The Defence Forces today opened a new visitor centre at Cathal Brugha Barracks named in honour of three journalists who were executed by the British army in 1916.
Francis Sheehy-Skeffington, Patrick McIntyre and Thomas Dickson were shot dead in the yard of the guardhouse of the then Portobello Barracks in Rathmines on April 26th, 1916.
The three men executed were pacifists and had no connection to the Rising taking place at the time. Their execution without trial caused an enormous outcry at the time.
The centre has exhibits and memorabilia on the three men as well as on Cathal Brugha, chief of staff of the IRA and minister for defence until his assassination in 1922, and General Richard Mulcahy, who succeeded de Brugha as minister.
The visitor centre, which was opened today by Minister for Justice and Defence, Alan Shatter, is the first of its kind for the Defence Forces. It is open to the public by appointment.
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