First sod is turned on redevelopment of old barracks restoration

Dublin People 06 Nov 2015
Cllr Críona Ní Dhálaigh turns the first sod with children from Our Lady of Lourdes National School, Inchicore. Photo by Jason Clarke

A LOST chapter of 1916 history was recovered with the turning of the first sod on the redevelopment of Richmond Barracks in Inchicore last week.

The Lord Mayor of Dublin, Críona Ní Dhálaigh, performed the honours as a major revamp of the historic barracks by Dublin City Council in commemoration of the 1916 Centenary gets underway.

The project will take place over the next six months with an official opening in May 2016.

The barracks will be redeveloped into an interactive multimedia tourist attraction which will trace the story of the site from military barracks, to housing estate, to school.

The leaders of the Irish revolution, along with over 3,000 Irish rebels, including 77 women, were held in Richmond Barracks in the aftermath of the 1916 Rebellion before they were sentenced or released.

When the site was turned over to the Free State Army in 1922, it remained a keystone of working class Dublin, hosting a housing estate and a Christian Brother’s School.

 “Richmond Barracks played a central part in the history of 1916,” Cllr Ní Dhálaigh said. “Beyond 1916, it also provides a fascinating insight into the social history of working class Dublin in the 20th century.

“It is essentially a lost chapter in Irish history and once the redevelopment is complete, we will see this unique site reclaim its rightful place in local and national history.

“The Richmond Barracks Exhibition Centre will open to the public in May 2016 and we expect it will become a draw for tourists and a must-see for anyone interested in Ireland’s history.” 

Richmond Barracks was built in 1810. Among the Irish rebels detained in the barracks after the 1916 Easter Rising were the seven signatories of the Proclamation as well as Michael Collins, Eamon De Valera, Arthur Griffith, and William T Cosgrave.

A total of 90 death sentences were handed out over the first two weeks of May, and 13 executions were later carried out in Kilmainham Gaol.

Richmond Barracks continued in use as a military barracks until 1924 when it was converted into social housing and renamed Keogh Square. Tenants lived at this location until 1969. St Michael’s CBS operated on part of the site from 1898 to 2007. At the sod-turning event, school children from Our Lady of Lourdes National School, Inchicore were presented with the National Flag and a copy of the Proclamation by a member of the Defence Forces as part of the Ireland 2016 Centenary Programme.

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