Richmond Barracks

About Richmond Barracks

Richmond Barracks is a building of historical importance located in Inchicore. 

Built in 1810 in response to the threat of a French invasion in the Napoleonic Wars, it was one of the British Army's largest barracks in Dublin at the time. (Nearly every British Regiment would spend time at the Richmond Barracks fighting in conflicts including the Crimean War, the Boer War, and World War 1.)

After the 1916 Easter Rising, Richmond Barracks would become a centrepiece in the fight for Irish Independence, housing over 3,000 suspected rebels before their sentencing. When the site was turned over to the Free State Army in 1922, it remained a keystone of working class Dublin, hosting a housing estate and a Christian Brothers’ School.

In 2016, major refurbishment works were completed on Richmond Barracks as part of a Dublin City Council Community Partnership to restore and commemorate the heritage of the building. You can find out more about the refurbishment in the video below.

Launch of the Richmond Barracks 2016 Project

Today, visitors can experience walking tours that chart the history of the local area and the building as a military barracks, a significant site of the 1916 Rising, and as a cornerstone of a Dublin community.

Richmond Barracks is now also home to a library, garden, and Culture Connects, a programme of cultural activities that celebrate the experiences and interests of the local communities and people.

Find out how you can get involved by visiting our What's On page.

Coming soon …

We are working with local historians to create a dedicated area on the website that chronicles the many different uses of the building in its long history.

This will include the significant contributions of the local communities to the restoration and conservation of the building, as well as an archive of programmes such as Mondays at the Mess.

These written, audio, and visual materials will allow you to explore and trace 200 years of Kilmainham and Inchicore’s history.

In the meantime, you can view a brief timeline of the history of Richmond Barracks.