14
HISTORY OF JAMES STEPHENS BARRACKS, KILKENNY
HISTORY OF JAMES
STEPHENS BARRACKS,
KILKENNY
The City of Kilkenny and the Irish Army
have a long association, going back
at least as far as the Confederation of
Kilkenny in the 1640s, when the city
could say that it was the de facto capital
of Ireland. The current barracks, known
simply as 'Kilkenny Military Barracks' in
1922, but later renamed in honour of the
Kilkenny-born Republican leader, James
Stephens, was built in 1803. An earlier
barracks existed (now the Butler Gallery)
which dates from the early 18th century.
The barracks was one of a number of
military installations completed across
the country in the wake of the 1798
Rebellion, the 1801 Act of Union and
a general period of instability across
the then United Kingdom, as the threat
of invasion from France remained a
distinct possibility. Kilkenny Military
Barracks was originally a home for
artillery units and the cut-stone wagon
sheds, and associated stables, forges,
and stores have since been converted
for modern purposes. The garrison
church was completed in 1852, although
deconsecrated sometime after the 1922
handover, when it was replaced as a
place of worship by the present-day
St Fiacre's oratory. Surviving images
from the late 19th century show troops
from the King's Royal Rifle Corps in
preparation for deployment to the Boer
War. The barracks layout is relatively
small, at some 15 acres, with just
a single accommodation block and
the married quarters being handed
over to the local authority (and sadly
demolished) in the 1990s.
The handover in 1922 took place on
7th February, when at 2pm, a large
body of armed men comprised of
volunteers from the Kilkenny flying
columns, officers from each of the nine
battalions of the IRA Kilkenny Brigade
and a contingent of men from the
By Comdt Stephen Mac Eoin & Pte Jim O'Keefe
Photos provided by Comdt Stephen Mac Eoin
& Pte Jim O'Keefe
Collins departing after the handover.
Photo courtesy of National Library of Ireland
Extract from My Kilkenny IRA days
