An Cosantóir

| 23 www.military.ie THE DEFENCE FORCES MAGAZINE from 1898 supports this theory. It describes the scene as a box with the remains placed in a small square grave by labourers. They were watched by a party that included representatives of the police, the military, and the prison authorities. The only light was that cast by a lamp hanging from a nail that had been hammered into the red brick west-wall of the barracks. During the years that followed, the grave site, which was unmarked, was left untouched. Contemporary maps show that ladders were stored along the brick wall to be used with the fire engine which was parked in a shed nearby. This meant that access was important and the only object to appear on maps of the area before the 1920s was a long jump which was part of a Brit- ish army obstacle course. It seems the intention of the Royal Engineer officer to have Poole buried in a place away from the trampling boots of marching soldiers, was unknowingly upheld by the Free State Army when it took over the barracks in 1922 and the site remained clear even after this part of Griffith Bar- racks was handed over to become the National Boxing Stadium in 1938. In fact, it is only in recent years that a concrete building was erected there. Unfortunately, this means the resting place of Joseph Poole will remain undiscovered for another while. The site f Poole's first burial place was in the centre of the barracks. The billets that overlooked it became offices for the National Army's Finance department in the 1920s and train- ing rooms for the Chemical Defence section by 1939. Later the building was used by the Cavalry and Observer Corps and the company stores that was built there became a transport office and a store for radios. For almost a century, soldiers passed by oblivious to the macabre discovery that was made beneath their feet, though the arrival of Poole's brothers to search for his grave in 1955 probably reminded those stationed there about the site's grisly history. It ensured his story got a mention in An Cosantóir in 1979. We have all heard countless stories about the barracks we serve in; most of them we disregard as tales invented or embel- lished by the 'old-sweat'. The story of Poole proves that quite often there is more to the tale than we realise. If you have a story about the barracks you serve in, we'd be very happy to publish it in the magazine - please email magazine@military.ie Joe Poole The building of the National Boxing Stadium which was built on the site of Poole's grave Ground plan of Wellington Barracks

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