[2] Prominent Irish Nationalist leaders such as William Smith O'Brien, Thomas Francis Meagher (later Acting Governor of Montana) and James Stephens (founder of the IRB) were among its famous historical prisoners.

[2] Another distinguished inmate was the Lord Mayor of Dublin, Timothy Daniel Sullivan, for publishing The Nation, an Irish nationalist newspaper, in 1887.

On 8 November 1922, Anti-Treaty fighters fired on troops drilling in the main square at the barracks from positions across the Grand Canal, using Lewis and Thompson machine guns and rifles.

Free State reinforcements were rushed from Portobello Barracks (now Cathal Brugha), and two of the IRA attackers were killed and six captured, along with a machine gun.

[9] In 1937 part of the barracks was leased to the Irish Athletic Boxing Association as the site for the National Stadium which was opened by Frank Aiken.