Clancy Quay Heritage Trail
Once a military barracks, this residential development includes 12 protected historic buildings. Founded in 1797 as Islandbridge Barracks, it has a rich and varied history. Follow the trail through the 14 stops below.
Clancy Quay Heritage Trail
Once a military barracks, this residential development includes 12 protected historic buildings. Founded in 1797 as Islandbridge Barracks, it has a rich and varied history.
Stop 1 > The Officers’ Mess
In the late 1600s a large country house stood near this site. When the military barracks was built in 1797,…
Stop 2 > School House
The foundations of this building probably date back to the establishment of the barracks in 1797. It appears to have…
Stop 3 > Colonnade
Islandbridge Barracks was established in 1797 for the Royal Irish Artillery. The oldest parts of the Colonnade building date to…
Stop 4 > Peadar Clancy
Following Irish Independence in 1922, Islandbridge Barracks was handed over to the Irish State. On 21 November 1942 the barracks…
Stop 5 > Foley House and Laverty House
Until the 1850s, army regiments were responsible for supplying their soldiers with uniforms. In 1855, in response to reports of…
Stop 6 > Tarrant House and Cambridge Square
Tarrant House, built of brick with limestone and some granite, forms the northern side of Cambridge Square. It is one…
Stop 7 > Dickie Bird
A plaque on the wall of the Heuston building commemorates a very special horse called Dickie Bird. He served with…
Stop 8 > Heuston
Built around 1862 as a cavalry riding school, the Heuston building was part of the same redevelopment as the Saddlery,…
Stop 9 > Cobbles
Cobbles was built around 1830 on the site of an earlier house. It was originally built as a pair of…
Stop 10 > The River Liffey
When the Barracks were first built in 1797, much of the river frontage was covered with gardens. Near Island Bridge,…
Stop 11 > Watch Tower
This is one of three guard towers that remain along the east and south barracks’ walls. It was built between…
Stop 12 > Stables, Saddlery, Armoury and Summer House
The Stables, Saddlery and Armoury buildings were built as stable barracks in the mid-1800s, at the same time as the…
Stop 13 > Long Lane Royal
Long Lane Royal connected the Royal Hospital Kilmainham with Islandbridge. It dates back to the early 1700s. When the barracks…