phoenix park barracks

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    • #710294
      shaun
      Participant

      Is this McKee barracks, and if so does anyone know anything about this massive complex.

      It looks like it could almost be “arts and crafts” era architecture, it’s not a style that you often see in Dublin.

      Anyone got any additional photos ?

    • #805182
      Anonymous
      Inactive

      Those tall chimneys and steep pitched roofs are very typical of the Queen Anne Style ( a popular refernece for the arts and crafts generation), the engaged turrets are a nice touch aswell, similar to those on the Georges Street Arcade

    • #805183
      admin
      Keymaster

      I’ve often heard it said that mckee as we have it in Dublin was actually intended as a barracks for the Indian army, in, well India – some mix up supposedly occurred and the design was built in Dublin. I presume thats just a myth.

    • #805184
      Anonymous
      Inactive

      They got the Taj Mahal instead, which was supposed to have been built on Parkgate Street 🙂

    • #805185
      Anonymous
      Inactive

      @Peter Fitz wrote:

      I’ve often heard it said that mckee as we have it in Dublin was actually intended as a barracks for the Indian army, in, well India – some mix up supposedly occurred and the design was built in Dublin. I presume thats just a myth.

      Yup- just a myth.

    • #805186
      Anonymous
      Inactive

      Is that not Cahirciveen barracks you’re thinkin of?

      http://www.flickr.com/photos/mikeegee/2864770515/

    • #805187
      Anonymous
      Inactive

      I’d say that one’s nonsense too- unless India went through a brief ‘attenuated Scots Baronial’ stylistic phase that I’m not aware of. 😉

      Stories like these tend to crop up when some wag fancies that the exoticism of a building can only be attributable to some absurd mix-up. On my more cynical days, I take this as evidence of the Irish suspicion of anything ‘artistic’ (a sub-set of our delightful anti-intellectual bias).

      I’m reminded a little of this quote:

      In Britain, especially, this approach [functionalism] has been successful, because people are not happy to think of architects as artists, or of architecture as an art. Most people prefer to regard architecture as a branch of technology and for it to be entirely justifiable by empirical reasons.

      The two-way stretch- modernism, tradition and innovation, Robert Maxwell, Academy Editions, London, 1996, p.32.

    • #805188
      Anonymous
      Inactive

      Exactly the same myth exists about Dungannon’s old R.I.C. barracks..
      It’s a fantastic structure, unfortunately in very poor shape internally after a number of bomb attacks during the troubles…

      http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=dungannon%20old%20police%20station&w=all

    • #805189
      Anonymous
      Inactive

      I had heard the Dublin-Dehli mix up to. Luytens is the architect of both I think? Am I correct.

    • #805190
      Anonymous
      Inactive
    • #805191
      Paul Clerkin
      Keymaster

      A few more photos – http://ireland.archiseek.com/buildings_ireland/dublin/cabra/mckee.html

      Never heard Lutyens mentioned with the barracks – sorry.

    • #805192
      Anonymous
      Inactive

      Sorry the Lutyens story is another myth.

      The two Lutyens buildings in Dublin are his minor work on the facade of Howth Castle, not the side visible from the road, and more substantive work on Lambay Island – dont ask me how you get to see that.

      The story about plans for India reused somewhere else also circulate about police stations in Clontarf and Limerick County. They ignore the fact that separate agencies would have designed or commissioned them.

    • #805193
      Anonymous
      Inactive

      Tha’s McKee alright. Served in it for several years… and yes the story of the building mix up is a myth.

    • #805194
      Anonymous
      Inactive

      The mix up rumour that I heard was that it was the (1) the old Richmond hospital (now the courts service) that was mixed up with with one for the Raj and (2) Monkstown CofI was also the wrong design in the wrong place.

      (Couriers were obviously even worse back then so!)

    • #805195
      Anonymous
      Inactive

      McKee is a beautiful place but unfortunately it’s not in the best condition internally…… could do with lots of attention

    • #805196
      Anonymous
      Inactive

      Spent allot of my childhood looking at that barracks and it has just amazed me!! The pitched roofs and thoses tall chimney stacks and those amazing dormer windows in the roof. It just shows you the attention to detail ! The goverment or the opw should stand in and restore our historical buildings

    • #805197
      Anonymous
      Inactive

      That barracks mix up myth circulates about pretty much every barracks and military installation in the country. It’s not worth much attention.

      What would be interesting would be comments from the architects on the site about how these old and important buidlings could be preserved, while being adapted for future use. They can’t all be museums. The fort in the Phoenix park is a case in point. What could be done with that?

    • #805198
      Anonymous
      Inactive

      Simple: National Museum of Ireland – Military History.

    • #805199
      Anonymous
      Inactive

      @Aidan wrote:

      That barracks mix up myth circulates about pretty much every barracks and military installation in the country. It’s not worth much attention.

      What would be interesting would be comments from the architects on the site about how these old and important buidlings could be preserved, while being adapted for future use. They can’t all be museums. The fort in the Phoenix park is a case in point. What could be done with that?

      I think the OPW have plans to make that a visitor’s centre of some kind (probably with a museum too?)
      I say go for it!

    • #805200
      Anonymous
      Inactive

      @Aidan wrote:

      The fort in the Phoenix park is a case in point. What could be done with that?

      I have a few, poor quality, photos of the inside of the Magazine Fort from a bloody cold day in the mid 90s.

      First off, here’s the 1847 O.S. map which shows the fort pretty much as it is today with the primary fort in the shape of a Bridget’s Cross (more or less), with the addition of a triangular baracks extension outside the main gate on the east side.


      The three actual magazine buildings are quite interesting vaulted structures. The centre building is only half the length of the other two, which creates a nice little open courtyard on the west side.


      There are a couple of other interesting features including a well built ‘Blast wall’ and the remains of a formal classical entrance gate with a draw-bridge.


      The outer triangular courtyard is formed by a couple of barrack ranges and various later concrete cistern towers etc.

      As johnglas says, a military museum is the obvious future use and we’ve been hearing talk of this for fifteen years. The problem is that Collin’s Barracks is an equally good location for celebrating military history, but with the added bonus that it’s big enough to be a proper National Museum, running exhibitions of several themed collections at the same time.

    • #805201
      Anonymous
      Inactive

      The guys at Abandoned Ireland took some shots of the Magazine Fort recently:

      http://abandonedireland.com/pf.html

    • #805202
      Anonymous
      Inactive

      We could stick the Oireachtas in it.

    • #805203
      Anonymous
      Inactive

      collins barracks is so prim and proper, although maybe i haven’t seen the rough defensive areas of it.

      the phoenix park with better for rough and ready exhibition,

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