Cathal Brugha Barracks


Cathal Brugha Barracks is an Irish Army barracks in Rathmines, Dublin. A key military base of the Irish Defence Forces, it is the headquarters of 2 Brigade, and houses the Military Archives of the Department of Defence.

History

The barracks was originally constructed between 1810 and 1815, and named Portobello Barracks for the area in which it was sited.
In 1817 William Windham Saddler, son of balloonist James Saddler, set off in a hot air balloon from the grounds of the barracks landing in Holyhead in North Wales.
Originally designed as a cavalry barracks, it saw some development along these lines, with additional land being purchased, and the addition of a church and canteen block.
During the 1916 Easter Rising, and the Irish War of Independence, British Troops from the barracks were involved in actions throughout Dublin. During this time, three journalists, including the pacifist Francis Sheehy-Skeffington, were murdered outside the barrack guardroom. The Royal Irish Rifles company commander Captain Bowen-Colthurst, who ordered the shootings, was controversially adjudged "insane" at the subsequent inquiry and court-martial.
On 17 May 1922 Irish troops took possession of the Barracks, and it became the National Army's Headquarters under General Michael Collins.
In 1952 it was renamed for Cathal Brugha, who was a leader during the 1916 rising, Minister for Defence in the First Dáil, and who lived locally for a time. Cathal Brugha an IRA man was shot by the National Army on O'Connell street during the Battle of Dublin.

Current use

Since the end of the Irish War of Independence, the barracks has housed units of the Irish Defence Forces, and has more recently been developed as a result of the force's reorganisation. It became the Eastern Command HQ in 1994. Following the 2012 reorganisation of the army, the barracks became headquarters of the reorganised 2 Brigade.
Cathal Brugha Barracks houses the following units: