Any secret installations in Ireland?

Grizzly 45

rainbowdash wrote: »

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.

And during Regan,and during Clintons visit,and,and,and.Anytime there are any big cheeses in Ireland for a visit there is at least a platoon up there complete with sandbag emplacements ,razor wire and tea and sangers.
Seems a bit odd that somthing that has "no military importance" it is gaurded when somone of high value and risk is in Ireland.:P

Fact back in the 80s and cold war they would have been a backdoor early warning defence for NATO from Sov bombers flying out into the Atlantic about 5/600 miles out and launching a few cruise missiles.
Whiile in times of peace these units were built for civillian usage,in a war situation they would have been immediately requsitioned by NATO command in Brussells.Same with having military personel in the civvie flight control.Somthing happens,the civvies would find themselves being escorted politely and firmly out of the room and buildings by armed military personel.

Grizzly 45

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.

Oh Dear...Somone was fed a good CND line.:D:D

[Jackass]

In Dublin by the Green Luas stop at St Stephens green, there are two big double doors that actually are the footpath, I've seen it opened once, they literally opened the footpath and there are steps down to what looks like a very recent / modernly concreted tunnel / Bunker. I imagine there is all the power stations and what have you for the Luas down there, but have heard of tunnels under St. Stephes Green before.

Also Grafton st. tiles are always cracking due to subsidence of the street as it's hollow underneath, mostly storage space for the shops on street level.

There are also vast vast passageways and tunnels built under the grounds of UCD and have been used for smuggling celebs in and out of the university if they are making an appearance or giving a talk, but were put in during construction in the 70's due to large civil unrest, protesting, student revolt etc. (also the reason the lake is there in UCD, to stop mass congregation on the grounds outside the college for protests and / or rioting)

Carawaystick

There's a load of tunnels and fortifications up in Swilly in Donegal from before we took it back from the Brits, similar stuff in Castletown Bere

DoesNotCompute

[Jackass] wrote: »

In Dublin by the Green Luas stop at St Stephens green, there are two big double doors that actually are the footpath, I've seen it opened once, they literally opened the footpath and there are steps down to what looks like a very recent / modernly concreted tunnel / Bunker. I imagine there is all the power stations and what have you for the Luas down there, but have heard of tunnels under St. Stephes Green before.

WOuld this be part of what would have been the Metro to the airport or Dart Underground? They originally wanted to link up the Metro North or Dart Underground with the Luas at Stephen's Green before they knocked that idea on the head.

Tripp

[Jackass] wrote: »

In Dublin by the Green Luas stop at St Stephens green, there are two big double doors that actually are the footpath, I've seen it opened once, they literally opened the footpath and there are steps down to what looks like a very recent / modernly concreted tunnel / Bunker. I imagine there is all the power stations and what have you for the Luas down there, but have heard of tunnels under St. Stephes Green before.

Had a quick look on google maps, Couldnt find it?

[Jackass]

That's because it's the footpath. You can't see it, they open it up from the ground up and the doors are literally the footpath pavings. If you look closely whilst there, it's roughly at the turn of Stephens Green and at the begining of the Luas tracks, over on the side of the railing of Stephens Green, from memory, maybe in slightly, where it was newly paved. I'm not sure how obvious it even is whilst looking for it standing there, but it's definitely there! I've seen it open!

Don't have a clue if that's anything to do with Metro North though.

EDIT, I can't find it either on google maps!! I can't remember EXACTLY, if it was on the footpath right by the railings or if it was further in away from the railings (like where the van is parked on street view), but next I'm up there (which isn't that often), I promise I'll look for it and post a picture of the outline. It's difficult to make out on street view, as I can't get into the right position to see it anyway.

Tabnabs

Merrion Square, the hill in the south east corner, bunker or urban legend? I only heard about it recently.

There's also the very hush hush feasibility test conducted by a semi state body where their facility was powered by a nuclear fuel cell...

jsn.peters

Tabnabs wrote: »

Merrion Square, the hill in the south east corner, bunker or urban legend? I only heard about it recently.

There's also the very hush hush feasibility test conducted by a semi state body where their facility was powered by a nuclear fuel cell...

V Interesting

dogmatix

Tabnabs wrote: »

Merrion Square, the hill in the south east corner, bunker or urban legend? I only heard about it recently.

Supposed to be an old WW2 air raid shelter.

Other secret installations: a number of semi-underground public toilets (now closed and locked). There is one at college green opposite the Westin hotel and another near Kevin street.

There is also a strange installation at the top of the Kellystown road near the three rock - it is a grassy mound with what looks like a small chimney or vent pipe on it. The thing is surrounded by a tall fence with barbed wire on it. I always assumed it was some sort of secret nuclear bunker for the pampered county councillers.

Tabnabs

dogmatix wrote: »

There is also a strange installation at the top of the Kellystown road near the three rock - it is a grassy mound with what looks like a small chimney or vent pipe on it. The thing is surrounded by a tall fence with barbed wire on it. I always assumed it was some sort of secret nuclear bunker for the pampered county councillers.

Near the old army firing range?

DoesNotCompute

My friend who grew up in Athlone tells me there's an old Cold War Era nuke bunker under the castle there. Hard to see all the ministers making it from Leinster House to Athlone when the nukes are airborne tho :pac:

dogmatix

Tabnabs wrote: »

Near the old army firing range?

Aye - not far from it. Here is a streetview view of it - the grass is looking a bit tired and the vent appears to have gone missing...

http://maps.google.ie/maps?hl=en&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.&biw=1171&bih=590&q=google+maps+dublin&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hq=&hnear=0x48670e80ea27ac2f:0xa00c7a9973171a0,Dublin,+Co.+Dublin&gl=ie&sa=X&ei=CGBcUNewM8iJhQft4YGABg&sqi=2&ved=0CBsQ8gEwAA

dogmatix

Funny the link did not copy across correctly... It's marked as 364 Kellystown road, Co dublin, Ireland on google maps.

beeintheknow

Grizzly 45 wrote: »

Oh Dear...Somone was fed a good CND line.:D:D

I still have me iodine tablets so I'll be sound.

Sierra Oscar

[Jackass] wrote: »

That's because it's the footpath. You can't see it, they open it up from the ground up and the doors are literally the footpath pavings. If you look closely whilst there, it's roughly at the turn of Stephens Green and at the begining of the Luas tracks, over on the side of the railing of Stephens Green, from memory, maybe in slightly, where it was newly paved. I'm not sure how obvious it even is whilst looking for it standing there, but it's definitely there! I've seen it open!

There is a similar setup for the Luas stop at Heuston station - you can now and then see Alstom maintenance personal opening up a large hatch in the centre median and descending down a staircase underground. I always assumed it was where electrical plant equipment was located.

You can actually see the hatch in the centre of this map.

Victor

dogmatix wrote: »

There is also a strange installation at the top of the Kellystown road near the three rock - it is a grassy mound with what looks like a small chimney or vent pipe on it. The thing is surrounded by a tall fence with barbed wire on it. I always assumed it was some sort of secret nuclear bunker for the pampered county councillers.

Likely a small water reservoir to serve the locals.

Jim Martin

beeintheknow wrote: »

I still have me iodine tablets so I'll be sound.

Do they have a "use by" date?

cargo

dogmatix wrote: »

There is also a strange installation at the top of the Kellystown road near the three rock - it is a grassy mound with what looks like a small chimney or vent pipe on it. The thing is surrounded by a tall fence with barbed wire on it. I always assumed it was some sort of secret nuclear bunker for the pampered county councillers.

Victor wrote: »

Likely a small water reservoir to serve the locals.

Yeah as Victor said a underground (or rather badly disguised above ground) water reservoir. Loads of them around the country. The chimney was indeed a vent. Normally found ontop of hills. Water is very lazy and doesnt like having to travel up hills of it's own accord :-)

Capt'n Midnight

Jim Martin wrote: »

Do they have a "use by" date?

yes

which is strange because KI is nearly as stable as common salt that been in the sea for billions of years.

dogmatix

cargo wrote: »

Yeah as Victor said a underground (or rather badly disguised above ground) water reservoir. Loads of them around the country. The chimney was indeed a vent. Normally found ontop of hills. Water is very lazy and doesnt like having to travel up hills of it's own accord :-)

That's a bit disappointing - i was hoping it was something more exciting. I always had this image in my mind of a long convoy of stretch limos stuffed with fat sweaty Fianna Fail county councillors heading up the steep Kellystown road as a big mushroom cloud rose over Dublin.

Irish and Proud

dogmatix wrote: »

That's a bit disappointing - i was hoping it was something more exciting. I always had this image in my mind of a long convoy of stretch limos stuffed with fat sweaty Fianna Fail county councillors heading up the steep Kellystown road as a big mushroom cloud rose over Dublin.

Those fat cats would be long gone under by the time a warhead would be approaching Dublin. IMO, what has to be remembered is that by the time there's a mushroom cloud over Dublin...

...1) The EMP (Electro Magnetic Pulse) from any bomb, including initial high altitude bombs (or even some bombs in Britain) would knock out most electrical devices and motor devices (which AFAIK have chips built in). Those limos would be long disabled IMO. High altitude bombs are AFAIK a tatical ploy the Russians etc. would use to blow out (destroy most electrical circuits) regions and hence immobilize the populations therein before the main strike.

...2) Before the mushroom cloud would form, I guess the shockwave from the initial blast would have destroyed Dublin - hence, those limos would be long since blown off the road by the time the mushroom would form - that's if there's even a road by then. There's also the heatwave that would probably have everything burned by then, including the limos.

...3) There's a lot more to a nuclear bomb than a mushroom cloud which is really the aftermath (including fallout). In my mind, the actual bomb is when the flash occurs as the nuclear fusion takes place releasing a biblical amout of energy from a relatively small device - I guess that energy comes in the form of light, shock-waves, heat, electro magnetic pulses etc. The fallout occurs when the radioactive mushroom cloud particles fall back to earth causing mass contamination with consequences including cancer and genetic corruption.

Now, I'm not a nuclear expert, but I have bit's and pieces of info on it. Of course, correct me if I'm wrong, but the above is my take on it ATM.

Regards!

[Jackass]

Yeah but could it get through a FF bunker made of brown paper bags full of cash if it was located at leopardstown racecourse?

Something tells me if Bertie was at ground zero he'd still manage to walk away without a scratch.

Markcheese

Did I and P say heatwave, words that haven't been said on this isle for many a moon... And a nuclear bomb creates one of these... Could we make a few tiny ones and try them out as an answer to our nations woes , it'd be cheaper than banks and misery ... Less fall out too....

On a more on topic note... Most of fort Camden in crosshaven is under ground about 40 acre site at the mouth of the harbour , not so secret as they're opening it up to the public.... Opposite Camden is fort Carlille as was think it's fort Davis now, still an army camp ... Don't know what's there though... Could be secret....

Norad

Some Forts, etc. http://www.megalithicireland.com/Fortifications.html

Milk & Honey

DoesNotCompute wrote: »

My friend who grew up in Athlone tells me there's an old Cold War Era nuke bunker under the castle there. Hard to see all the ministers making it from Leinster House to Athlone when the nukes are airborne tho :pac:

The nuke bunker is under the Billet Block which overlooks the sports field which is beside the Shannon and visible from the main road.

Hibbeler

Any truth to the rumor I've heard about a secret nuclear reactor in one of the colleges?

Victor

Hibbeler wrote: »

Any truth to the rumor I've heard about a secret nuclear reactor in one of the colleges?

UCC had an research reactor (used for making isotopes for cancer treatment, etc.) that was decommissioned.

Little did Cork Corporation know it was running when they declared the city a nuclear free zone.

Hibbeler

Victor wrote: »

UCC had an research reactor (used for making isotopes for cancer treatment, etc.) that was decommissioned.

Little did Cork Corporation know it was running when they declared the city a nuclear free zone.

That's interesting. I thought my friend was pulling my leg, what with the anti-nuclear sentiment in this country.

When was this built, (I'd assume round the time they wanted to build the plant on carnsore point)? Also where did UCC get the nuclear material and the technology from? My guess would be the UK or maybe the US or France. Although more to the point, how did they decommission it without a big fuss over radiation and nuclear material?

rameire

Hibbeler wrote: »

That's interesting. I thought my friend was pulling my leg, what with the anti-nuclear sentiment in this country.

When was this built, (I'd assume round the time they wanted to build the plant on carnsore point)? Also where did UCC get the nuclear material and the technology from? My guess would be the UK or maybe the US or France. Although more to the point, how did they decommission it without a big fuss over radiation and nuclear material?

I was on the belief that it was donated by the US and that it was still in Storage in UCC.

Hedgemeister

I served 30 years in the Army and never even heard of a 'secret' facility...not that any such structure would remain a secret for too long in this country. As regards the old terminal building at Dublin Airport which we referred to as 'The Morgue', this was a staging area for armed troops going overseas (and arriving back) during the 60s through to the 90s. Personally, I had the misfortune to 'visit' there 12 times - a dismal, freezing, windowless building in the 'nether regions' of the Airport. This was the last view we got of Mother Ireland before climbing the steps of the cheapest airplane the same Mother Ireland could hire to fly us to the Congo, Cyprus and the Leb. It's sad (to me at least) that this kip was the last Irish building that (too many) Irish soldiers used before giving their lives for World Peace.

Returning home, our delight was soon turned sour by the jobsworths at 'The Morgue' who awaited us, going through our kit with relish in the hope of finding contraband, only to be visibly dissapointed. Still, they managed to spoil every homecoming, massaging their egos by trying to order us about...'stand there...line up here...no...not there...you there...take off that jacket 'til I search the pockets'... etc. (They actually tried this in '79, as we came back from the Leb with the 44th Inf Bn)
On one trip (we were rotating weapons from the Lebanon) when one little prick of a Cutoms Offices reached for my Service Pistol and tried to take it from the holster.
'You can't carry that in Ireland,' he said. (I hope his knuckles are better by now)
After up to 4 hours of this ****e we would be allowed to go, smuggled out the rear of the Airport (always in the dark) in case the public saw us.
Troops returning from o/seas can now use the normal airport arrivals/departure lounges I understand, if they are un-armed.

L1011

Sounds possibly like the old North Terminal, made redundant when T1 was built.

Hotblack Desiato

Yet again, Irish signposting is found lacking...

yuloni

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Sponge Bob

There was a nukular lighthouse SW OF Glencolumbkille ...now converted to solar. Yes.

Capt'n Midnight

Sponge Bob wrote: »

There was a nukular lighthouse SW OF Glencolumbkille ...now converted to solar. Yes.

Always thought that strange using a radioisotope generator to get very inefficient electrical generation to power an inefficient bulb. When all they needed to do was remove the lid on "the ol' glow in the dark" :pac:

cgarvey

Condi wrote: »

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Rathlin O'Birne

yuloni

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Hotblack Desiato

Stupid attitude.

They keep very quiet about the only (former) nuclear reactor in Ireland too :rolleyes:

newmug

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.

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

Dont get ya. Surely the anti-war movement would be shouting that from the rooftops????

There's an explosive making factory outside Edenderry.

Any of yiz ever been inside Intel? I worked there for nearly a decade, and I've never seen half of it. I can tell you, there are a few spooky tunnels and cubbyholes in the basement. One of the freakiest things I ever heard was when my boss was pointing out barrels of chemical waste that cant be disposed of in Ireland. Someone asked him where it goes, his reply was Russia, because its the country with the lowest environmental standards and the least amount of red tape:eek:

There's also a certificate of nuclear compliance hanging on the wall inside the front door. They actually do have some nuclear material on site!

Morf

newmug wrote: »

There's also a certificate of nuclear compliance hanging on the wall inside the front door. They actually do have some nuclear material on site!

The sugar factory in Carlow used to have radioactive material on site and an emergency plan should there be a nuclear accident.

dahamsta

rameire wrote: »

I was on the belief that it was donated by the US and that it was still in Storage in UCC.

It's still there, the wife showed me where it is one day when we went for a stroll around the campus.

Hotblack Desiato

FFS any third level instituion worthy of the name has 'nuclear material' on site.

My secondary school had 'nuclear material' on site.

Capt'n Midnight

Condi wrote: »

This post has been deleted.

Probably not this big though

L1011

newmug wrote: »

There's also a certificate of nuclear compliance hanging on the wall inside the front door. They actually do have some nuclear material on site!

So does your dentist. RPII certs are needed for feck all.

Sponge Bob

Condi wrote: »

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Of course. It was full of Strontium 90 and nobody wanted the provos to make a dirty bomb did they. Most of it was a thick steel flask TBH....looks like this.

Solar panels made this tech obsolete anyway.

dahamsta

They went with wind first, according to CIL; had to switch to solar when the manufacturer stopped making and maintaining the turbines they used.

It was interesting to read that CIL tested solar for 2 full years before rolling it out live. Can't see that happening these days, even from CIL.

yuloni

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xper

ninja900 wrote: »

Yet again, Irish signposting is found lacking...

Chipping Ongar? A128? Irish?:rolleyes:

Hotblack Desiato

Whooooooosh.

The UK signs 'secret' sites. We don't. I would have thought the ironing of signing a site 'Secret Nuclear Bunker' was obvious, but I suppose if t'internet teaches us anything it is to assume nothing.