Any secret installations in Ireland?

Scan Man · 18-02-2011 11:43am #1

I hope this is the right forum for this thread, if not apologies to all.

I'm interested if anyone has any info on "secret" government or military structures in Ireland. I know there's plenty in the UK and have visited a range of the old WWII bunkers and structures built in France by the Germans, such as the Atlantic Wall and assorted structures, La Coupole, etc.

A UK site has a few interesting finds on it, which might give you an idea of the range of buildings I'm talking about: http://www.secret-bases.co.uk/

I have heard that there are several nuclear bunkers dotted around the country, in places like Port Laoise, Mullingar, Dublin, etc. and a few Radomes in Cork, associated with short-wave radio trans-Atlantic air traffic control.

mgmt · 18-02-2011 3:03pm

I don't know if its a secret but there is plenty of concrete machine gun pillboxes built into the ditches of rural cavan roads (and I assume most counties), I presume built during ww2.

Judgement Day · 18-02-2011 3:08pm

You mean like the 'radar' station near Schull in west Cork?

The nuclear bunker under the Costume Barracks in Athlone?

No pics of the bunker but I'm sure if you call to the barracks at Grace Road in Athlone they will look after you.

This is where the Irish government thought they would be going in event of a nuclear armageddon. Given that we would have got three minutes warning (probably late) and if you were a soldier facing into a nuclear winter would you want to share your limited rations with a bunch of fat, useless politicians. I guess we will never find out now but I like the idea that the soldiers would have opened up with everything at their disposal on the ministerial mercs.

Interesting piece about it here: http://www.independent.ie/unsorted/features/waking-up-to-a-nuclear-nightmare-165435.html

Sponge Bob · 18-02-2011 3:08pm

Crap bunkers under Moneenageisha School in Galway and the Athlone barracks.

iMax · 18-02-2011 3:12pm

There's a "secret" area at Collinstown airport (the old Dublin airport building). In the basement. Permanent Garda & army guard on duty - don't know why they have both.

Sponge Bob · 18-02-2011 3:24pm

Soldiers cannot arrest somebody, not even after they shoot them dead. So the Guards are there to do the paperwork

I think this is the old 'standby' patrol from Collins Barracks relocated inside the airport where they used to patrol the perimeter outside.

trad · 18-02-2011 3:25pm

I am always curious as to why there are doors underneath the overbridges on the M50.

dubhthach · 18-02-2011 4:22pm

With regards to Nuclear winter from what I recall the Soviet target map had three sites on the island. These been unsurprisingly:

Dublin Airport
Shannon
Aldergrove

DoesNotCompute · 18-02-2011 4:26pm

Didn't the Wikileaks diplomatic cables leak say something about secret CIA bases in Ireland?

tricky D · 18-02-2011 4:32pm

trad wrote: »

I am always curious as to why there are doors underneath the overbridges on the M50.

Maintenance most likely. While not sure what exact type of bridge you're referring to, ones like the Westlink are hollow beneath the road pavement with prestressing cables running through them.

Judgement Day · 18-02-2011 5:31pm

dubhthach wrote: »

With regards to Nuclear winter from what I recall the Soviet target map had three sites on the island. These been unsurprisingly:
Dublin Airport

Shannon

Aldergrove

That would have taken care of most of the country but what about our neutral status?

Bogger77 · 18-02-2011 5:33pm

Dead people are all neutral!

who the fug · 18-02-2011 5:35pm

Judgement Day wrote: »

You mean like the 'radar' station near Schull in west Cork?

What is secret about Mount Gabriel

DoesNotCompute · 18-02-2011 5:35pm

Judgement Day wrote: »

That would have taken care of most of the country but what about our neutral status?

In Soviet Russia, country neutalises YOU!

who the fug · 18-02-2011 5:38pm

Judgement Day wrote: »

That would have taken care of most of the country but what about our neutral status?

What should have done is called ourselves a Nuclear free zone like Brent in North London

Problem solved

dubhthach · 18-02-2011 5:38pm

Judgement Day wrote: »

That would have taken care of most of the country but what about our neutral status?

Well Soviets reckoned the US would use Shannon for Troop movement cross-Atlantic (isn't that Shannon's main business these days?), so I believe their thinking was better to deny it straight away. The whole strategy was based on a land invasion of "West Germany" so the longer they could keep US reinforcements getting to Europe the better.

Judgement Day · 18-02-2011 5:43pm

who the fug wrote: »

What is secret about Mount Gabriel

As far as I remember in my Guinness impaired brain it was very secretive in its early years and, indeed, in 1982 was attacked by the INLA http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/para/inla.htm

who the fug · 18-02-2011 5:59pm

Judgement Day wrote: »

As far as I remember in my Guinness impaired brain it was very secretive in its early years and, indeed, in 1982 was attacked by the INLA http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/para/inla.htm

INLA were a bunch of paranoid tossers, air traffic control was all it ever was.

Never ever heard a sniff about it

admiralofthefleet · 18-02-2011 10:37pm

iMax wrote: »

There's a "secret" area at Collinstown airport (the old Dublin airport building). In the basement. Permanent Garda & army guard on duty - don't know why they have both.

i know a garda that works in the airport, she told me they call that area 'the train station' as it was built with the idea that an underground station would eventually open there

Del2005 · 18-02-2011 10:46pm

Judgement Day wrote: »

That would have taken care of most of the country but what about our neutral status?

We where never neutral, we are polically non aligned. Neutral countries can defend their own boarders, which we never could or can.

runway16 · 18-02-2011 10:50pm

admiralofthefleet wrote: »

i know a garda that works in the airport, she told me they call that area 'the train station' as it was built with the idea that an underground station would eventually open there

No, thats in reference to the basement of the current Terminal one (check in area 14). That space was originally planned for use as a future underground stop.

delly · 18-02-2011 10:58pm

Its not really a secret, but not many people know there is a rail tunnel under the Phoenix Park.

Plowman · 18-02-2011 11:40pm

This post has been deleted.

Judgement Day · 18-02-2011 11:52pm

delly wrote: »

Its not really a secret, but not many people know there is a rail tunnel under the Phoenix Park.

CIE prefer it kept a secret as people might suggest it as a cheaper alternative to the Interconnector wet dream.:rolleyes:

Sponge Bob · 19-02-2011 12:39am

When Mt Gabriel was built the data was sent to RAF West Drayton where military and civilian air traffic in southern england were both co located in those days. One could not adequately explain how they were separate but in the same building.... so the INLA thought it was a military installation.

To confuse matters :cool: Civilian Traffic control moved to Swanwick some years ago and the military followed them there and they share the same control room nowadays.....not like the old days

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dyDXCwe1REQ

runway16 · 19-02-2011 12:47am

I'd think that actually a pretty good arrangement - in airspace as busy as the UK, it is good that they are co-located and can easily talk to each other.

Sadly for the civilian guys though - i guess it makes them a military target!

Topper Harley01 · 19-02-2011 1:27am

dubhthach wrote: »

With regards to Nuclear winter from what I recall the Soviet target map had three sites on the island. These been unsurprisingly:
Dublin Airport

Shannon

Aldergrove

The petroleum terminals at Bantry Bay were also going to get destroyed-stop the fuel supplies and everything grinds to a halt. I would imagine that the Curragh and Dublin probably would have been hit too.

http://games.juhlin.com/files/uk_strike_map.jpg

Here is an article on NI nuclear targets:

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/sunday-life/nuclear-war-the-hidden-threat-to-northern-ireland-14511589.html

As one poster asked, what about our neutrality? It doesn't mean diddly squat. Nor does our simpleton 'shure we're Irish, everyone loves us' routine. The Russians would have wiped out all of Western Europe in a nuclear war; the idea being that there would be no working countries left to help with the rebuild. And that includes us.

Bet you never heard the anti-war movement tell you about that little nugget, did ya? :eek:

monument · 19-02-2011 1:50am

DoesNotCompute wrote: »

Didn't the Wikileaks diplomatic cables leak say something about secret CIA bases in Ireland?

Not quite a CIA base, but a building in Dublin which is part of the US's world network backbone.

Doom · 19-02-2011 2:08am

Active nuclear shelter under sarsfield house in Limerick.....revenue commissioner's building!! ****ers will tax the survivors

Del2005 · 19-02-2011 9:04am

Topper Harley01 wrote: »

The Russians would have wiped out all of Western Europe in a nuclear war; the idea being that there would be no working countries left to help with the rebuild. And that includes us.

Even the Russians knew that is MAD

who the fug · 19-02-2011 5:56pm

Sponge Bob wrote: »

When Mt Gabriel was built the data was sent to RAF West Drayton where military and civilian air traffic in southern england were both co located in those days. One could not adequately explain how they were separate but in the same building.... so the INLA thought it was a military installation.

To confuse matters :cool: Civilian Traffic control moved to Swanwick some years ago and the military followed them there and they share the same control room nowadays.....not like the old days

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dyDXCwe1REQ

Was that what gave them the idea, by that dump logic thye should have blown up the tank farm out side Cork airport as they refueled RAF Sea Kings on search and rescue missions

Muppets:D

who the fug · 19-02-2011 6:01pm

Topper Harley01 wrote: »

The petroleum terminals at Bantry Bay were also going to get destroyed-stop the fuel supplies and everything grinds to a halt. I would imagine that the Curragh and Dublin probably would have been hit too.

http://games.juhlin.com/files/uk_strike_map.jpg

:eek:

Wrong target, if you hit whitegate then no where to refine, so the crude in Bantry is U/S

Whitegate still operational you can bring crude in

fly_agaric · 19-02-2011 6:20pm

dubhthach wrote: »

With regards to Nuclear winter from what I recall the Soviet target map had three sites on the island. These been unsurprisingly:
Dublin Airport

Shannon

Aldergrove

Interesting. Thought they just had NI (Belfast) in their "sights".

who the fug · 19-02-2011 8:01pm

fly_agaric wrote: »

Interesting. Thought they just had NI (Belfast) in their "sights".

This was the seventies/eighties so why waste a bomb on bombsite

murphaph · 19-02-2011 11:54pm

runway16 wrote: »

I'd think that actually a pretty good arrangement - in airspace as busy as the UK, it is good that they are co-located and can easily talk to each other.

Sadly for the civilian guys though - i guess it makes them a military target!

Off topic I know but my girlfriend's sister is an AT controller in Munich and they sit beside Bundeswehr and Luftwaffe officers as well. Makes absolute sense to me. In Germany ATC is privatised and different companies can tender for it.

saywhatyousee · 20-02-2011 12:55am

the C.I.A have underground bases in every western country wouldnt talk about it though,you might get a knock on your front door;)

Del2005 · 20-02-2011 2:20am

saywhatyousee wrote: »

the C.I.A have underground bases in every western country wouldnt talk about it though,you might get a knock on your front door;)

Knock, knock.....

Judgement Day · 20-02-2011 11:57am

Del2005 wrote: »

Knock, knock.....

And just because you're not paranoid doesn't mean that they aren't out to get you!

BrianD · 20-02-2011 4:07pm

Our decommissioned friends from up north seemed to have had a network of underground bunkers across the state. There's one under a hay shed near you!

Aidan1 · 21-02-2011 10:28am

Wrong target, if you hit whitegate then no where to refine, so the crude in Bantry is U/S

Whiddy was built as a transhipment depot for ULCCs coming from the Gulf - the oil there was heading for refineries in the rest of Europe and the US. It has really only been used by the State since the 1990s (it's owned by Conoco Phillips though).

As for secret installations, what about the fortifications in Cork harbour? The network of tunnels and infrastructure on Spike alone should be worthy of a mention.

who the fug · 21-02-2011 10:52am

Aidan1 wrote: »

Whiddy was built as a transhipment depot for ULCCs coming from the Gulf - the oil there was heading for refineries in the rest of Europe and the US. It has really only been used by the State since the 1990s (it's owned by Conoco Phillips though).

I know what it was built for (They dredged Rotterdam in the early seventies making it obsolete), all the refineries in western Europe would have been hit , so as I said waste of Nuke.

Aidan1 · 21-02-2011 11:52am

The purpose of hitting targets in Ireland at all would have been to deny their use to the West in the period after strikes - to slow the Western Response. To be sure that the oil (up to 1.3 million barrels for much of the 1970s) in Whiddy was of no use, the Russians would have to be sure that they could destroy every refinery in Europe, and every refinery in the CONUS. After all, Whiddy was built by Gulf with the aim of acting as a transhipment point for transatlantic trade also. On that basis, it was well worth a warhead - given that the payload of one SS-18 Mod-2 could easily deal with all of the targets on the island of Ireland (Shannon, Belfast, Dublin, Cork), and have warheads left over for targets in Britain, Whiddy was well worth a round.

who the fug · 21-02-2011 3:53pm

My smugness as a teenager if it all went off with prevailing south westerly’s was misplaced then

rainbowdash · 21-02-2011 11:42pm

Judgement Day wrote: »

As far as I remember in my Guinness impaired brain it was very secretive in its early years and, indeed, in 1982 was attacked by the INLA http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/para/inla.htm

Theres a similar structure on Gallows hill in Cratloe just outside Limerick, known locally as the golfballs. I don't think they attracted attention in 1982 and you could drive up to them for years.

The antiwar crowd around Shannon during the Bush era took a shine to them I believe and security was beefed up. Apparently the Army were posted there for a while as security.

Del2005 · 22-02-2011 10:57am

who the fug wrote: »

My smugness as a teenager if it all went off with prevailing south westerly’s was misplaced then

Yes, even if they left us alone. They had thousands of missiles with multiple warheads aimed at all NATO countries.

We would have died slow painful deaths from radiation poisoning instead of instant death by incineration.

If you survived the bombs and radiation poisoning, all our food and water would have been contaminated and we wouldn't be able to go above ground for several years due to nuclear winter.

A but sure we're neutral politically non-aligned and everyone loves the Irish, so you where right to be smug.

The Maverick · 25-02-2011 2:21am

trad wrote: »

I am always curious as to why there are doors underneath the overbridges on the M50.

Are you talking about the closed off tunnels at the M50 - N2 junction? I read on a thread here a while back that it's to do with power cables coming from the ESB station nearby. Apparently, if the cables were buried totally underground the heat they generate would damage themselves , so the tunnels were provided to allow air to circulate and keep them cool.

trad · 25-02-2011 11:26am

Northbound between J16 and J15 (Lehaunstown overbridge?) there's a door under in the bridge support.

I also heard that within the Westlink Bridge there is a void beneath the span that was built to accomodate a railway / luas type transport.

tricky D · 25-02-2011 12:16pm

trad wrote: »

I also heard that within the Westlink Bridge there is a void beneath the span that was built to accomodate a railway / luas type transport.

This is simply untrue. The void is for structural reasons (lateral integrity and economy) and is also hollow for maintenance access to the stressing cables. It is nowhere near big enough for a train or tram. Our civil engineering class got a tour of the bridge while it was being constructed including below the surface.

trad · 25-02-2011 1:12pm

tricky d I said I heard it, I didn't say it was true.

tricky D · 25-02-2011 1:42pm

And I'm merely clarifying that's it is not true.

Grizzly 45 · 19-09-2012 8:32pm

Doom wrote: »

Active nuclear shelter under sarsfield house in Limerick.....revenue commissioner's building!! ****ers will tax the survivors

LONgggg gone.It was across the road under the old city hall.Limerick Post newspaper was in it for awhile.

Any secret installations in Ireland?

Comments