Army barracks campaigners to unite

CAMPAIGNERS fighting for the future of army barracks in Clonmel, Mullingar and Cavan may join together in a bid to prevent the Government from implementing any closures.

The development follows a protest march on Saturday where up to 1,000 people took to the streets of Clonmel to voice their opposition to any closure of the town’s Kickham Barracks.

The Clonmel events followed similar protests in Cavan the previous Saturday and in Mullingar earlier in the month.

The future of a number of army barracks is currently under consideration by the Government as part of its spending review and it is believed that Dun Ui Neill Barracks in Cavan, Columb Barracks in Mullingar, and Kickham Barracks in Clonmel are under threat.

A decision on the future of the three barracks is expected to be announced after the presidential election and before the budget.

A deputation from Clonmel, including soldiers’ wives, Oireachtas members and business representatives, met Defence Minister Alan Shatter last week to outline their opposition to the possible closure.

Chairperson of the Stop Closure of Kickham Barracks group, Eleanor Prout, said after Saturday’s march that members intend to link up with their counterparts in Cavan and Mullingar.

“We’re going to do all we can to fight this,” she said. “The next step is to meet up with Mullingar and Cavan and we’ll decide on Monday where we’ll go from there.”

She said they received “no assurances whatsoever” from Mr Shatter last week on the future of Kickham Barracks. “The only thing he said was that no decision has been made on it yet, and pointing out how bad things are in the country at the moment. We’re only too well aware of that.”

About 200 people are employed at Kickham Barracks and it’s estimated to contribute €10 million to the local economy each year.

Concern for the future of the barracks in the three towns surfaced earlier in the year when Mr Shatter said that, with the current spread of barracks, individual battalions and their support services are located in a number of towns.

Independent TD Seamus Healy is to raise the matter in the Dáil this Wednesday.