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In Fermoy, Ireland

The Opening of Kilworth Rifle Range

The new rifle ranges at Kilworth were ceremoniously opened on Saturday 11th May, 1896 by Mrs. Fryer, the wife of General Fryer, Commanding Officer of the British Troops in the Cork area.
General John Fryer, was born on 27th June 1838. His military history is as follows: Cornet, 6th.Dragoon Guards 9/3/1860. Instructor of Musketry, 25/9/1861--4/4/1864. Lieutenant, 18/2/162. Captain, 5/4/1964. Major, 15/12/1869. Lieutenant Colonel 17/3/1877, Colonel 1/7/1881. Major-General 23/7/1890. General Staff 1/10/1893. At Cork 1/101893--30/9/1898. Lieutenant General 14/12/1898 and Colonel of the Regiment 18/9/1902.

A contemporary report stated;" The opening of the Kilworth Firing Range marks an epoch in military affairs in Ireland and henceforth Kilworth may be regarded as an important centre for training in the science of warfare". The adaptability of the district (terrain) for training purposes strongly forced itself on the attention of the authorities. Three years earlier in 1893 when troop manoeuvres of an extensive scale were carried out under the then Commander of the Cork District General Davies, On that occasion several detachments of Infantry, Cavalry and Artillery visited Kilworth and their operations proved so satisfactory that General Davies advised Lord Wolseley, Commander-In-Chief, British Army, to recommend purchase of the site, by the War Department for permanent training purposes The owner of the Kilworth lands at this stage was Lord Mountcashel (family name Moore) who, owing to bad management of the estate was financially embarrassed and glad of the offer by the War Department. Newspapers of the time mentioned an area of 14,000 acres lying in the barony of Condon and Clangibbon and running adjacent to the old Cork road between Mitchelstown and Kilworth village.
	So arbitration was set up to buy out the many smallholdings on the rugged hillside. Eventually the War Department secured the Kilworth area for a payment of £20,000. A few years later Moorepark House and the remaining lands were purchased from Lord Mountcashels niece. The official opening by Mrs.Fryer, accompanied by her husband, the General, Major Gamble and Colonel Reeves, was witnessed by a huge military concourse. The Royal Irish Fusiliers had marched from Cork to Kilworth on the previous day. From then the ranges were in continuous use. The name Fryer's Knoll to the north of Flagstaff Hill remains to recall the formal opening of the range in 1896. A permanent Camp on the left hand side of the Cork-Dublin Road was laid for the better comfort of the Troops and for administrative purposes. The British army had the whole area mapped, producing what is considered to be the first gridded map in the Northern Hemisphere
That is one side of the story; the other side concerns the tenant farmers and families, many of them poor, who had to leave their homes and holdings to make way for the expanding army. The dispersal took place some time before the Land Act of 1896 became Law. They had no option but to accept the settlements given to them and clear out. Several of them were Irish speakers and so passed from the Kilworth Mountains the Clifford's, Doran's, Coughlin's, Colbert's, Lynch's, O'Flynn's, McGrath's, Fitzgerald's, Sweeney's, Pension's, Sherlock's, Kelly's, Ryall's, and Howard's. The descendants of some are to be found in Kilworth village and other parts of the parish to day.
	Kilworth was used to train troops during the Boer War and the First World War. During the War of Independence part of the Camp was used as an Internment Camp for the Old IRA. One night in October 1921, 35 Old IRA prisoners escaped from confinement, plans had been long laid and a tunnel had been dug under the huts and past the sentries and barbed wire. Several days later 1 Old IRA prisoner who had been left behind was snatched, as he was under escort by the British Army. This daring escape and rescue went into folklore in the area.
On the 4th February 1922 Comdt. Tom Barry of Glanworth took over on behalf of the provisional Irish Government the Camp and all the lands at Kilworth, in his own simple words and in a single paragraph Comdt. Barry sums up the paradoxes of the time; "In February 1922 I was appointed to take over Kilworth Camp from the British Army, And by a curious co-incidence the man who handed over the Camp to me was another Corkman, Lieutenant Daly of the Buffs Regiment. As he marched out, I marched in at the head of whole Battalion, and this was my last engagement with the British Army of occupation". The Civil War followed on the ending of the War of Independence, during this new time of troubles the Camp buildings were damaged by elements hostile to the new State. During August 1922 the new Commander-in-Chief of the Army, General Michael Collins made the following entry in his diary; Ref. Kilworth - Moorepark 21/8/1922 09:30am Confidence Dublin. "Ask Cosgrave wire at once who used to take charge of letting places like Moore Park / Kilworth".

The British Army let grazing rights to the local people and General Collins was obviously concerned that all moneys received were paid to the New Government.

With the ending of the Civil War and the firm establishment of the Free State Government and Army, Kilworth became once again a prime training area. During the Emergency 1939-1945, the Ranges and Camp Buildings were used to capacity, Kilworth being an ideal area on which to train troops.The Country survived the Emergency and the Army reverted to its Peacekeeping role after 1945. One notable Post Emergency event was the naming of the Camp in 1966, in honour of General Liam Lynch.

In 1960 Kilworth took on a new role as a location for training troops for United Nations Service. Since 1960 thousands of Irish troops have had an initial training here in preparation for their demanding role as Peacekeepers and humanitarian representatives all over the globe.

In 1969 the civil unrest in Northern Ireland boiled over into mass rioting and burning. The Irish Government offered the Catholic minority a safe haven in the Republic by the opening of Army Camps and Barracks. Lynch Camp took a large quota, and under the direction of the Camp Commandant Comdt. Liam McSweeney provided security and shelter to those temporarily deprived of their homes. When eventually all returned home Comdt. McSweeney for years afterwards received letters of thanks and Christmas Cards.

Saturday 11th May 1996 was the One Hundredth Anniversary of the opening of Kilworth Ranges, in view of the important role that Kilworth had played in Army life down through the years it was deemed fitting that a suitable programme of events be drawn up to commemorate the day. Comdt. A. O'Sullivan, Camp Commandant, held an Open Day in Camp and the Ranges, where those interested in Military Life and Weapons could view and question at leisure. The General Officer Commanding the Southern Command unveiled a monument and planted a tree on the Officers Mess Lawn, Army Archives had rare documents on display and Kilworth Historical Society had many interesting books and pictures chronologing the history of the Mountcashel Family with Kilworth and Moorepark.