Griffith Barracks

Griffith Barracks is a former military barracks located on the South Circular Road, Dublin, Ireland.HistoryThe site of Griffith Barracks was originally known as Grimswoods Nurseries. The first buildings on the site were those of a Remand Prison or Bridewell. Begun in 1813 by the architect Francis Johnston, it was built to relieve pressure on the Newgate Prison, Dublin. On the reorganisation of the government following Thomas Drummond's appointment in 1835 as Under Secretary for Ireland, it became a male penitentiary, "The Richmond Pen"; it was also known as "Richmond Gaol".Cease to do evil; learn to do well was the motto over the door of the Richmond Bridewell.In 1844 it was linked with Catholic Emancipation and the subsequent movement for Repeal of the Act of Union: one of its most famous occupants was the Liberator, Daniel O'Connell, together with his son John. Prominent Irish Nationalist leaders such as William Smith O'Brien, Thomas Francis Meagher (later Acting Governor of Montana), James Stephens (founder of the IRB) and "Honest" Tom Steele, were among its famous historical prisoners.