An Cosantóir

18 HISTORY OF DÚN UÍ MHAOILÍOSA Because of its strategic location, Galway was always an important centre for the military. The original fort in Renmore was known as St Augustine's Fort and featured prominently in the 1641 rebellion, after which, it was abandoned, the purpose for which it had been built having been accomplished. By the 1780s, there were two military buildings in the town, the Shambles Barracks and the Castle Barracks. As these buildings aged, the War Department decided to expand, and in 1852 the British war department purchased lands at Renmore for the purpose of building a new military installation in order to replace the existing Shambles and Castle Barracks in Galway city, which were in a state of disrepair. In 1880, the new military installation, to be known as Renmore Barracks was built by the Collen Brothers, a Dublin-based contractor. Works were completed in 1881 and occupied firstly by the Royal Irish Fusiliers and followed, more famously, by the Connacht Rangers, Regiments of the British Army. After the signing of the Anglo-Irish Treaty and the evacuation of British Forces from Ireland, the take-over officer designated for Renmore Barracks was Capt. Michael Rynne, a Staff Officer of Army H.Q. His authorising warrant, signed by Comdt. Emmet Dalton, is dated 2nd February 1922. After Capt. Rynne had completed his take over on the 13th of February 1922, the day that British Forces left Renmore Barracks, Commandant Sean Broderick, Officer Commanding 4th Battalion of the 2nd Brigade of the 1st West Division of the old IRA, assumed command of the Garrison and led a group of Óglaigh na hÉireann through the gates and raised the Irish national colours (see photo on opposite page). The first guard of the new Irish Garrison was mounted under Sergeant Thomas Kelly, 4th Battalion of the 2nd Brigade of the 1st West Division (see photo on opposite page). However, the divisions that led to the Civil War soon caused the Pro-Treaty elements in Renmore to take over the Railway Hotel in Galway city, while Renmore Barracks was in the hands of the Anti-Treaty forces under the command of Comdt. 'Baby' Duggan. On the night of the 1st July 1922, Duggan abandoned the Barracks, having first set it on fire. The blaze severely damaged the accommodation block and the Officers Mess. On the following day, troops of the National Army took over the Barracks. At the time, army numbers were small. There were only a few places where soldiers were seen, and even in those places they were never in any great strength. In the early years of the Second World War, the army multiplied between six and HISTORY OF DÚN UÍ MHAOILÍOSA By Lt Ciarán Higgins Photos provided By Lt Ciarán Higgins Renmore barracks between 1880 - 1914 Drill instruction ca. 1900

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