Lieutenant Colonel Máirtín Coffey is only one month into his new role as Barracks Commander of Dún Uí Mhaoilíosa, in Renmore, but he is no stranger to Galway city. He wants to improve the relationship between the military, and the wider city its members and families live in.
At the same time though, he is fortifying his 144-year-old base from modern threats. Its chaplain, Fr Paul Murphy, was stabbed at its gate last summer, in what Europol, the EU’s police agency, last month described as Ireland’s first Islamist attack.
The Kildareman moved to Galway in 1999 for eight years, aged 19, as a cadet. On graduation, Coffey was commissioned into An Chéad Chathlán Coisithe, the traditionally Irish-speaking 1st Infantry Battalion, based in Renmore since 1925. Last month, he assumed command exactly 101 years after its foundation, also in Kildare. His wife is from Tirellan, and their children attend school locally.
“Being made [commanding officer] of my ‘home unit’ was a very proud moment. It’s a real honour to come back and serve alongside – and command – the men and women of the first battalion,” he says.
Over 6ft tall, wiry and lean, the enthusiastic triathlete sports what appears to be a fresh welt on his face, rudely pointed out by the Galway Advertiser. “Hmmm… maybe I was a bit too keen in [physical training] this morning,” he wonders out loud. One suspects the 45-year-old is well able to keep-up with the young men and women being drilled by a barking NCO on the parade square, directly outside Coffey’s office window. There is no doubt this senior field officer is an infantryman at heart, and he modestly plays down nine deployments completed in West Africa, the Middle East and Balkans.
Priorities
Lt Col Coffey’s current unit strength in Galway is just 260, plus 70 members serving overseas. Around 50 soldiers live in Renmore Barracks, and there are 25 civilians employed. The battalion’s establishment should be almost 500 personnel, and one of Coffey’s three main aims is recruitment, especially throughout the counties of Connacht and North Clare; traditionally the homeplaces of 1st Battalion soldiers, and of the Connaught Rangers, who preceded them in Renmore.
Coffey hopes military recruitment breaches 800 personnel in 2025, after attracting 708 last year. “There are not many jobs starting at €40,000 a year, include accommodation during a housing crisis, and – the best bit – offer an adventurous lifestyle,” he says, momentarily falling into recruiting sergeant mode to a chubby journalist, well past military age.
It is, however, Coffey’s two other objectives which may take up a big chunk of the busy colonel’s time, during a command expected to last around three years.
“My first priority is to defend the State,” he says. “That means constantly training and preparing all units here for all eventualities.” This includes aid to the civil power missions, assisting the Garda Síochána, and aid to the civil authority, which mandates assistance to other public bodies, including the Department of Health and local authorities – especially relevant during catastrophic storms Darragh and Éowyn. A map hanging in Coffey’s office highlights the vast area his troops are responsible for: west of the historic Shannon Defence Line, spreading from north County Laois to Mayo.
His third, and possibly trickiest priority: “I want to open up the barracks for more outreach and community engagement. We here are almost 300 local constituents, with families all involved in different things like GAA, rugby clubs and charities,” he says.
“There’s a disconnect – I feel – amongst a lot of people about what the Defence Forces do on a daily basis, and I want to open that up,” he insists. Already troops in Renmore have chosen the Galway Hospice Foundation as their “target” charity this year, and Coffey is contemplating team-building sessions for other organisations.
Civil relations
Disgruntlement about the erection last year of electronic gates to a military service road used by local dog walkers is on Coffey’s radar, and he is meeting with the recently re-established Renmore Residents’ Association this week to discuss. Coffey is acutely aware that the Athlone to Galway greenway will terminate nearby at Ballyloughan, and there are hopes it will connect to Galway city centre, skirting Mellows GAA Club and the barracks.
“We are working very well with Galway City Council on a solution, and feasibility studies will be done,” says Coffey, who admits a security audit in the wake of Fr Murphy’s attack may require infrastructure “tweaks” around the barracks, including new fencing.
His mother is from Achill, so Coffey says he understands benefits and challenges a cycleway can bring. “I could have hundreds of vehicles and personnel transiting through a single exit right onto a greenway, and that becomes a health and safety issue for soldiers and [cyclists],” he says. He does not comment on speculation that a pedestrian/cycle bridge, railway level-crossing or new vehicle exit from the barracks may be solutions. “We don’t want to stand in the way of progress,” he says.
Coffey points out that Renmore Barracks spent €1.1 million engaging 24 local contractors for minor works already this year, and that the new, 69-bed University Students’ Accommodation Complement (USAC ) adjacent was an €11.3 million investment in Galway city and its two universities by the Defence Forces.
He is enthusiastic about news of a Maritime Security installation possibly earmarked for Galway before 2028, and is curious to see how the vast military property in Renmore will connect “next door” with the Port of Galway’s ambitious development plans.
Lt Col Coffey is less happy about speculation that the army’s 500 acre rifle range in Oranmore may be handed over to the IDA to attract American or Chinese microchip manufacturers. He explains that his battalion completed 1,236 “person days” of range time already this year. “Shooting practice is bread and butter for soldiering. It’s no coincidence that this unit has some of the best shots in the country, and internationally,” he insists, pointing at the clatter of trophies on the mantelpiece behind him. “No nearby range for manoeuvres means decreased military capability, increased travel times, and a higher carbon footprint… If these [ranges] go, we will never find a replacement.”
Historic questions
Coffey offers the Galway Advertiser a quick tour of the officers’ mess, where it is clear he loves History: pointing out Napoleonic paintings, revolutionary era mementos – including Liam Mellows’ piano – and a hand-drawn battle plan of the 1961 Siege of Jadotville. He recently discovered his grandfather and two grand uncles from Leitir Móir, in Connemara, were stationed in Renmore Barracks in the 1930s, but were discharged when the Land Commission awarded them holdings near Athboy, Co Meath.
Would he give it all up if someone offered him a big bundle of land for free? “No way,” he replies instantly, without ever a moment’s thought.
Renmore Barracks will be open to the public this Saturday, July 19, from midday to 4pm. See www.military.ie
