THE IRISH IN UNIFORM

THE HISTORY OF TIPPERARY BARRACKS

 tipparch.gif (22230 bytes)
The Tipperary Military Barracks, close to Tipperary Railway Station, was one of the most ornate to be built in Ireland during the British occupation. It was designed between 1872 & 1874, built between 1874 & 1878 and cost £25,000. Constructed of limestone, it featured high ceilings and many French windows giving a feeling of light and space to the interior; and 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! It was lit by gas, and had state-of-the-art facilities for the troops and their families, including administration offices, armoury, magazine, stable, workshops, accomodation blocks, Officers' Mess, Sergeants' Mess, cookhouse, canteen, chapel, hospital, school, laundry, bath-house, latrines, band-room, guard room, detention barracks, stores, and water tower. The Barracks had an integral miniature rifle range, and a larger outdoor range at Ballyglass, County Tipperary. At the start of The Great War in 1914 the number of trrops stationed in Tipperary Town rose above 4000 and rose as high as 10,000, as the Tipperary Barracks was used as a Posting Area to muster and train new drafts of troops destined for the war in France.
In addition to the facilities associated with the military functions of Tipperary Barracks, sporting and recreational facilities provided for the soldiers and their families included a fives court, a skittle alley, a sports green tennis court and a fully equipped gymnasium. During the First World War, Tipperary Barracks was the Headquarters of the 1st. Infantry Battalion, the 6th. & the 16th. (Irish) Infantry Brigades. Today, only the water-tower and some fragments of the ancillary buildings of the Tipperary Barracks complex remain, including the arch which was the entrance to the Officers' Mess. Part of the main mess building is now a health and social welfare facility for the people of Tipperary.
More of the history of the Tipperary Military Barracks - including details of military graves in Tipperary Town and plans of the Barracks - may be found in an excellent book compiled and published in 1998 by Walter S. O'Shea, called "A Short History of Tipperary Military Barracks (Infantry) 1874-1922" The following details of Battalions & Regiments stationed in Tipperary Town 1840 to 1922 are quoted from this excellent work with the author's permission.

 

INFANTRY REGIMENTS STATIONED INTIPPERARY TOWN, 1840 to 1878, BEFORE "THE BARRACKS" WERE BUILT.
1840 70th. Infantry Regiment known after 1881 as 2nd. Battalion, The East Surrey Regiment
1840 74th. Infantry Regiment known after 1881 as 2nd.Battalion, The Highland Light Infantry (HLI)
1840 43rd. Infantry Regiment known after 1881 as 1st. Battalion, The Oxfordshire Light Infantry
1844 30th. Infantry Regiment known after 1881 as 1st. Battalion, The East Lancashire Regiment
1844 15th. Infantry Regiment known after 1881 as The East Yorkshire Regiment
1844 61st. Infantry Regiment known after 1881 as 2nd. Battalion, The Gloucestershire Regiment
1846 83rd. Infantry Regiment known after 1881 as 1st. Battalion, The Royal Irish Rifles
1846 5th. Infantry Regiment known after 1881 as The Northumberland Fusiliers
1846 70th. Infantry Regiment known after 1881 as 2nd. Battalion, The East Surrey Regiment
1847 64th. Infantry Regiment known after 1881 as 1st. Battalion, The North Staffordhire Regiment
1848 43rd. Infantry Regiment known after 1881 as 1st. BattalionThe Oxfordshire & Buckinghamshire Light Infantry
1848 47th. Infantry Regiment known after 1881 as 1st. Battalion, The Royal North Lancashire Regiment
1850 1st. Infantry Regiment known after 1881 as The Royal Scots (Lothian Regiment)
1857 36th. Infantry Regiment known after 1881 as 2nd. Battalion,The Worcestershire Regiment
1867 17th. Infantry Regiment known after 1881 as The Leicestershire Regiment
1868 48th. Infantry Regiment known after 1881 as 1st. Battalion, The Northamptonshire Regiment
1869 44th. Infantry Regiment known after 1881 as 1st. Battalion, The Essex Regiment
1870 87th. Infantry Regiment known after 1881 as 1st. Battalion, The Royal Irish Fusiliers
1872 20th. Infantry Regiment known after 1881 as The Lancashire Fusiliers
1872 31st. Infantry Regiment known after 1881 as 1st. Battalion, The East Surrey Regiment
1877   The South Tipperary Militia
1879   The South Tipperary Militia

 

INFANTRY REGIMENTS WHICH SERVED IN TIPPERARY BARRACKS 1879 - 1922
1879-1880 15th. Infantry Regiment known after 1881 as 1st. Battalion The East Yorkshire Regiment
1881-1883 48th. Infantry Regiment known after 1881 as 1st. Battalion, The Northamptonshire Regiment
1883-1885 76th. Infantry Regiment later known as 2nd. Battalion, The West Riding Regiment (Yorkshire)
1885-1887 6th. Infantry Regiment later known as 2nd. Battalion, The Royal Warwickshire Regiment
1887-1888 69th. Infantry Regiment later known as 2nd. Battalion, The Welsh Regiment
1888-1891 63rd. Infantry Regiment later known as 1st. Battalion,The Manchester Regiment
1891-1893 70th. Infantry Regiment later known as 2nd. Battalion, The East Surrey Regiment
1893-1894 72nd. Infantry Regiment later known as 1st. Battalion, The Seaforth Highlanders
1896-1897 100th. Infantry Regiment later known as 1st. Battalion, The Leinster Regiment
1897-1900 15th. Infantry Regiment later known as 2nd. Battalion, The East Yorkshire Regiment
1900-1903 3rd. Battalion Militia later known as The Shropshire Light Infantry (SLI)
1901-1903 3rd. Battalion Militia later known as The Royal Warwickshire Regiment
1903-1904 3rd. Battalion Militia later known as The Worcestershire Regiment
1904-1906 4th. Battalion Militia later known as The Lancashire Fusiliers
1908-1910 94th. Infantry Regiment later known as 2nd. Battalion, The Connaught Rangers
1910-1913 3rd. Battalion Militia later known as The Rifle Brigade
1913-1914 53rd.Infantry Regiment later known as The Shropshire Light Infantry (SLI)
1914-1918 H.Q. 49th.Brigade, 16th. Irish Division 7th. & 8th. Battalions, Royal Irish Fusiliers
1914-1918 H.Q. 49th.Brigade, 16th. Irish Division 7th. & 8th. Battalions, Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers
1919-1920 96th. Infantry Regiment later known as 2nd. Battalion, The Manchester Regiment
1919-1922 19th. Infantry Regiment later known as 2nd. Battalion The Yorkshire Regiment, also known as The Green Howards.
1919-1922 10th. Infantry Regiment later known as 1st. Battalion, The Lincolnshire Regiment
1919-1922 52nd. Infantry Regiment later known as 2nd. Battalion, The Oxford & Buckinghamshire Light Infantry
1922 (2 weeks "relief duty") 1st. Battalion, The Royal Warwickshire Regiment
1922 The last British military personnel to evacuate Tipperary Town & Barracks 1st. Battalion, The Lincolnshire Regiment (10th. Infantry Regiment)

 

More information on the Tipperary Barracks may be found in Walter S. O'Shea's 118-page book "A Short History of Tipperary Military Barracks (Infantry) 1874-1922". This book includes annotated architectural plans, photographs of the Barracks, Regiments and Tipperary Town in the Nineteenth and early Twentieth Centuries, the numbers of army graves in Munster Province 1914-1922, details of military graves in St. Mary's Churchyard, Tipperary and in St. John's Cemetery (Tipperary Hills) 1880-1922, soldier's basic rates of pay 1831-1922, extracts from St. Mary's Church of Ireland Parish Records 1916-1926, extracts from official regimental records 1895-1922 written in Tipperary, a list of regiments stationed at the barracks, the raising and training of the 16th.Irish Division, which had its H.Q. inTipperary throughout World War 1, events in and around Tipperary Town during the Easter Rising of 1916 and the Irish Civil War from 1920 to the leaving of British troops in 1922. The book is published by the author, with typesetting and design by Phoenix Publishing, Rosegreen, Cashel, County Tipperary. You may e-mail the author at wsos50@hotmail.com

Use this button to go to the Navigation Buttons at the top of this page.
This site webcrafted for The Fame of Tipperary Group, Tipperary Town, County Tipperary, Ireland by The Web Wizards© at The Plug-in Office ®,, e-mail to jayrufus@yahoo.co.uk

All text, backgrounds, graphics, images Copyright © 2000 WebWizards or as acknowledged.