In 1916, during a round-up following the Easter Rising, the RIC went to arrest the nationalist Kent family at their home in Castleyons, County Cork.

The family resisted and in an ensuing shoot-out, Richard Kent and Constable William Rowe were killed.

Collins Barracks itself remained in the control of the Irish Army, with the prison facility serviced with separate access via Rathmore Road.

[7] The practice of "slopping out" was noted as a concern,[8][9] and in 2011 a visiting committee described some parts of the 19th century facility as "archaic and Dickensian".

[12] Built by PJ Hegarty and Sons in 20 months, it has improved monitoring facilities,[13] and an operational capacity of 310 inmates.