 The town was the site of a large military barracks of the British Army in the 50 years before Irish Independence and served as a military hospital during World War I.During the War of Independence, these barracks were a base for the Black and Tans.On 30 September 2005, Mary McAleese, President of Ireland, in a gesture of reconciliation, unveiled the newly refurbished Memorial Arch of the barracks in the presence of several ambassadors and foreign emissaries, military attachés and town dignitaries; a detachment of the Local Defence Force, the Number 1 Irish Army Band and various ex-service organisations paraded.