THE Army staged a parade at Beggar's Bush Barracks in Dublin on Saturday to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the takeover of the buildings from the British army.
The parade followed the steps of the "Dublin Guards", the State's first fully uniformed and armed unit of the Army, which marched from the Phoenix Park to the barracks on February 1st, 1922.
While some smaller posts had already been taken over informally, the handover of Beggar's Bush marked the official beginning of the British withdrawal under the terms of the Anglo Irish Treaty.
The 46 strong Dublin Guards included Capt Paddy O'Daly and Quartermaster Vinny Byrne, both members of Michael Collins's "Squad". The squad had been formed during the War of Independence to a assassinate British spies, and their mass killing of suspected agents provoked the Black and Tans' revenge attack on Croke Park on "Bloody Sunday" in 1920.
Thousands of people lined the route of the original parade, and members of the Provisional government, including Collins, Arthur Griffith and Kevin O'Higgins witnessed the march past from City Hall.
Saturday's commemoration was attended by the Minister for Defence, Mr Barrett, who was met at Beggar's Bush by tee Chief of Staff of the Defence Forces, Lieut Gen Gerry McMahon.
The ceremony began with a prayer by the head chaplain of the Defence Forces, Monsignor Raymond Field. The march into the barracks was then performed by the Cadet Guard of Honour, under the command of Lieut Tom Ryan.
Inside, the national flag was ceremonially hoisted and the Army No 1 Band played the national anthem.
