Lectures to mark the handover of Custume Barracks from British to Irish forces. That day, 28 February 1922, was one of the most remarkable days in Athlone’s long history. It was a day of marches and speeches, music and singing, cheering and laughter. It was a day when thousands of people crowded into the centre of Athlone to witness the beginning of a new era in Irish history. It was the day when the British army departed Athlone and handed control of the military barracks to the soldiers of the new Irish state. Ian Kenneally will provide an introductory talk, highlighting local reaction to the Anglo-Irish Treaty and discussing the handover in Athlone. Dr John Gibney of the Royal Irish Academy, will provide a wider context, discussing the handover of power at a national level, with a focus on the handover of Dublin Castle, which had long been the centre of British power in Ireland.