County Cork: Collins Barracks & Kilworth Camp

Collins Barracks, Cork, previously named Victoria Barracks, was handed over to the National Army on 18th May 1922. Built between 1801 and 1806, it was named Victoria Barracks in 1849 to mark the visit of Queen Victoria. At the time of the handover in 1922 it was home to the British North Staffordshire, Hampshire and York Regiments.

The barracks is central to some significant events of the Irish Revolution. Thomas Kent, the only man executed outside of Dublin for his role in the 1916 Easter Rising, was shot here. During the War of Independence, members of the notorious ‘Auxiliaries’ (temporary constables of the Royal Irish Constabulary) based here were involved in the Burning of Cork. Today, the barracks is the headquarters of the Army’s 1st Brigade and home to several other army units.

Kilworth Camp was handed over on 10th February 1922. In 1966 it was renamed Lynch Camp, in honour of the anti-Treaty IRA Chief-of-Staff, General Liam Lynch. Lynch’s death on 10th April 1923, in combat against National Army troops, effectively ended the Civil War. Today, Lynch Camp is an active and important centre for Defence Forces training.