Gormanston Camp Gormanston Camp is a military camp in Ireland and consists of approximately 260 acres . The camp is currently home to Gormanston Camp Company and B Company 27 Infantry Battalion . The Camp is used for air - ground and air - defence training . It is located between Balbriggan and Drogheda along the east coastline of Ireland in County Meath in close proximity to the M1 Motorway and Gormanstown railway station . Early years . The camp started life as a Royal Flying Corps training depot during the First World War in 1917 . On 1 April 1918 the RFC was amalgamated with the Royal Naval Air Service to form the Royal Air Force . After the end of the War the aerodrome there started to be wound down , so by the end of January , 1920 , the remaining aircraft were transferred to Baldonnel Aerodrome and all that were left were a care and maintenance team of 37 men . War of Independence . The Irish War of Independence did not have any effect on the winding down of Gormanstown , as aircraft were not deemed to be of any use to the guerrilla type of war that was taking place . From August 1920 to August 1922 Gormanstown was used by the Royal Irish Constabulary Black and Tans as a sub - depot for the training of new recruits , and as well as a despatch centre to send Black and Tans all over the country . The camp was also used at this time as an internment camp for Republican prisoners . After the Treaty of 14 January 1922 , Gormanstown became the main demobilisation centre for the Black and Tans . The evacuation of the force was meant to be completed by 31 March 1922 , but due to delays it was August before the last Black and Tans left Gormanstown and the camp was handed over to the Irish National Army . This was during the Irish Civil War which started on 28 June 1922 . Gormanstown then became the Headquarters of the Transport Section of the National Army . The ceremonial opening of Gormanstown was on October 8 , 1922 . Internment Camp . An Internment camp was then built in Gormanston to house the vast numbers of Republican prisoners that were captured by the Free State . The Internment camp was under the command of Commandant Morken . The first prisoners to be interned in the camp arrived on September 9 , 1922 and there were about 1 , 000 Republican prisoners interned there , the internees included Oscar Traynor who was made O / C by the prisoners , and famous names like Tom Barry who escaped on 28 September 1922 , Sean T O ' Kelly , Connie McNamara and author Frank O ' Connor . Although the Civil War ended on May 24 , 1923 , the Free State continued to hold over 12 , 000 Republican prisoners as hostages throughout Ireland to ensure hostilities did not break out again . A hunger strike was organised by Republican commandant Oscar Traynor in October 1923 to protest at conditions in the camp as well as continued internment . It was in December 1923 when the last prisoners left the camp . World War II . During World War II ( known colloquially in Ireland as " The Emergency " ) , the camp was used as accommodation for up to 2 , 000 men who were billeted in forty Nissen huts and the camp was used for a time as an internment camp for the detention of up to 40 RAF aircrews who had crashed landed or made emergency landing in the state . The RAF prisoners were repatriated in two groups one in 1943 and the remainder in May 1944 . The airfield had been used on an annual basis since 1935 , it was not until 1945 that the Air Corps occupied the camp on a permanent basis . No 1 Fighter Squadron was stationed there in 1944 and were equipped with Hawker Hurricanes . Post - war Years . After the war the Hurricanes were replaced with Spitfires in 1947 , and in 1956 the Fighter Squadron was transferred to Baldonnel Aerodrome , whilst an Air Corps training faculty remained at the base . Due to the escalation in civil strife in Northern Ireland in the summer of 1969 , Gormanstown was designated as a refugee centre in August 1969 . Large numbers of people mainly from Belfast moved Southwards to escape the violence and were housed in the refugee camp . By the end of October 1971 up to 12 , 000 persons had passed through the camp . The airfield was closed officially from 2002 but it is still used extensively used for Air to Ground Firing and local army activities . Both runways at the airfield are unserviceable ( originally three runways ) , however it is believed since Gormanstown tower and approach is still active , the tarmac runway of 810m X 10m is still in a good enough condition to be used in an emergency . The airfield is often used by model aircraft flyers , although not officially open to the public or civilian activities . Today the AAIU ( Air Accident Investigation Unit - Ireland ) is based in the original Air Corps hangars on field - the RFC hangars no longer exist .