‘It’s going to be difficult for everyone involved’

AFTER 26 years of basing their lives around Kickham Barracks in Clonmel, the Lyons family and many others face an uncertain few years following Tuesday’s government decision to close the long-standing institution.

“It’s going to be difficult for everyone involved,” Kay Lyons said yesterday as the families of the 200 soldiers and staff pondered their options.

With two sons going to school in Clonmel and Kay herself working in the town, upping sticks to Limerick — where the Kickham-based soldiers are due to be moved — is not viable for the Lyons family.

“It would mean leaving work and that’s not an option, to go down a wage,” she said. The alternative is for her husband to commute on a weekly or daily basis. “There’s going to be a lot of expense for us and all the families. There will be extra money going out for petrol and servicing, about an extra €3,000 a year we worked out from the family budget.”

While Kay’s husband isn’t far from retirement, he hadn’t planned to make that move just yet. “If he retires now, we’re down money because the pension won’t be the same as the wages. He’s still thinking about his options. Until yesterday, he was hoping it would stay open for another two years or so at least.”

The families of soldiers stationed at Kickham Barracks in Clonmel said yesterday they are “devastated” by Tuesday’s government decision to close the facility along with its counterparts in Mullingar, Cavan and Castlebar.

Campaigners say the move will cost €10 million to the local economy through the loss of salaries as well as a hit to spending in the town, while the 200 army personnel and staff are now facing a 160-kilometre round trip when they’re transferred to Sarsfield Barracks in Limerick.

They also claim that closing the barracks will cost the government €5.75m by the time it has refurbished and extended Sarsfield Barracks to cope with the influx of soldiers from Clonmel.

Eleanor Prout of the Army Wives and Partners Committee said soldiers and their families heard news of the closure through the media on Tuesday before being officially informed that evening.

“It was a surprise and a shock,” she said yesterday. “Absolutely, because it makes no sense whatsoever to close the barracks in Clonmel. Kickham Barracks was the longest-serving employer in the town. We’re all devastated by the news and trying to take it in.”

However, they are refusing to accept defeat, Ms Prout said. “We have two meetings planned for this week. We’re certainly not happy with the decision and we need to think about where we’re going to go from here.”

Meanwhile, despite Westmeath TD Willie Penrose’s decision to resign his ministry and from the Labour Party, Fine Gael’s Tom Hayes confirmed he will not be leaving his party despite the bad news for his Tipperary constituency.

“Obviously people will be asking me but I’m not doing it,” he said yesterday. “I’m not in the cabinet, if I was in the cabinet I might consider it. I don’t see what I’d achieve by doing it. If I could achieve anything by doing it, I would but I don’t think there’s anything to be gained.”

Mr Hayes pointed out that he received 9,000 first-preference votes in the February election, as the sitting Fine Gael TD, and is the only government party deputy in the constituency which also houses independents Mattie McGrath and Seamus Healy.

Asked if he was actually helping the constituency if he couldn’t prevent the closure of Kickham Barracks, he said: “Only last week, we secured the future of St Joseph’s Hospital (South Tipperary General) in Clonmel. We had a ministerial assurance it won’t be downgraded and, also, St Patrick’s in Cashel won’t be downgraded. I have access to ministers — whatever hope I might have is inside [the party]. I can only rattle the can outside it, I might be on the media every day of the week but that’s all.”