The Lord Mayor, Christy Burke and the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Heather Humphries TD attended a ceremony to mark the upcoming restoration of the Barracks Buildings. Dominick Chilcott, British Ambassador, will also be in attendance.
Lord Mayor Christy Burke said: "I am delighted to be here today at the start of what will be an exciting project here in the heart of Dublin at Inchicore. I commend the hard work of Dublin City Council and the Richmond Barracks Advisory Committee in securing funding for this project and I look forward to seeing the Barracks transformed into a world class visitor centre."
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Richmond Barracks is a key site for many significant events in Ireland's history and of particular significance to the period around 1916. The leaders of the 1916 Rising were interned and court-martialled within the barracks before being transferred to Kilmainham Gaol. It was also from here that soldiers, including the poet Francis Ledwidge, were transported to fight in World War 1.
The potential to develop the Richmond Barracks as a visitor centre which will contribute to the historic, social and cultural life of the city and country has been recognised and the restoration of the Barracks has been funded as a national commemorative project. As part of the funding allocation it was acknowledged that the development of this site has the potential to transform a traditionally disadvantaged area of Dublin city.
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