1878 – Barracks, Tipperary, Co. Tipperary

Close to Tipperary railway station, the military barracks was one of the largest to be built in Ireland during British rule. It was designed and built between 1872 & 1878 at a cost of £25,000. As was the usual pattern in many locations across the country, the rank and file men were accommodated in large blocks of 2 or three storeys. At Tipperary they were not constructed as per the usual pattern surrounding the parade square, but at a ninety degree angle to the square and parallel with each other.

The officers mess and accommodation was partiaularly ornate. Constructed of limestone, it featured high ceilings and many French windows, giving a feeling of light and space to the interior causing those who occupied it to surmise that it would have been better suited to the hot climate of India or the Far East instead of the damp chilly climes of Ireland.

The entire complex was lit by gas and had state-of-the-art facilities for the troops and their families. The barracks was mostly demolished in 1977 after lying derelict for many years. Today, only the water-tower and some fragments of the ancillary buildings of the barracks complex remain, including an archway which was an entrance to the Officers’ Mess.