It is almost ten years to the day since the last soldiers based at Donegal's Rockhill House marched out of the barracks, and, in a ceremonial event to mark that anniversary, serving and retired members of the 28th Battalion once more marched up the avenue to what is now a country house hotel.
Rockhill House, near Letterkenny, served as an army base for 70 years but was one of a number of bases closed by the government in cost-cutting measures announced in the 2008 budget.
Army personnel based there were transferred to Finner Camp, also in Donegal, when Rockhill closed on 28 January 2009.
The first manor house on the site was built in the 17th Century and was rebuilt, remodelled and extended over time.
It was the seat of the Chambers family for over 170 years and later the Stewart family. In 1936, the State bought the house and 103 acres of land for £1,730. It became an army barracks some years later and had a strategic position close to the border during the Troubles.
When it closed in January 2009, Rockhill fell into a state of disrepair, which concerned local people who felt the listed building had great potential, particularly in terms of tourism.
Bought by the Molloy family in 2014, they set about restoring the house in what John Molloy described as a three-year labour of love. Major work was carried out to restore Rockhill to its former glory as a Georgian country house, and it opened to the public in 2017 as an exclusive venue and hotel.
However, the Molloys say they’re keen to maintain the links with the Irish Defence Forces at Rockhill and to keep the associated memories alive. Since it reopened, the Molloys say they have been delighted to welcome military families and hear their personal stories of Rockhill in days gone past.
Today, more of those memories were shared when more than 100 serving and retired members of the Defence Forces gathered at Rockhill to march up the avenue to the big house. It was a poignant visit for soldiers who had served here and who remembered the less luxurious surroundings they were billeted in.
A mass was celebrated to remember fallen soldiers who were stationed at Rockhill and an oak tree was later planted in the grounds, in a place which the family say will, in time, become a dedicated, natural, quiet and reflective arboretum to the memory of those now gone who once served here.
