Deputy Michael Conaghan of the Inchicore Kilmainham Heritage Group has said, "The remaining buildings of Richmond Barracks here have very specific connections to the Easter Rising and its immediate aftermath. After the surrender, it was designated by the British as the holding centre for over 3,000 suspected rebels, until they were released or sent to prison camps in England, Wales and Northern Ireland... The signatories of the Proclamation (with the exception of James Connolly) and other leaders were also interned, court-martialed and sentenced to death in the barracks before they were sent to Kilmainham Gaol for execution."[2] The Prime MinisterH. H. Asquith visited on 12 May 1916, after which no further executions of prisoners took place.[5]
After the Irish Free State was founded in 1922, the Barracks was occupied by the Irish Army, and briefly named Keogh Barracks, after Commander Tom Keogh who fought in the war of independence. The Irish government closed Keogh Barracks down in 1922.[2]
The building came into possession of the Dublin Corporation and was used to house Dublin families who were on the housing list; they built Keogh Square, which was demolished in 1970, and this was replaced by St. Michaels Estate there.[2] At the same time as the transfer of the barracks to the corporation, Christian Brothers purchased three of the buildings and turned two of them into class rooms and called it "St Michaels Christian Brothers School", a national school opening in 1929. President Mary Robinson visited the school in October 1996.[6] It closed down in 2006.[7]
Visitor Attraction and Cultural Centre
In May 2016, as part of the centenary celebrations of the Easter Rising, Richmond Barracks reopened as a visitor attraction, incorporating nearby Goldenbridge Cemetery.[8]