Any secret installations in Ireland?

Capt'n Midnight

Condi wrote: »

This post has been deleted.

https://secure.flickr.com/photos/12167448@N05/3812194019/sizes/l/in/photostream/
The Mi-8 in the foreground is a bit bigger than an S61.


Three pictures of a Mil Mi-2



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Back on topic

Two Turlough hill photos
https://secure.flickr.com/photos/coltgroup/5516688319/in/set-72157626117567171

https://secure.flickr.com/photos/coltgroup/5516687533/in/set-72157626117567171/

Sponge Bob

Cap'n, lovely set of Big MILS you have there. Are you implying that Turlough Hill is a secret Mil base or something????

dahamsta

Waterboarding training facility. For giants.

Capt'n Midnight

Sponge Bob wrote: »

Cap'n, lovely set of Big MILS you have there. Are you implying that Turlough Hill is a secret Mil base or something????

https://lh3.ggpht.com/-Vd__DEkpJHc/UJgG8JcnRAI/AAAAAAAAHiY/SpDF1hS-pqE/s1600/YOLT3.jpg

Sponge Bob

Dammit and all, I never knew that till now Cap'n.

Off the coast of Donegal ( and Cork and Kerry) lurks SOSUS, still operational as of 2004 to my knowledge. Read up.

http://www.navy.mil/navydata/cno/n87/usw/issue_25/sosus.htm

There is an obtuse reference to it here. Anyone remember the Minisub rescue off Cork in 1973???

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/moslive/article-2016798/Diving-abyss-aboard-Britains-world-leading-submarine-rescue-system.html

This latest ‘free-swimming’ vehicle replaced an earlier LR5 rescue vehicle, the idea for which came to former Royal Navy submariner Roger Chapman after he almost died when he was trapped 1,575ft down in a civilian mini-submarine in 1973. He and a colleague had been laying a telephone cable in a two-man sub on the bed of the Atlantic, 150 miles off the cost of south-west Ireland. After three and a half days they were found and pulled to safety.

The Royal Navy never laid a telephone cable in peactime, he was working on a wonky SOSUS when the sub got tangled in the cable I believe and a big rescue operation was staged with Royal Air Force air sea rescue helicopters based in Cork Airport ( I saw them personally), none of yer MiLs for that gig Cap'n.

The Guards even fed them Poitín in Cork in front of a TV crew after the rescue. Picture!

Fuzzy Clam

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:

I believe that. It was supposed to have a radio studio connected to Radio Eireann. I think there's a tunnel from the barracks to it.

Trick of the Tail

There is, or was, a radio studio in the bunker in Custume Barracks.

An old RTE engineer told me he used to go there to maintain it, up to about 12 years ago.

It was indeed landlined to the Moydrum AM transmitter site. But that site is now defunct, so of no use any more.

I'd love to know if the studio is still extant or if its been dismantled.

A.

BaconZombie

I remember seeing this open as well and I though it was just at the end of the tracks but they seems to be covered up since it was just metal before.

This is the only pic I can find of Google Maps.

[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.

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)

Tripp wrote: »

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

[Jackass]

Hope the mods don't mind me reviving this thread, as it is a good thread, but I grew up in Sandymount, in houses that were built in the 40's, and my parents always told me that these houses were built with bunkers in the garden, not pulling my leg or anything, but actually true.

My (very elderly) neighbour still has the bunker, but it's closed off (right at the back of the garden, you can actually see the slumped down bit of grass where presumably the entrance was / is.) The one that was in our garden was filled in before my parents even owned the house, and I presume all of the neighbours were too, but I would be interested to know, does anyone know anything about these, or are there any surviving ones in Dublin?

I'm sure the framing of it is probably still under the garden at my parents place, but would love to know how big they are or what they would look like if anyone in Dublin (or anywhere in the country) knows anything about these or has ever heard of or seen anything like this before? As far as I know all the houses built on my road at the time had them, so presumably there were many others around the city...

I'd love to convert a garden bunker into something! Put a bar in it, with seating, big screen TV and have a session in the bunker!

Victor

[QUOTE='[Jackass]I'd love to convert a garden bunker into something! Put a bar in it, with seating, big screen TV and have a session in the bunker![/QUOTE]
I imagine it's more likely to be you, one of your mates, a small portable and a six pack is all that will fit.

Milk & Honey

Fuzzy Clam wrote: »

I believe that. It was supposed to have a radio studio connected to Radio Eireann. I think there's a tunnel from the barracks to it.

Nonsense. All that is under the castle is a pile of dirt from the 13th century. The nuclear shelter is in the barracks. It was built in the early 1950s and is now obsolete. The radio connection was to the Moydrum transmitter. Moydrum is now de-commissioned.

Sponge Bob

There were some Civil defence 'bunkers'....more like basements....constructed here and there in the 1960s and even as late as the early 1970s.

The Galway Civil Defence bunker was built under the Community College Moneenageisha around 1970. In fact the Minister of Defence held up the construction of the Secondary School as this 'bunker' , known as the County Control Centre, was being designed.

http://oireachtasdebates.oireachtas.ie/debates%20authoring/debateswebpack.nsf/takes/dail1966113000016?opendocument

30 November 1966
Mr. Coogan: ( Galway West backbencher) asked the Minister for Defence why he has not yet given a decision regarding the provision of a county control centre in the proposed new vocational school at Moneenageisha, Galway, as the delay in giving a decision is holding up preparation of final documents for the erection of this new school for which the Department of Education gave sanction on 6th September 1966.
Minister for Defence (Mr. Hilliard):As approved expenditure which may be incurred by Galway County Council on the provision of a civil defence county control centre would attract a grant of 70 per cent from the Vote for Defence, I had to be satisfied that the inclusion of the centre in the proposed new vocational school at Moneenageisha would be the most economical arrangement that could be made.
.

More on that here

The plan, dating back to the early 1960s was to have a County Control Centre or 'bunker' in every county

http://oireachtasdebates.oireachtas.ie/Debates%20Authoring/DebatesWebPack.nsf/takes/dail1962051700007?opendocument&highlight=county%20control

From the Army I turn now to Civil Defence. One of the features of recent times has been that public interest in Civil Defence has manifested itself to an extent previously unequalled. For the greater part, this increased interest stemmed from events in the international sphere—namely, the recurrence of tension over Berlin since August last and the publicity given to the hazards of radioactivity resulting from the resumption of nuclear tests by the U.S.S.R. in September.
Whether as a result of this increased interest or of intensified activity on the part of local authorities or a combination of both, there has been an overall net increase (allowing for wastage) in the strength of the Civil Defence organisation of some 1,500, making the current strength approximately 7,600. These figures show that the previous rate of growth of the organisation has been maintained. Quite a number of the new recruits are in centres in which Civil Defence was organised last winter for the first time, and it is to be hoped that in such places those recruits will encourage many more to enrol. As matters stand, however, we have got to face the fact that the numbers in Civil Defence, even though they continue to grow, are still pitifully small in relation to the size of the problem that might have to be faced, and so, as I did when speaking about the Army, I urge all who can do so to lend their aid and encouragement to Civil Defence recruitment.
[1096] At the same time, I am confident that the measures now being taken to develop a control structure within each county and to organise the Warden Service in every parish and ultimately in every townland and street, will have its impact on recruitment even in outlying districts. The initiation by local authorities of arrangements for the control and organisation of the Civil Defence services at county level was, in my view, the most significant development which occurred during the year in relation to the organisation of Civil Defence.

Reference were made to sub-county control centres and regional control centres as well ....in 1963

http://oireachtasdebates.oireachtas.ie/Debates%20Authoring/DebatesWebPack.nsf/takes/dail1963032800005?opendocument&highlight=county%20control

By the late 1960s 16 out of 26 counties had a control centre

http://oireachtasdebates.oireachtas.ie/Debates%20Authoring/DebatesWebPack.nsf/takes/dail1968051600006?opendocument&highlight=county%20control

By 1974 this number had reached 22 Counties and with 5 Regional Centres and with 7 counties and 3 regions 'in the pipeline'

http://oireachtasdebates.oireachtas.ie/Debates%20Authoring/DebatesWebPack.nsf/takes/dail1974050200005?opendocument&highlight=county%20control

Thereafter the Coalition Govenment seems to have abandoned the construction of 'bunkers' . I think Civil Defence units are still grouped around 'County Control Centres' but that these are offices above ground in the local county buildings nowadays.

But a lot of rumours about 'bunkers are true, well kinda.

Ado75

Interesting thread. I know it was mentioned before but no one elaborated. The only "secret" facility I have heard of is a bunker complex under merrion square an that the mound previously mentioned is associated with it. It would be interesting to know if it was ever connected to leinster houes directly.

On that point, there must be bunkers/reinforced bolt holes in Leinster house, nothing fancy - just somewhere you can hide from a public baying for blood.

Sam Russell

Ado75 wrote: »

Interesting thread. I know it was mentioned before but no one elaborated. The only "secret" facility I have heard of is a bunker complex under merrion square an that the mound previously mentioned is associated with it. It would be interesting to know if it was ever connected to leinster houes directly.

On that point, there must be bunkers/reinforced bolt holes in Leinster house, nothing fancy - just somewhere you can hide from a public baying for blood.

Maybe that was where Biffo was hiding these last few years that we have not heard from him.

foggy_lad

Sam Russell wrote: »

Maybe that was where Biffo was hiding these last few years that we have not heard from him.

Is the Dail bar in an underground bunker?

Sam Russell

foggy_lad wrote: »

Is the Dail bar in an underground bunker?

No but I would think any bunker in Leinster House would be in a well stocked cellar.

amdublin

Ado75 wrote: »

Interesting thread. I know it was mentioned before but no one elaborated. The only "secret" facility I have heard of is a bunker complex under merrion square an that the mound previously mentioned is associated with it. It would be interesting to know if it was ever connected to leinster houes directly.

On that point, there must be bunkers/reinforced bolt holes in Leinster house, nothing fancy - just somewhere you can hide from a public baying for blood.

Where is then actual entrance now I wonder???

Like it is literally a mound or hill of grass now.


Edit. Bit of googling I found this.
http://jasonomahony.ie/5-secrets-the-irish-government-dont-want-you-to-know/

Apparently access through a manhole in nearby bushes. Must go for a little root on my lunch break

bk

Interesting, anyone know which shopping center this might be:

2. One of the Dublin’s major shopping centres is designated as an emergency detention centre in the event of major civil unrest. One of its car parks has been constructed in such a way that it can be fenced in quickly, and the centre even has a vacant tower (requested by the Department of Justice at planning stages) to act as a watch tower.

Victor

Is suspect the stuff on that page is made up.

Presumably, they mean the shopping centre car park, not the actual shopping centre. But why was it "constructed in such a way that it can be fenced in quickly", why not just install the security fences up front - much more secure.

What shopping centre has a watch tower? Would this be much use in a multi-storey car park?

Hotblack Desiato

Victor wrote: »

Is suspect the stuff on that page is made up.

Well, the bit about Shannon being a designated Space Shuttle abort location is true. That's one thing

The idea of 150 Irish soldiers resigning from the Defence Forces so they could go halfway around the world and get shot at by the British is just too ludicrous for words.

The idea that the Cabinet (never mind advisors, senior officials, etc.) could fit in a bunker under that little mound in Merrion Square is just a joke, as is the excuse given for supposedly not burying it properly.

What shopping centre has a watch tower? Would this be much use in a multi-storey car park?

Stillorgan has a funny looking tower... :pac:

L1011

Stillorgan is also the right age for that kind of paranoid story to have been made up. Is the tower contemporary to the centre? Carpark's a bit small

Shannon was definitely an abort-site for the shuttle, which is likely the only thing not actually made up there.

bgrizzley

hmmm, as soon as i put on my tinfoil hat i could see that the arched top of that tower was designed to take more weight...

who_me

Regarding Mt. Gabriel (mentioned ages ago), I'd "heard" too it was in fact being used by NATO, under the guise of being a ATC/weather station. It even was attacked by the INLA, thinking it was some secret NATO installation.

While not exactly an "installation", Lissard House near Skibbereen was purchased by the Swiss government in the '70s to house the government in exile if the Soviets ever invaded. There even were plans to transfer much of the Swiss gold reserve there.

SpaceTime

Until relatively recently, we'd a serious shortage of even basic non-secret facilities which would lead me to suspect that the likelihood of secret ones is incredibly slim / nil.

aphex™

who_me wrote: »

While not exactly an "installation", Lissard House near Skibbereen was purchased by the Swiss government in the '70s to house the government in exile if the Soviets ever invaded. There even were plans to transfer much of the Swiss gold reserve there.

This formation on the grounds looks very strange. Any ideas anyone?

http://www.lissardresort.com/images/gallery/garden-trees-1024.jpg

JohnC.

aphex™ wrote: »

This formation on the grounds looks very strange. Any ideas anyone?

http://www.lissardresort.com/images/gallery/garden-trees-1024.jpg

http://www.lissardestate.com/liss-ard-gardens.html

And one of the greatest surprises is the living art featured in the Irish Sky Garden: the giant earth and stone works, The Crater, by famed artist James Turrell, with its contemplative 'Vault Purchase' or plinth at its centre. As a landscape feature The Crater has encouraged many landscape architects to make their pilgrimage to Liss Ard over the years, but it is also an enlightening experience for the solitary surveyor, lying on their back on the 'Vault Purchase', gazing up through the Craters 'bowl' at the sky.

Also this

Trick of the Tail

Dundrum Town Centre has a vacant top floor with superb views, could be regarded as a 'watch tower'!

It's referred as the Sky Bar.

Ubbquittious

Capt'n Midnight wrote: »

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:

They are dual purpose with an indirect heating coil in them so the rad in the canteen and the immersion are permanently on incase any of the lighthouse keepers wants a shower or a cupán tae

minikin

Del2005 wrote: »

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

Of course we can defend them, there are only 22 locations and gormo is right beside the military camp.

JamesM

I did a job in the late 70s or early 80s in a big house on an old estate, I think in Kildare or Meath. All the windows were closed up (concrete) and I was told that it was where the government would go in the event of a nuclear event :eek:

clear thinking

Secret installation would require hardware in need of hiding, eg fighter / bomber jets that could hide in and take off from the port tunnel, air and missile defenses hidden and camouflaged and mobile, here and there, caves to hide rapid response marine units.
We don't even have unhidden radar capable of tracking planes with transponders switched off so I'd be worried more about the overt hardware we lack than the hidden stuff that would be nice to have.

Sam Russell

Mod: I think this thread is too old. I will lock it for now. If you want to discuss secret installations, start a new thread with some point to it.