Overview
The barracks is named after a man who lost the bridge and his life on it. In the 1691 siege of Athlone, Sergeant Custume of the Jacobite garrison and a party of men tried to hold the Shannon crossing against the Williamite advance and were killed in the attempt; when the Irish Free State took the barracks over in 1922, it was renamed in his honour. Custume Barracks (Dún Chostúim) sits on the east bank of the Shannon in Athlone, County Westmeath, and is a working Defence Forces base. That means the grounds are fenced and entry is restricted to authorised visitors, so this is a place to see from the outside.
Is Custume Barracks open to visitors?
No. It is an active barracks, and entry is restricted to authorised visitors. Use public streets and paths for views of the exterior. For a special event, check the Defence Forces and follow the organiser’s entry instructions.
Athlone Castle Visitor Centre still lists a temporary redevelopment closure. Check its own reopening notice before making it part of the same outing. Guided tours of the barracks are not something to plan around, as we could not confirm that any are running.
History
The 1691 siege and Sergeant Custume
Athlone’s bridge was the reason armies fought over the town: it was one of the few crossings of the middle Shannon. After the Williamites took the town in 1691, a cluster of wooden huts went up on the west bank to house cavalry and infantry, and that camp became the seed of the permanent barracks, established by the late 1690s. Soldiers have been quartered on this site for a very long time.
The Georgian barracks and the 1922 handover
As Athlone’s military importance grew, the timber gave way to stone. Part of the complex dates from the early nineteenth century, including the barrack range recorded in the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage. The centrepiece is the long range built around 1810: twenty-three bays, two storeys of coursed limestone, and a four-storey pedimented clock tower of dressed ashlar rising over the river. The repetition of well-proportioned windows makes the block read almost as five separate buildings under one roof. A water gate of about 1852 once let boats in from the Shannon, and the gateway on Grace Road was put up in 1932 using stone from a dismantled caponier. The British knew the place as Victoria Barracks until 1922, when General Seán MacEoin took the handover and gave it Custume’s name.
The Cold War bunker
Under the parade ground is a stranger layer. In the 1960s an underground nuclear bunker was built to serve as a command post in the event of an attack, with room for up to 100 people and a communications set-up said to include a direct hotline to Whitehall. In 1968 the Department of Defence and the Office of Public Works drew up plans for a far larger Integrated National Control Centre, meant to hold 300 people, but it was never built as Cold War tensions eased. The bunker is not open to the public.
What you can see today
From public streets and paths near the river you can take in some of the exterior:
- The clock tower: the four-storey landmark that has marked the riverbank for over two centuries.
- The Georgian range: segmental-headed doorcases, fanlights and sash windows of the early 1800s.
- The Jadotville monument: a stone memorial unveiled in December 2022 to the families of ‘A’ Company, 35th Infantry Battalion, the Irish soldiers besieged at Jadotville during the 1961 UN mission in the Congo.
Stay on public ground and respect any security line. Follow any signs on public ground.
Practical information
- Access: the interior is not open for casual visits and entry is restricted to authorised visitors. The exterior can be seen from public streets and paths.
- Events: exhibitions and commemorations are occasionally held on-site. Check the Defence Forces and follow the organiser’s entry instructions.
- Athlone Castle: the visitor centre is separate and lists a temporary redevelopment closure, so check its notice before you go.
Getting there and around Athlone
Athlone sits on the M6, so the barracks is easy to reach by car; from the town centre follow signs for Grace Road and the river. Bus and rail both serve Athlone town centre, a short walk from the river.
The barracks is one stop on a half-day in Athlone. Across the bridge is Athlone Castle, though check whether it has reopened first. Further out lie the 18th-century gardens of Belvedere House, the mythic Hill of Uisneach and Kilbeggan Distillery. For the exterior at its best, come to the riverside near sunrise or dusk, when the low light picks out the limestone and the clock tower stands sharp against the sky.