{{Short description|Barracks building}} {{About|Collins Barracks (National Museum of Ireland)|the barracks of the same name in Cork|Collins Barracks, Cork}} {{EngvarB|date=October 2013}} {{Use dmy dates|date=June 2021}} {{Infobox military installation |name = Collins Barracks, Dublin |native_name = Dún Uí Choileáin, Baile Átha Cliath |image = Collins Barracks Museum courtyard west.jpg |caption = The main barracks square of Collins Barracks |type = Barracks |map_type = Ireland Central Dublin |pushpin_map_caption = Location within Dublin |location =[[Dublin]] |coordinates = {{Coord|53.34837|N|6.28581|W|region:GB_type:landmark|display=inline,title}} |ownership = |operator = {{flagicon|Ireland}} [[Irish Army]] |built = 1702 |used= 1702—1997 |architect = |built_for = [[War Office]] |garrison = }} '''Collins Barracks''' ({{langx|ga|Dún Uí Choileáin}}) is a former military [[barracks]] in the [[Arbour Hill]] area of [[Dublin]], Ireland. The buildings now house the [[National Museum of Ireland – Decorative Arts and History]].
Previously housing first [[British Armed Forces]] and later [[Irish Army]] [[garrison]]s through three centuries, the barracks were the oldest continuously occupied example in the world. Built in 1702, and further extended in the late 18th century and 19th century, the complex's main buildings are [[Neoclassical architecture|neo-classical]] in style. Originally called simply '''The Barracks''', and later the '''Royal Barracks''', the name was changed in 1922 by the [[Irish Free State]] to Collins Barracks, in honour of [[Michael Collins (Irish Leader)|Michael Collins]], who had been killed earlier that year. Since 1997 the barracks have been home to collections of the [[National Museum of Ireland]] (for ''Decorative Arts and History'' exhibits), and the original structures have seen some award-winning redevelopment and conservation work to support this new role.
==History== === 18th century to 1920s – British garrison === [[File:Dublin barracks.jpg|thumb|An early illustration of the barracks taken from [[Charles Brooking's map of Dublin (1728)]]]] Save for the [[Royal Hospital Kilmainham]], the barracks is the earliest public building in Dublin, and was built from 1701 by the then [[Surveyor General of Ireland|Surveyor General]] under [[Anne, Queen of Great Britain|Queen Anne]], [[Thomas Burgh (1670–1730)|Thomas de Burgh]].<ref name="archiseek">{{cite web |url=http://archiseek.com/2010/1701-collins-barracks-arbour-hill-dublin/ |title=Archiseek entry on Collins Barracks |publisher=Archiseek.com |accessdate=2 August 2011}}</ref> (Burgh was also the architect of the [[Trinity College Library|famous library building]] at [[Trinity College Dublin]].)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.architecturerevived.com/trinity-college-library-university-of-dublin-ireland/|title=Trinity College Library, University of Dublin Ireland|publisher=Architecture Revived|accessdate=26 May 2019}}</ref>
Built on a site originally intended for a mansion of the [[James Butler, 2nd Duke of Ormonde|Duke of Ormonde]], the complex has several large squares, each open on the south side. The largest square (''Clarke's Square'') has [[Arcade (architecture)|arcaded colonnades]] on the east and west sides, and the main buildings are faced with [[granite]].<ref name=museumhistory>{{cite web|url=https://www.museum.ie/Decorative-Arts-History/History-Architecture|title=History & Architecture of Collins Barracks|publisher=National Museum of Ireland|accessdate=26 May 2019}}</ref>
The oldest inhabited barracks in Europe<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/content_pages/record.asp?recordid=50057 |title=Collins Barracks – World's "longest serving barracks" |publisher=GuinnessWorldRecords.com |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20060902145524/http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/content_pages/record.asp?recordid=50057 |archivedate=2 September 2006 |accessdate=2 August 2011}}</ref> (and once one of the largest), it was originally known simply as the Barracks and later the Royal Barracks.<ref name=museumhistory/>
[[Wolfe Tone]], one of the main leaders of the [[1798 rebellion]] was held prisoner, [[court-martial]]led and convicted of [[treason]] at the Barracks.<ref name=sampson>{{cite web|url=http://rewinn.com/8043.html|title=Speech of Theobold Wolf Tone, To the Court-Martial, assembled to pass sentence on his life in ''Memoirs of William Sampson''|edition = 2nd|year=1817|accessdate=8 April 2007}}</ref>
Through the 19th century, up to 1,500 troops of various ''[[List of Regiments of Foot|Regiments of Foot]]'' (and up to two ''troops of horse'') were stationed at the barracks. However, by the 1880s conditions of accommodation were dangerously inadequate, and they were strongly criticised following an investigation by Commissioners of the [[War Office]] as levels of disease increased.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bopcris.ac.uk/eppi/ref12623.html |title=Abstract from 1888 report into the ''Prevelance [sic] of enteric fever in the Royal Barracks, Dublin'' |publisher=Southampton University |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927004742/http://www.bopcris.ac.uk/eppi/ref12623.html |archivedate=27 September 2007 |accessdate=2 August 2011}}</ref>
During the 1916 [[Easter Rising]], the 10th Battalion of the [[Royal Dublin Fusiliers]] and other forces were deployed from the Royal Barracks<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.awm.gov.au/journal/j39/kildea.asp |title=Australian soldiers in the Easter Rising 1916 (Accounts and notes of forces deployed from Royal Barracks in 1916) |publisher= Journal of the Australian War Memorial |accessdate=2 August 2011}}</ref> to fight the insurgent [[Irish Citizen Army]] and [[Irish Volunteers]] who occupied strongly held positions close by on Usher's Island (under [[Seán Heuston]]), the [[Four Courts]] (under [[Edward Daly (Irish revolutionary)|Ned Daly]]), and the [[General Post Office, Dublin|GPO]] (under [[Patrick Pearse|Pádraig Pearse]]).<ref>{{cite web|title=Patrick Pearse|url=http://www.rte.ie/centuryireland/index.php/articles/patrick-pearse|website=Century Ireland|publisher=[[RTÉ]]/[[Boston College]]|accessdate=1 March 2017}}</ref>
=== 1920s to 1990s – Irish garrison === [[File:General Richard Mulcahy bust.JPG|thumb|upright|Bronze relief and plaque commemorating General Richard Mulcahy at Collins Barracks]] Under the [[Anglo-Irish Treaty]] (which marked the end of the [[Irish War of Independence]]), the complex was handed over to troops of the [[Irish Free State]] in December 1922. It was almost immediately named '''Collins Barracks''' after [[Michael Collins (Irish leader)|Michael Collins]], the first [[commander-in-chief]] of the Free State, who had been killed that year. The barracks housed forces of the Free State Army through the [[Irish Civil War]] and for 70 years was home to units of the ''Eastern Command'' of the [[Irish Defence Forces]]. The 5th Infantry Battalion marched out of the barracks for the last time in 1997.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.irishsoldiers.com/News/newslettermay04.htm |title=2004 address by Minister for Arts/Tourism at launch of 'Guide to Irish Military Heritage' exhibition at Collins Barracks |publisher=Military Heritage of Ireland Trust |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080915203902/http://www.irishsoldiers.com/News/newslettermay04.htm |archivedate=15 September 2008 |accessdate=2 August 2011}}</ref>
=== 1997 to present – National Museum of Ireland === {{main|National Museum of Ireland}} [[File:Collins Barracks Museum front.JPG|thumb|Entrance to the National Museum of Ireland, Collins Barracks]] As part of de-militarisation, the barracks underwent considerable redevelopment – including the conversion and linking of two sides of ''Clarke Square'' with glass-faced structures. This work was awarded the country's premier award for architectural conservation, the Silver Medal for Conservation, by [[Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland]] (RIAI).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/news/award-for-conversion-of-barracks-into-museum-1.1127293|date=22 November 2002|title=Award for conversion of barracks into museum|work=The Irish Times|accessdate=26 May 2019}}</ref>
Home to the ''Decorative Arts and History'' section of the National Museum, the museum also has galleries dedicated to exhibits on military history. However, the main focus of the galleries is on arts, crafts and wares, including exhibits on: Irish coins and currency, silverware, furniture, folklife and costumes, ceramics, glassware, etc.<ref name="archiseek"/>
==Prostitution== As with most garrison towns in Ireland,<ref name = HT>{{cite web |last1=Peakman |first1=Julie |title= Prostitution in Ireland |date=7 July 2016|url= https://www.historytoday.com/archive/feature/prostitution-ireland |website=History Today |access-date=14 April 2022}}</ref> prostitution proliferated in areas surrounding barracks' as the impoverished inhabitants of cities and towns would gravitate towards the soldiers who were in receipt of a steady income. Barrack Street (renamed [[Benburb Street]] in 1890),<ref name="Clerkin">{{cite book |last1=Clerkin |first1=Paul |title=Dublin street names |date=2001 |publisher=Gill & Macmillan |location=Dublin |isbn=0717132048 |pages=13–14}}</ref> which ran directly in front of the site, became associated with this sex work due to its close proximity to the Royal Barracks. The area was comparable to the [[Monto]] whose activities reached a zenith during the 1860s–1950s period and whose profits were also aided by the enormous number of [[British Army]] garrisons in the city over the centuries.<ref name=ii-bloomsday-world>{{cite news |url=http://www.independent.ie/lifestyle/the-bloomsday-world-tourists-never-get-to-hear-about-2673553.html |title=The Bloomsday world tourists never get to hear about|newspaper=[[Irish Independent]]|last=Armstrong|first=Maggie|date=14 June 2011|accessdate=14 April 2022}}</ref>
In 1837, 135 years after the barracks had been established, Barrack Street was described by a visitor as consisting of "a line of brothels and low public-houses" and "filled with the most abandoned crew of rogues and prostitutes which even all Dublin, with its unhappy pre-eminence in that species of population, can produce".<ref name="GooBoo">{{cite book|title=The United Service Journal and Naval and Military Magazine: 1837 Part I|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=YhcUAAAAYAAJ&dq=Barrack+Street+Prostitution+Dublin&pg=PA125 |year=1837|publisher=William Clowes and Sons|location=London|page=125}}</ref> In the late nineteenth century the street was chosen as the location for the first [[Dublin Corporation]] housing scheme,<ref name="comehere">{{cite web |title=An unflattering account of Benburb Street (1837)|url=https://comeheretome.com/2013/08/28/an-unflattering-account-of-benburb-street-1837/|website=Come Here To Me! |access-date=14 April 2022 |language=en |date=13 August 2013}}</ref> due to the cheaper cost of purchasing land in areas with long-standing social problems. The street remained a slum for most of the twentieth century, composed of overcrowded tenements<ref>{{Cite web|last=Kelly|first=Olivia|date=2019-02-08|title=A century of housing: How the State built Ireland's homes|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/news/social-affairs/a-century-of-housing-how-the-state-built-ireland-s-homes-1.3785939|access-date=2022-04-14|website=The Irish Times|language=en}}</ref> and even after the transition of barracks to museum in 1997 the area remained a noted red light district.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Healy|first=Mel|date=2014-07-02|title=Benburb Street #1: the old red-light district|url=https://mossreid.blogspot.com/2014/07/benburb-street-barrack-street.html|access-date=2022-04-14|website=Moss Reid's Places|language=en}}</ref> In May 1997, as many as 100 women were reported to be still working as prostitutes on Benburb Street.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Balls |first1=Richard |title=Prostitutes working near museum cause concern over planned public opening |url=https://www.irishtimes.com/news/prostitutes-working-near-museum-cause-concern-over-planned-public-opening-1.48979 |access-date=14 April 2022 |work=The Irish Times |date=5 March 1997 |language=en}}</ref>
==Film location== The barracks has featured in a number of film and television productions, notably ''[[Michael Collins (film)|Michael Collins]]''. The rear of the barracks is often used as a period street setting for productions such as ''[[Ripper Street]]'', ''[[Penny Dreadful (TV series)|Penny Dreadful]]'' and the [[RTÉ]] [[1916 Rising]] mini-series ''[[Rebellion (miniseries)|Rebellion]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/homes-and-property/interiors/shooting-the-rebellion-where-were-scenes-shot-1.2511077|title=Shooting the rebellion: where were scenes shot?|date=27 January 2016|newspaper=The Irish Times|access-date=9 June 2024}}</ref>
==See also== * [[Prostitution in the Republic of Ireland]]
==References== {{reflist}}
==Further reading== * ''Short Histories of Irish Barracks'' by [[Patrick Denis O'Donnell]], in ''[[An Cosantóir]]'' (Journal of the Irish Defence Forces), 1969–1973. * ''Wolfe Tone's Provost Prison'', by Patrick Denis O'Donnell, in ''[[The Irish Sword]]'', no. 42, Volume XI, Military History Society of Ireland, Dublin, 1973. * ''Dublin's Collins Barracks over the years'', by Patrick Denis O'Donnell, in ''Hollybough'', December 1994. * ''Dublin Barracks – A Brief History of Collins Barracks'', by [[Mairéad Dunlevy]], ''National Museum of Ireland'', 2002. * ''The Barracks and Posts of Ireland – 21: Collins Barracks, Dublin'', part 3, pages 48–52, by [[Patrick Denis O'Donnell]] in ''An Cosantoir'', Dublin, February 1973. * ''The Barracks and Posts of Ireland – 22: Royal or Collins Barracks, part 4, the eighteenth century'', pages 266–276, by [[Patrick Denis O'Donnell]] in ''An Cosantoir'', Dublin, August 1973.
== External links == * [https://www.museum.ie/en-ie/museums/decorative-arts-history Decorative Arts and History section] on the National Museum of Ireland site
{{Irish governmental buildings}}
[[Category:Barracks in Dublin (city)]] [[Category:Irish military bases]] [[Category:1702 establishments in Ireland]] [[Category:Military installations established in 1702]] [[Category:Military installations closed in 1997]] [[Category:Thomas Burgh buildings]] [[Category:Military history of Dublin (city)]]