Kickham Barracks
{{short description|Former military base in Clonmel, Ireland}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox military installation
|name=Kickham Barracks
|native_name=Dún Chiceam
|image=Kickham Barracks.jpg
|caption =Kickham Barracks
|type = Barracks
|map_type = Ireland
|pushpin_map_caption = Location within Ireland
|location = Clonmel
|coordinates = {{Coord|52.3550|N|7.6939|W|region:IE_type:landmark|display=inline,title}}
|ownership =
|operator = {{flagicon|Ireland}} Irish Army
|built = 1780-1782
|used=1782-2012
|architect =
|built_for = War Office
|garrison =
|occupants = Royal Irish Regiment
}}
Kickham Barracks (Irish: Dún Chiceam) was a military installation in Clonmel, Ireland.
History
The barracks were built as Clonmel Infantry Barracks between 1780 and 1782 and given the name Victoria Barracks in honour of Queen Victoria in 1837.{{cite web|url=http://www.tipperarycoco.ie/sites/default/files/Kickham%20Barracks%20Masterplan-%20Final%20Adopted.pdf|title=The Kickham Army Barracks Master Plan|publisher=Tipperary Cpounty Council|accessdate=6 January 2018|archive-date=17 May 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220517053918/http://www.tipperarycoco.ie/sites/default/files/Kickham%20Barracks%20Masterplan-%20Final%20Adopted.pdf|url-status=dead}} In 1873 a system of recruiting areas based on counties was instituted under the Cardwell Reforms and the barracks became the depot for the two battalions of the 18th (Royal Irish) Regiment of Foot.{{cite web|url=http://www.regiments.org/regiments/uk/depot/1873.htm |title=Training Depots |publisher=Regiments.org |accessdate=16 October 2016 |url-status=bot: unknown |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060210172841/http://www.regiments.org/regiments/uk/depot/1873.htm |archivedate=10 February 2006 }} Following the Childers Reforms, the regiment evolved to become the Royal Irish Regiment with its depot in the barracks in 1881.
The Royal Irish Regiment was disbanded at the time of Irish Independence in 1922.{{cite book|last=Murphy|first= David|title=Irish Regiments in the World Wars, quote: "Following the treaty that established the independent Irish Free State in 1922, it was decided to disband the regiments that had their traditional recruiting grounds in southern Ireland: The Royal Irish Regiment; The Connaught Rangers; The Prince of Wales' Leinster Regiment; The Royal Munster Fusiliers; The Royal Dublin Fusiliers; The South Irish Horse|page=30|publisher= Osprey Publishing |year=2007|isbn=978-1-84603-015-4}} The barracks were temporarily secured by the Irish Republican Army in 1922 but then handed over to the forces of the Irish Free State. They were then renamed Kickham Barracks after Charles Kickham, the Irish Poet. After a period of disuse, they were rebuilt as a base for the Irish Army between 1942 and 1945 and they then remained in use, latterly as the home of the 12th Infantry Battalion, until they closed in March 2012.{{cite web|url= http://clonmelonline.com/2012/03/final-parade-sees-the-closure-of-clonmels-kickham-barracks/|title= Final parade sees the closure of Clonmel’s Kickham Barracks|date=26 March 2012|accessdate=11 November 2014}}
References
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