Renmore Barracks

Renmore Barracks (Irish: Dún Uí Mhaoilíosa) is a military installation in Renmore, Ireland

Renmore Barracks
Dún Uí Mhaoilíosa
Renmore, Galway
Renmore Barracks
Renmore Barracks Location within Ireland
Coordinates	53.27284°N 9.03191°W
Type	Barracks
Site information
Operator	Irish Army
Site history
Built	1889
Built for	War Office
In use	1889-Present
Garrison information
Occupants	1st Infantry Battalion, Irish Army

History

The Barracks between 1880-1914

The barracks were built by Colleran Brothers, a Dublin-based contractor, and completed in 1881.[1] Their creation took place as part of the Cardwell Reforms which encouraged the localisation of British military forces.[2] The barracks became the depot for the 87th (Royal Irish Fusiliers) Regiment of Foot and the 88th Regiment of Foot (Connaught Rangers).[3] Following the Childers Reforms, the 88th Regiment of Foot (Connaught Rangers) and 94th Regiment of Foot amalgamated to form the Connaught Rangers with its depot in the barracks in 1881.[3]

The Connaught Rangers was disbanded at the time of Irish Independence in 1922.[4] The barracks were taken over by the Irish Army at that time and then renamed Dún Uí Mhaoilíosa after Liam Mellows, an Irish Republican, in 1952.[5] The barracks are now home to the 1st Infantry Battalion.[5]

Dún Uí Mhaoilíosa Museum

Renmore Barracks features a museum that recalls the history of the Connaught Rangers, as well as Renmore Barracks' later role as home to the 1st Infantry Battalion of the Irish Army. Irish soldiers engaging in UN Peacekeeping in Congo, Cyprus, Lebanon, Chad and Afghanistan are remembered at Dún Uí Mhaoilíosa Museum. An axe used by African tribesman in the Niemba Ambush in the Congo in which nine Irish Army soldiers were killed is featured in the exhibits.[6]

The museum has forged links with the Connaught Rangers Association, established in Boyle in 2002.[5]

Dún Uí Mhaoilíosa Museum is not fully open to the public, but visitors can make an appointment to visit by contacting the museum curator.[5]

See also

• List of Irish military installations

References

1. "History of Renmore Barracks". Renmore history. Retrieved 17 November 2014.
2. "Echoes of the past in these Army cuts". 8 July 2012. Retrieved 13 November 2014.
3. "Training Depots". Regiments.org. Archived from the original on 10 February 2006. Retrieved 16 October 2016.CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
4. Murphy, David (2007). Irish Regiments in the World Wars, quote: "Following the treaty that established the independent Irish Free State in 1922, it was decided to disband the regiments that had their traditional recruiting grounds in southern Ireland: The Royal Irish Regiment; The Connaught Rangers; The Prince of Wales' Leinster Regiment; The Royal Munster Fusiliers; The Royal Dublin Fusiliers; The South Irish Horse". Osprey Publishing. p. 30. ISBN 978-1-84603-015-4.
5. "Dún Uí Mhaoilíosa Museum". military.ie. Irish Defence Forces. Archived from the original on 19 November 2017.
6. "Defence Force Museum launches new projects". 29 November 2013. Retrieved 7 May 2019.