Once occupied by the Royal Dublin Fusiliers and, more recently, the Army Apprentice School, little now remains of Devoy Barracks in Naas other than a decaying clock tower building from 1813. And its setting has been totally transformed since the barracks was closed by the Department of Defence in 1998. It gave eight acres of the 22-acre site to Naas Town Council and sold the rest to the council for €9.35 million on condition that it was rezoned for housing. The council sold on the eight acres it got free to Kildare County Council for €2.75 million, and the balance is to be developed for social and affordable housing. The county council had been housed for years in St Mary's, the former fever hospital in Naas, and was anxious to get out. In any case, there were plans to develop St Mary's as a "health campus", so the space it occupied was needed. The council also wanted its own purpose-built civic offices, after years of making do. Instead of just commissioning anyone to design the project, it did the right thing in 2000 by promoting an international architectural competition.
