or Catholic relief was a process in the kingdoms of Great Britain and Ireland, and later the combined United Kingdom in the late 18th century and early 19th century, that involved reducing and removing many of the restricti ...

and the subsequent movement for Repeal of the Act of Union: one of its most famous occupants was the Liberator,

Daniel O'Connell Daniel O'Connell (I) ( ga, Dónall Ó Conaill; 6 August 1775 – 15 May 1847), hailed in his time as The Liberator, was the acknowledged political leader of Ireland's Roman Catholic majority in the first half of the 19th century. His mobilizat ...

. Prominent Irish Nationalist leaders such as

William Smith O'Brien William Smith O'Brien ( ga, Liam Mac Gabhann Ó Briain; 17 October 1803 – 18 June 1864) was an Irish nationalist Member of Parliament (MP) and a leader of the Young Ireland movement. He also encouraged the use of the Irish language. He ...

, Thomas Francis Meagher (later Acting Governor of Montana) and James Stephens (founder of the IRB) were among its famous historical prisoners. Another distinguished inmate was the

Lord Mayor of Dublin The Lord Mayor of Dublin ( ga, Ardmhéara Bhaile Átha Cliath) is the honorary title of the chairperson ( ga, Cathaoirleach, links=no ) of Dublin City Council which is the local government body for the city of Dublin, the capital of Ireland. Th ...

, Timothy Daniel Sullivan, for publishing ''

The Nation ''The Nation'' is an American liberal biweekly magazine that covers political and cultural news, opinion, and analysis. It was founded on July 6, 1865, as a successor to William Lloyd Garrison's '' The Liberator'', an abolitionist newspaper t ...

'', an Irish nationalist newspaper, in 1887.McCarthy, Justin; Egan, Maurice Francis; Hyde, Douglas; Gregory, Lady; Roche, James Jeffrey; Welsh, Charles (Eds.)(1904). In
''Irish Literature, Vol. IX''
'. Philadelphia: John D. Morris & Co. p. 3333. Google Book Search. Retrieved on 30 March 2011. In 1877 it was transferred to the

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 ...

. The additions and extensions were completed by 11 November 1893 but prior to that, in summer 1892 a battalion of the

Royal Munster Fusiliers The Royal Munster Fusiliers was a line infantry regiment of the British Army from 1881 to 1922. It traced its origins to the East India Company's Bengal European Regiment raised in 1652, which later became the 101st Regiment of Foot (Royal Beng ...

was in occupation. In this era it was known as Wellington Barracks after the

Duke of Wellington Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, (1 May 1769 – 14 September 1852) was an Anglo-Irish soldier and Tory statesman who was one of the leading military and political figures of 19th-century Britain, serving twice as prime minister ...

. During the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

it was used as a recruiting and training centre for many of the soldiers being sent to fight in that war.Dorney, p. 30 The barracks was not attacked during the 1916 rising. The British garrison of fewer than 100 men, who were under strength and poorly armed, dispatched one patrol and lost one soldier in the action. The barracks became one of the first to be handed over to 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 ...

and was garrisoned by the new

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 A ...

on 15 April 1922.Dorney, p. 44 During the subsequent

Irish Civil War The Irish Civil War ( ga, Cogadh Cathartha na hÉireann; 28 June 1922 – 24 May 1923) was a conflict that followed the Irish War of Independence and accompanied the establishment of the Irish Free State, an entity independent from the United ...

(1922-1923), the barracks was attacked by the

Anti-Treaty IRA The 1921 Anglo-Irish Treaty ( ga , An Conradh Angla-Éireannach), commonly known in Ireland as The Treaty and officially the Articles of Agreement for a Treaty Between Great Britain and Ireland, was an agreement between the government of the ...

, in an incident in which five people were killed. On 8 November 1922, Anti-Treaty fighters fired on troops drilling in the main square at the barracks from positions across the Grand Canal, using

Lewis Lewis may refer to: Names * Lewis (given name), including a list of people with the given name * Lewis (surname), including a list of people with the surname Music * Lewis (musician), Canadian singer * "Lewis (Mistreated)", a song by Radiohead ...

and

Thompson Thompson may refer to: People * Thompson (surname) * Thompson M. Scoon (1888–1953), New York politician Places Australia *Thompson Beach, South Australia, a locality Bulgaria * Thompson, Bulgaria, a village in Sofia Province Canada ...

machine guns and rifles. One soldier was killed and fourteen injured (seven seriously), two civilians were also killed and many injured. Free State reinforcements were rushed from Portobello Barracks (now Cathal Brugha), and two of the IRA attackers were killed and six captured, along with a machine gun. In reprisal for the attack, a Republican, James Spain, was killed. He may have taken part in the attack on the barracks and was wounded in the leg. Two hours after the action, he was pursued by Free State troops, taken out of a nearby house on nearby Donore Avenue and summarily executed. The barracks was later renamed by the Army Council in honour of

Arthur Griffith Arthur Joseph Griffith ( ga, Art Seosamh Ó Gríobhtha; 31 March 1871 – 12 August 1922) was an Irish writer, newspaper editor and politician who founded the political party Sinn Féin. He led the Irish delegation at the negotiations that pro ...

.Dorney, p. 54 In 1937 part of the barracks was leased to the Irish Athletic Boxing Association as the site for the

National Stadium Many countries have a national sport stadium, which typically serves as the primary or exclusive home for one or more of a country's national representative sports teams. The term is most often used in reference to an association football stadiu ...

which was opened by

Frank Aiken Francis Thomas Aiken (13 February 1898 – 18 May 1983) was an Irish revolutionary and politician. He was chief of staff of the Anti-Treaty IRA at the end of the Irish Civil War. Aiken later served as Tánaiste from 1965 to 1969 and Minister f ...

.Dorney, p. 57 The last soldiers left the barracks and transferred to

Cathal Brugha Barracks Cathal Brugha Barracks () is an Irish Army barracks in Rathmines, Dublin. A key military base of the Irish Defence Forces, it is the headquarters of 2 Brigade, and houses the Military Archives of the Department of Defence. History The barr ...

in September 1988.Dorney, p. 64 The refurbishment of buildings for educational use as

Griffith College Dublin Griffith College ( ga, Coláiste Uí Ghríofa) is one of the two largest, and one of the longest-established private, third level (higher education) colleges in Ireland. Overview Established in 1974, with four campuses in Dublin, Cork and Li ...

began in Summer 1991.Dorney, p. 75 The Griffith Barracks Multi-Denominational School was officially opened by President

Mary McAleese Mary Patricia McAleese ( ; ga, Máire Pádraigín Mhic Ghiolla Íosa; ; born 27 June 1951) is an Irish activist lawyer and former politician who served as the eighth president of Ireland from November 1997 to November 2011. She is an academic ...

in April 1998.

References

Sources

*{{cite book, last=Dorney, first=Jack, url=https://www.griffith.ie/sites/default/files/storage/uploads/Locations/Dublin/Docs/GC200.pdf, title= Griffith College Dublin. A History of the Campus 1813-2013, publisher=Griffith College Dublin, year=2013, isbn=978-1906878078

External links

Griffith Barracks Multi Denominational School

Griffith College Dublin
Irish Army Barracks in the Republic of Ireland Irish military bases Buildings and structures in Dublin (city)