Thanks to Paul Darling for his enquiry last week we have solved a puzzle. Paul and his brother Reggie remembered a Barrack Billet Building which had been demolished some time in the late 1950s or early 1960s due to subsidence. They remembered the building literally sinking into the ground and it being demolished for safety. However there was no apparent record – no article or photo. By comparing two maps it was clear to see it had once been there.
In the 1978 map above there is clearly a gap in McDonagh Barracks where the building once stood. The original appeared in the 1928 map shown below. Note Gough and Keane Barracks have been crossed out and replaced with McDonagh and Pearse.
A snippet in the Nationalist and Leinster Times of Saturday 24 June, 1961 resolved the mystery.
DANGER GOES
Work has started on the demolition of a building – formerly the men’s quarters – at McDonagh Barracks.
It has not been used as quarters for some time due to subsidence of the ground. It has now become too dangerous to be left standing.
If anyone has a photo of the damage or the demolition we would be glad to post it here.
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