An Cosantóir

An Cosantóir Dec 2014/Jan 2015 www.dfmagazine.ie 32 | T he townland of bal- lymullen was once a location of great importance to the defence of tralee: so great that a castle was built there in the 14th century. the castle was constructed by a branch of the geraldines (Fitzgeralds) called the MacRoberts, who them- selves were descended from the Earl of Desmond. the initial demise of the castle at ballymullen was linked to the crushing of the Desmond Rebellion during the 1580s. Ballymullen, however, would revive itself as a military centre-point in the early 19th century when the Viceroy to Ireland announced the townland as the location for the British army's primary garrison in County Kerry. The public tender for the building of the barracks in Ballymullen was issued on the 28th of June, 1810, and work com- menced on the 11th of August at the 15½-acre site. One of the earli- est regiments to occupy Ballymul- len Barracks was the Dorset Militia Regiment which travelled from Limerick to Tralee in September 1813. With the con- struction of the barracks completed by 1815, the future security of Tralee from a military point of view was very healthy, even with sporadic events of unrest. Yet by 1840, with 37 permanent barracks established throughout Ireland and a much-changed security situation, the future of Ballymullen looked grim. The 59th Depot stationed at Tralee had received orders to march and the barracks was to be shut up, with the local police force being considered "adequate to the maintenance of the tran- quillity of the country". However, the 1840s would usher in a turbulent era in Ireland, in no small part due to a Kerryman by the name of Daniel O'Connell. The unrest associated with this era ensured that barracks such as Ballymullen would be fully populated with British troops. Throughout 1843, troop numbers were increased significantly across Ireland, including in Kerry, reversing the trend of previous years. When O'Connell visited Tralee in November 1844, in excess of 50,000 people gath- ered to greet him, with the welcom- ing procession travelling from the cen- tre of town along Ballymullen, passing the military barracks, and stopping on the Milltown road to await 'the Liberator'. The procession returned to the town passing Castlemorris House, owned by Daniel O'Connell's brother, James, and again passing Ballymullen Barracks, where the gates were closed and the loopholes had been filled with straw by the soldiers. The day passed off peacefully with the troops confining them to the barracks. The famine that swept across Ireland between 1845 and 1852 led to mass starvation, disease and emigration, yet tons of much-needed, locally-produced grain was exported while lo- cals perished from hunger. The military in Tralee were ordered to protect institutions such as workhouses and the transporta- tion of Indian meal during this period. Conditions in Ballymullen Barracks were also very unsafe. Not long after the 88th Connaught Rangers arrived in Tralee in October, 1847, it was reported that the mortality rate there was high and that the barracks was in a very unhealthy state. In August 1848, the British army purchased an acre of ground for the interment of deceased soldiers in Killierisk, approxi- mately ¼ of a mile from Ballymullen Barracks. No sooner had the famine receded when the British army stationed in Ireland was confronted with grave tests in the Crimean War and the Indian Mutiny, both of which occurred between 1853 and 1857. The barracks was left with no permanent troops from May 1859 until January 1866 when 288 troops of the 37th North Hampshire Regiment of Foot arrived into Tralee by train and marched to Ballymullen Barracks. By 1868, increasing troop numbers in the town required the development of Staff Barracks at Dean's Lane, Tralee, where extra soldiers could live with their families. Initially the bar- racks catered for forty families. by ROBERT TANGNEy bAllyMullen Tralee's Bulwark Free State Mounted Troops leaving Ballymullen Bks Free State Bicycle Unit leaving Ballymullen Bks Free State Troops leaving Ballymullen Bks

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