Richmond Barracks

Richmond Barracks is a former British army barracks, now a museum. Located at Inchicore in Dublin, close to Kilmainham Prison, the place is entirely dedicated to a high episode in Irish history: the Easter Uprising of 1916. A fascinating museum that offers you a plunge into one of the most significant events in Irish historical heritage!

Visit the Richmond Barracks Museum

History of a barracks transformed into a prison and then a museum

The barracks is named after Charles Lennox, 4th Duke of Richmond. Built in 1810, it was originally intended to accommodate troops of the British army.

During the First World War, many Irish were assigned to the barracks as a transition point before going overseas to fight the enemy. But the place was also used as a 2nd cavalry depot, housing the 4th Queen Hussars, the 8th King’s Royal Irish Hussars, the 11th Hussars and the 13th Hussars of the Irish and British armed divisions.

But it was in 1916 that the barracks played a decisive role. After the failure of the Easter Uprising in April 1916, Richmond Barracks became a place of detention for more than 3000 Irish participants in the uprising. The leaders of the movement were interned in the barracks before being sent to Kilmainham Gaol prison and executed.

With the creation of the Irish Free State in 1922, the barracks lost its role as a prison and became the reception centre for the Irish army before closing.

The building then became the property of the Dublin Corporation, which decided to use the place as housing for Dublin families and to set up a school there in 1929: the St Michaels Christian Brothers School, a school that would not close until 2006.

In May 2016, the barracks is rehabilitated as a museum on the occasion of the centenary of the Easter Uprising. The latter offers an exhibition dedicated to the event, the role of the women who took part in the uprising, the conditions of confinement within the prison, the great Irish figures that the barracks had within its walls… etc.

The exhibition is modern, interactive and very interesting! Don’t hesitate to follow their guide, very friendly and very accessible, who will be pleased to share with you his passion for this great episode of Irish History!