Museum in Tipperary would preserve 'wonderful military history' of Clonmel barracks

Options can be explored with the Defence Forces or other similar type organisations in relation to the development of a facility that would enable the story of the military heritage of the Kickham Barracks site in Clonmel to be told, District Administrator Carol Creighton has stated.

She told a meeting of Clonmel Borough District that the interest in developing a facility to tell the story of military activity on the site is noted for future consideration, in the context of the further development of the Kickham Barracks site following the completion of the new garda station and the new integrated College of the Future.

Ms Creighton said that a Kickham Barracks military museum could be developed, with historical photos, artefacts and the story of the barracks. Preliminary interest had been expressed by the Defence Forces (Óglaigh na hÉireann) in relation to the development of such a project.

However, the identification of capital funding and the future management of the building would need to be explored further.

She was responding to a request by Cllr Siobhán Ambrose that the council would explore the possibility of establishing a military museum within the Kickham Barracks site.

Cllr Ambrose said that this military museum would be a wonderful tribute to all of the men and women who had served in Kickham Barracks until its closure in 2012.

It would also be a wonderful resource for future generations, where they could view military memorabilia and learn about “the wonderful military history of Clonmel.”

She said that Clonmel had a huge history as a military town. While many people remembered the great work in the barracks, the generations coming up wouldn’t remember it and it was important to preserve that history.

In her report to the meeting, Carol Creighton also stated that the Kickham Barracks Master Plan provided for the comprehensive redevelopment of the site into a creative, educational and civic quarter for Clonmel.

The council was currently working with a number of active stakeholders that had development needs in Clonmel. These included the Technological University of the Shannon (TUS), Tipperary Education Training Board (TETB), the gardaí and the OPW, and which were incorporated within the master plan.

The master plan identified a limited number of buildings on the site that could be used for other purposes, such as the existing church building, which to date had facilitated ad-hoc events in relation to festivals and other events.

In the longer term, it was envisaged that the church would be used for various performance display and exhibition purposes, both for stakeholders within the site and for other interests within the wider community.

Both the internal arrangement of this building, and its location at the edge of the civic plaza, made this a very versatile building, with a variety of possible uses. The council had recently entered into a licensing arrangement with South Tipperary Arts Centre in relation to the future management of the building.

Carol Creighton said that the magazine buildings located to the north of the church buildings could be used to tell the story of the existing military heritage of the site.

She said that the first phase of the master plan had recently been completed and the council’s priority was to progress phases two and three of the plan in relation to the construction of the garda station and the development of the new shared and connected College of the Future campus by TETB and TUS.

The site for the new garda station had been transferred to the OPW, which was currently progressing this project through the planning and design stage.

However, the design stage for the new college had only recently been given approval. Until such time as the detailed design and the final footprint for the new College of the Future was finalised, it wasn’t possible to indicate with any certainty what buildings or space would be available for other uses.