An Cosantóir

An Cosantóir May 2014 www.dfmagazine.ie 30 | K ildare barracks, barracks, renamed Magee barracks in 1952, was the home of the Artillery Corps from February 1925 until its closure in September 1998 and was pivotal in the development of artillery in the Free State Army during the 1920s. Kildare Bks originally opened as an artillery barracks in April 1902 when the newly built hutted camp was occupied by XXXI and XXXIII Brigades of the Royal Field Artillery. Its proximity to newly opened artillery ranges at the Glen of Imaal, Co Wicklow and to the Curragh made Kildare an ideal location and the barracks played a pivotal role in the expansion and development of the town in the early 1900s. Gunners from the barracks formed part of the British Expedition- ary Force that sailed for France in August 1914 and suffered some of first casualties of the war. When the barracks was vacated by the British in April 1922 it became the training depot of the newly created Civic Guard and experienced a mutiny when the new regime was challenged by disaffected policemen. It subsequently acted as the Defence Forces' first military college with an Officers' School of Instruction operat- ing at Kildare during 1923-24. Kildare Bks returned to its roots on 25 February 1925 when Artil- lery HQ, under the command of Maj Patrick Mulcahy as- sisted by Comdts Patrick Maher and Dominic Mackey, and the Corps' two batteries, transferred to Kildare by train. From the railway station the guns were brought by horse through the town, as recorded by one of the first gunners William Bonar: 'We came from the railway station with increasing speed and came around Graham's Corner (into Market Square) at full tilt with outriders on the lead horses urging them on, drivers shouting, whips cracking, horses galloping, and gun and limber wheels crashing on metalled road.' The Artillery Corps had been formally established on 23 April 1923 with No 1 Battery established on 10 July 1923 and No 2 Battery on 2 January 1925, both with four 18-pdr field guns. Major Mul- cahy immediately set about creating an efficient unit, using a mixture of former British soldiers and former IRA members. The first training officer, Harry Frowd St George Caul- feild, was a former British soldier and member of the Auxiliary Division Royal Irish Constabulary (ADRIC) more by MARK MCLOuGHLIN the Home of Artillery 1st Battery ready to move out, Kildare Bks, 1931. Kildare 1919 shoot. Parade on the day the barracks closed, 24 Sept, 1998. Photo courtesy of Comdt Paddy Walshe. A 1930's FieldKitchen that would have accompanied the troops on the firing range. Horse's were used well into the 1930's until a replacement could be found.

• Cover